Pittsburgh (-7) vs. Arizona. Wow, anyone in America who picked this Super Bowl matchup prior to the 2008 season should either receive some sort of an award or possibly be labeled critically insane. I’m not sure which. At the beginning of the season, no one would have argued the fact that the Steelers would have a decent shot at getting to the year’s end game.
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However, if you mentioned ‘Arizona’ and ‘Super Bowl’ in the same sentence, the only thoughts someone might have would be: wasn’t the Big Game just played there last year? There would have been no thought as to the Cardinals actually being the NFC’s representative IN the Big Game.
Unlike Matt, I am kind of excited to watch the Super Bowl for the first time in several years. We’ve had the Mannings take back to back Super Bowls the past two years and other than wanting to see the Pats finish 19-0 last year, I didn’t have much overall interest in the actual Super Bowl matchup presented for quite a while. This year’s entrants present an intriguing matchup of a lights-out offense vs. the league’s top-ranked defense.
All in all, I think 7 points is a big spread for this game especially with how the Cardinals have been playing in the postseason. They’ve scored over 30 points in each game against Atlanta, Carolina and Philly. It’s a given that the Falcons and Panthers’ defenses were not ‘top five quality,’ but getting 32 pts against the Eagles 3rd rated defense definitely opened some eyeballs.
Arizona may not get 30+ in this game, but I’m still taking them for a straight up victory and to obviously beat the spread. Plus my wife likes the Steelers. 
Final score: Arizona 24, Pittsburgh 21.
Here’s my list of 5 things that would be more fun than the super bowl:
5. A root canel
4. Watching any of 42 super bowls that anyone actually cared about.
3. The Pro Bowl
2. Reading a book about Andrew Carnegie (my current project)
1. Making a voodoo doll of Kurt Warner and sticking pins in his thumbs throughout the game (this might be the only thing that makes the game watchable).
Here’s five things I’m looking forward to since football ended in December for me this year:
5. The Daytona 500
4. The Bluejackets making the playoffs
3. The Masters
2. My first opening day as a Reds fan.
1. The day something magical happens and the 49ers offer the offensive coordinator job to someone who actually accepts.
Here’s the chance I’m going to pick the Cardinals: Zero.
Here’s the chance I care either way: Zero.
Pittsburgh wins and covers, which will give them the distinct honor of winning the most inconsequential and meaningless Super Bowl in history. Thanks for playing, boys. See you next year.
