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| Randolph Charlotin. 20th January, 2009 - 10:27 am
 Do you hate that the Arizona Cardinals will play in Super Bowl XLIII?
Maybe not you, but there are people you know that feel this way. They talk as if Arizona is undeserving of playing for the league championship.
Why? Didn't they just earn the right to play for the Lombardi Trophy by beating Atlanta, Carolina, and Philadelphia? What standards did they not meet?
Bitter fans of the Falcons, Panthers, and Eagles are mouthing off about the Cardinals' lack of worthiness. But they're just mad that their teams couldn't beat 'Zona in the playoffs.
But anyone else declaring the Cardinals are unworthy is puzzling. They are offended that the Cards got to the ultimate game, as if Arizona did something directly to them.
When did the Cardinals come to your city, kill all the men, enslaved the women and children, and burn down your town?
Isn't every team supposed to have an equal chance of winning the Super Bowl? This isn't St. Peter at the Pearly Gates looking over past deeds to decide whether the Cards have enough accomplishments to enter Tampa, Florida.
Is a 9-7 record not good enough? Regular season wins and losses don't carry over into the playoffs. That's always been the case. After Week 17, the slate is wiped clean, and the team that wins all their games hoists the trophy. It's no secret. It's as simple as that, always has been, and it's not changing anytime soon.
So for those scrutinizing Arizona's schedule and pointing out the Cards padded their record in arguably the weakest division in football or that they lost badly on the road, well sorry, dude. The NFL made the schedule. The Cardinals can only play it. Go petition the league for re-alignment.
Because in a re-aligned league, a 9-7 team wouldn't host two playoff games, including the conference championship. There's some truth to that, but the Cards did win their division. Whether it was a strong or weak division, it's out of Arizona's hands. That small accomplishment should be rewarded.
Blame Atlanta and Philadelphia for being unable to seize the opportunity regardless of the location. New York won three games on the road en route to winning last year's Super Bowl. Winning away from home isn't impossible.
Then there are those who don't like the Cardinals in the Super Bowl because of their long history of being a bad team. Well, bad teams can become good, right? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were a joke for years, but they won a title. The New England Patriots were a laughing stock, but now are the model franchise in the league.
Even the Pittsburgh Steelers were a mess before winning four Super Bowls in the '70s. 'Betcha fans would have no problem if it was their team playing for the prize instead of missing the playoffs.
And what about fans of teams that beat the Cardinals?
A New England columnist accuses Arizona of tanking in Week 16 to allow injured players to recover and protect their starters. But when the Patriots lost their season finale to an inferior Miami team in 2005 after a game-tying Matt Cassel (Brady played one quarter and sat) 2-point conversion pass sailed over the receiver's head, it's OK?
Never mind that the loss set up an easier Wild Card home game against Jacksonville, instead of a tougher Pittsburgh team. By the way, the Jaguars had a better record than the Patriots that year.
Tough cookies, y'all. A regular season win means nothing. Win when it matters -- in the playoffs. Right, Philly?
People have reason after reason to disqualify the Cardinals even though they won the NFC fair and square. Enough already. The bottom line is Arizona executed, and their opponents didn't. They had to win three games and did it. The Cardinals earned this trip to Super Bowl XLIII.
If there were better teams in the NFC, they would have beaten Arizona. No one could, so that makes the Cardinals the best team in the NFC.
To read more by Randolph Charlotin, visit his blog at http://www.newenglandpatriotsnews.com/randolphc/weblog/. He can be reached at lordrc@verizon.net. |
