So, the Super Bowl hype has begun. To this affect, last night the NFL network showed several of the highlight films from the Steelers many Super Bowl seasons. More specifically, I saw the "America's Game" Documentaries for the 1974 and 1975 Steelers. I don't know how many films they showed because I didn't turn on the HDTV until around 7:00pm or 8:00pm PST. It might have been 5 hours (5 documentaries) as the Steelers have won 5 Super Bowls.
Unfortunately, there are no such films for the Cardinals. To redress the balance, what could the NFL network do? They showed the America's Game documentary about the 1999 Rams. The 1999 Rams were voted the greatest single-season turn around in the history of the league by the NFL's "Top 10" documentary group. It was also the year Kurt Warner broke out and became a super-star as the grand-master of the Greatest Show on Turf.
There is a St. Louis connection between the Rams and Cardinals. There is also a Kurt Warner connection between the Rams and Cardinals. There is also a divisional connection between the Rams and Cardinals: Both are in NFC West. There is also a franchise movement connection between the Rams and Cardinals: both moved twice. There is also a stylistic connection between these two teams. Like the Rams, the Cardinals also have an Ex-Colt in their backfield. The Edge is substituting for Marshall Faulk in this interpretation of the play. Both had superior offenses and good scoring defenses. There is also a rags-to-riches turnaround story that they share. Furthermore, the Cards are only the second 9-7 football team in the history of the League to reach the Super Bowl. The other was the 1979 Los Angeles Rams, who also won the NFC title, who faced these same Pittsburg Steelers in the Rose Bowl (a virtual home game).
We gave 'em hell in that game, but we lost. The lead changed hands 7 times in Super Bowl XIV. The Rams lead for most of the first 3 quarters. Bradshaw threw 3 interceptions. Steeler fans were dropping bricks in their shorts when the 4th quarter arrived and the Rams were still leading 19-17. Lynn Swan had been knocked out by Pat Thomas earlier in 3rd quarter. Then Bradshaw hit Stallworth on 60-prevent-slot-hook-and-go and the Steelers went ahead 24-19. Vince Ferragamo almost got us the lead back, but Jack Lambert intercepted him at the 20 of the Steelers. The Franco Harris got a meaningless touchdown on clock-killing drive as the clock wore down to nothing. The final was 31-19.
It was not a blow-out or an ass-whupping, and everybody knew it. It was closer than the now-legendary Cowboy Super Bowl from the year before. It was supposed to be a massacre. The Steelers were happy to get out of there with their skins (mostly) enacted. Fred Dryer (famous from TV series Hunter) was interviews by Steve Sabol of NFL films and said "We fought the hell out of 'em. I guarantee you those bastards will be hurting tomorrow." The Super Bowl XIV cover of Sports Illustrated declared "This One Was Really Super".
I should mention that this was the first football game I ever watched in my life (start to finish). This was the moment when I fell in love with Football, and it was the moment I became a Ram fan. Rightly or wrongly, the shadow of that loss hung over my youth, and didn't really dissipate until Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk showed up in 1999. You can imagine how I felt when we finally won the big one.
Loosing the big one is horrible. Being the laughing stock of the league is horrible. A lot of that can be swept for the Cardinals if they defeat the Steelers on Super Sunday.
I see a lot of connections between Rams and the Cardinals in this game. It's a bit eerie and magical. I don't know about the rest of you Ram fans in SoCal, but I am pulling like a MoeFoe for Kurt Warner in this game. It's strange to think of it this way, but there are going to be hardcore NFL fans native to St. Louis, Los Angeles and Phoenix all lining up behind the Cards for several of these reasons.
If Kurt obtains the victory in this game he can be elected the Governor of Missouri the next day. Believe me, they'll hold a special election for him if he'll take the job. Furthermore, he'll become a lock for the Hall of Fame.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
