Cardinals and Steelers still standing

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In sports, there are two stories fans love the most: the storied franchise and the Cinderella tale. This year, Super Bowl XLIII features both.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals are going to battle for the Lombardi Trophy and the top spot in the football world.

For the Pittsburgh Steelers, it will be their seventh Super Bowl, and second in the last four seasons. With their most recent win in 2005, they are well prepared.

The Steelers had arguably the toughest regular season schedule and still managed the number two seed in the playoffs, a 12-4 record, and a seemingly immoveable defense led by the Defensive Player of the Year, James Harrison.

The Steelers offense has been no slouch either, led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers have averaged over 300 yards a game, but the top ranked defense is the real force to be reckoned with.

The Arizona Cardinals, however, were not given the time of day by anyone in the sports world. The Cardinals were 9-7 in the regular season, making them the worst team to ever go to the Super Bowl.

The Cardinals’ offense is the driving force of their team led by veteran quarterback Kurt Warner. He threw for over 4,500 yards this season, helped out by the unstoppable receiving tandem of Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, who racked up a combined 2,469 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Though Arizona’s defense was suspect during the regular season, in the postseason they have done what was necessary, creating 12 total turnovers, letting their offense take care of business.

Both Warner and Roethlisberger have Super Bowl wins under their respective belts and are looking to snag a second.

Both coach Ken Whisenhunt and Assistant Head Coach Russ Grimm may have chips on their shoulders because they were both former Steelers coaches and were both overlooked for the head coaching vacancy in Pittsburgh after the retirement of Bill Cowher, whom Mike Tomlin replaced.

The clash of these two teams will meet in Tampa Bay, Florida Feb. 1, and it is there that a new football champion will be crowned.