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		No Fun League gears up for Super Bowl XVIII By Daniel Dullum January 28, 2009

	Some random thoughts as Stuper Bowl Sunday approaches… As Cardinal Fever continues to run rampant in the desert, the annual NFL hype machine is in full gear as the 43rd Super Bowl is days away. Six weeks ago, who knew the Arizona Cardinals would be a participant? They barely won the NFL’s worst division, the NFC West and looked dreadful in the last four weeks of the season. This is great. Whenever a team reaches the Super Bowl for the first time, the calls go out to former team members who played on their championship teams. This is a chore unique to covering a team like the Cards. Their last NFL championship came in 1947 as the Chicago Cardinals, playing at Comiskey Park. The biggest challenge for the media to get reactions from that squad is finding team members who are still alive. Charley Trippi, the ’47 Cardinals’ legendary halfback, is 92 and reportedly thrilled about the concept of his old team being in the Super Bowl. God bless him. On Tuesday we enjoyed the annual circus otherwise known as Media Day, where some 5,000 credentialed media types get to ask players the sort of questions one used to find in a 16 Magazine questionnaire for Bobby Sherman or David Cassidy. (“What is your favorite color? Or “What qualities do you look for in a girlfriend?”) Note that most of the media is from outside the U.S., and ignore what should be obvious story lines, making life easier for actual NFL reporters. It all started back in the 1970s when now-defunct Sport Magazine assigned Fred Dryer and Lance Rentzel to cover the Super Bowl, and they did, decked out in stereotypical garb complete with Columbo-type raincoats and fedoras with a “press” card sticking out of the rim. They proceeded to ask all the slackjawed, dumb questions that the “legitimate” media was prone to asking. The rank-and-file press corps resented it, mostly because their needle was aimed at most of them, and in many cases, well deserved. That opened the door, and now, of that 5,000, maybe 500 or so actually know the difference between a football and a soccer ball. Anyone and everyone are invited. This year, a male Telemundo correspondent was wearing a red dress for the occasion. Last year, wedding proposals for the quarterbacks. The wackier; the better. Actually, considering what a stuffy operation the NFL usually is, this is fine. I’m not complaining. For an operation known as the No Fun League, Media Day unwittingly serves a useful purpose for the league. The players and coaches, for the most part, get it. They go along with this circus accordingly. Another burning question is: “What will Bruce Springsteen play at halftime?” I’ve heard some unlikely tastemakers comb over the Boss’s repertoire and rattle off all kinds of obscure album tracks or their idea of his classics. This is the NFL folks, and you better believe that Bruce has been told he’ll get three songs, “they damn well better be hits recognizable to the corporate jerk-offs we’ve invited to our party” I, for one, am curious to see if Springsteen bows to the NFL or does his own thing. Talk about high drama… Oh, yeah, there’s a football game on Sunday too. The Cardinals are looking for their first championship since the Truman Administration, and the Steelers are looking to add to their impressive collection of Super Bowl trophies. Beware the Big Red, they have a scary good offense, and their defense is playing well enough to get the job done. Kurt Warner has earned his Hall of Fame credentials just by leading this moribund franchise to the big show, win or lose. Warner has great weapons like Boldon and Fitzgerald to throw to with what might be the quickest release since Namath. Pittsburgh has Ben Roethlisberger at the controls of a solid, not flashy, offense, and a Hall of Fame defensive coordinator in Dick LeBeau. The Steelers are solid, not like the old Steel Curtain defense, but good enough in a down year overall for the league. As I write these words, the Steelers are favored by 7 points. That might be too many. If the Cardinals get an early lead, that could give them the momentum they need. Arizona is better equipped to play from behind, but Pittsburgh has shown an ability to bend but not break. Unlike most Super Bowls, this could be fun to watch, like last year’s edition. If you’re not finding a lot of in-depth research here, it’s because I tend to ignore most of the pre-game hype in a effort to enjoy the game, I also recommend skipping the six-hour television pregame show, and try to avoid Super Bowl parties where the people who judge the commercials outnumber the people who know why the Steelers have their logo on only one side of their helmets. Pittsburgh should win, but the point spread is too high. Take the Cardinals and the points.