Would a Cardinals Super Bowl victory be bad for the NFL?

[brdmaverick]

Trust me, I am rooting for the Cardinals over the hated Steelers, but do you think it would be bad for the NFL if the Cardinals (9-7 in the regular season) won the Super Bowl?

I ask this because the Cardinals are everything that a playoff contender SHOULDN'T be....

...9-7 division champs of one of the worst divisions in the NFL, a team that limped into the playoffs (we all remember how the Pats destroyed them).

I just think it would be good for the league if the top regular season teams continued their success in the playoffs. I would have thrown up if its was the Steelers vs. the Giants, but it would have been better for the NFL as the regular season juggernauts would be rewarded with a Super Bowl berth.

 

[memento]

not really. people seem to like the underdogs, and the cardinals are pretty big underdogs this year.

 

[Disco Volante]

would have been better for the NFL as the regular season juggernauts would be rewarded with a Super Bowl berth.

That's like saying there shouldn't be a playoff system and the SB teams should be selected immediately following Week 17, with the two #1 seeds playing.

Also, it'd be Titans/Giants.

We've had two 10-6 teams ('88 49ers, '07 Giants) win the Super Bowl already and the Cardinals had their division locked up in November.

 

[Water Boy]

I don't think it would be a bad thing if the Cardinals won. Shame on the teams that they beat in the playoffs.

 

[Fencer]

I fail to see the problem.

 

[NE_PATS_FAN_54]

Trust me, I am rooting for the Cardinals over the hated Steelers, but do you think it would be bad for the NFL if the Cardinals (9-7 in the regular season) won the Super Bowl?

I ask this because the Cardinals are everything that a playoff contender SHOULDN'T be....

...9-7 division champs of one of the worst divisions in the NFL, a team that limped into the playoffs (we all remember how the Pats destroyed them).

I just think it would be good for the league if the top regular season teams continued their success in the playoffs. I would have thrown up if its was the Steelers vs. the Giants, but it would have been better for the NFL as the regular season juggernauts would be rewarded with a Super Bowl berth.

it would be great for the NFL. but, its not gonna happen

 

[ALP]

screw whats better for the nfl, and screw the steelers too

the NFL better start licking the Pats' behind, cuz we are 50% of what the nfl is

 

[Topher]

I agree with the original poster, brdmaverick. It helps a sport in the long run when good teams win and win repeatedly.

Thats how periods in sports history become memorable and defined, and players gain legendary status.

A 9-7 SB winner would make the season a historical throw away, unless the Cardinals could back it up with a few more years of success. Does anyone believe this will happen? The only person it helps historically is Kurt Warner.

In part, this is why it irks and confuses me as to why the NFL is so committed to "parity."

Parity results in mediocrity and allows random teams, like Arizona, to pop up every year before heading back down to earth.

Lets be honest, the 9-7 Cardinals haven't beaten any juggernauts on their path to the SB. They are a very good team who could win on Sunday; but they haven't done anything "great" and could easily be mediocre again in a year or two. Nobody cared about them at the beginning of this season and no one will care about them by the end of next. How memorable.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

It won't be any worse than the Giants winning last year or the Steelers winning in '05. Not taking anything away from either of those teams, but they had some some pretty mediocre regular season and happened to get hot at the right time. So no I don't think a Cards win would do any kind of damage to the NFL that hasn't already been done.

 

[ALP]

I agree with the original poster, brdmaverick. It helps a sport in the long run when good teams win and win repeatedly.

Thats how periods in sports history become memorable and defined, and players gain legendary status.

A 9-7 SB winner would make the season a historical throw away, unless the Cardinals could back it up with a few more years of success. Does anyone believe this will happen? The only person it helps historically is Kurt Warner.

In part, this is why it irks and confuses me as to why the NFL is so committed to "parity."

Parity results in mediocrity and allows random teams, like Arizona, to pop up every year before heading back down to earth.

Lets be honest, the 9-7 Cardinals haven't beaten any juggernauts on their path to the SB. They are a very good team who could win on Sunday; but they haven't done anything "great" and could easily be mediocre again in a year or two. Nobody cared about them at the beginning of this season and no one will care about them by the end of next. How memorable.

until they got to the PO's, then they beat 3

 

[brdmaverick]

It won't be any worse than the Giants winning last year or the Steelers winning in '05. Not taking anything away from either of those teams, but they had some some pretty mediocre regular season and happened to get hot at the right time. So no I don't think a Cards win would do any kind of damage to the NFL that hasn't already been done.

at least in the Steelers case their championship was the culmination of being so close for so long.

 

[DisgruntledTunaFan]

Trust me, I am rooting for the Cardinals over the hated Steelers, but do you think it would be bad for the NFL if the Cardinals (9-7 in the regular season) won the Super Bowl?

I ask this because the Cardinals are everything that a playoff contender SHOULDN'T be....

...9-7 division champs of one of the worst divisions in the NFL, a team that limped into the playoffs (we all remember how the Pats destroyed them).

I just think it would be good for the league if the top regular season teams continued their success in the playoffs. I would have thrown up if its was the Steelers vs. the Giants, but it would have been better for the NFL as the regular season juggernauts would be rewarded with a Super Bowl berth.

Dunno-but I DO know one thing...Eagles and their fans are really kicking themselves for the reason being that if they had gotten by Zona in the NFCCG, they would have had a CLEAR ride against Pitt b/c they give that team matchup nightmares all over the place(and Hines Ward is banged up too). This is also the 2nd time in the Reid era they blew a clear ride to the Lombardi, the other time being when they lost to Tampa in the NFCCG, otherwise, they would have beaten Oakland easily.

Anyhow, back to the topic-it's been this way in almost all of sports in recent years. Remember how a struggling Miami Heat team won the NBA Finals a couple of years ago. A .500 St. Louis Cardinals team won the World Series that same year. Why is it that those very, very, very good Bob Stoops teams choke away those BCS games?

Is it good for the league? Ultimately, prolly not. Parody rules, which is nice, but at the same time, all this "The teams that get hot at the right time in the regular season will likely win it all" is not only becoming a myth, but a downright lie.

 

[brdmaverick]

Dunno-but I DO know one thing...Eagles and their fans are really kicking themselves for the reason being that if they had gotten by Zona in the NFCCG, they would have had a CLEAR ride against Pitt b/c they give that team matchup nightmares all over the place(and Hines Ward is banged up too). This is also the 2nd time in the Reid era they blew a clear ride to the Lombardi, the other time being when they lost to Tampa in the NFCCG, otherwise, they would have beaten Oakland easily.

Anyhow, back to the topic-it's been this way in almost all of sports in recent years. Remember how a struggling Miami Heat team won the NBA Finals a couple of years ago. A .500 St. Louis Cardinals team won the World Series that same year. Why is it that those very, very, very good Bob Stoops teams choke away those BCS games?

Is it good for the league? Ultimately, prolly not. Parody rules, which is nice, but at the same time, all this "The teams that get hot at the right time in the regular season will likely win it all" is not only becoming a myth, but a downright lie.

good point about the St. Louis Cardinals. They won the championship after almost suffering the worst collapse in division history (remember the Astros made up something like 11 games in 14 days). They weren't exactly playing their best ball down the stretch.

 

[Leave No Doubt]

screw whats better for the nfl, and screw the steelers too

the NFL better start licking the Pats' behind, cuz we are 50% of what the nfl is

:yeahthat:

10chas

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

at least in the Steelers case their championship was the culmination of being so close for so long.

True but they weren't the same team in '05 that they were in '04. They lost Plaxico and Bettis was washed up at that point. The fact that they were a downgrade from a team who wasn't good enough to make the Super Bowl shows they were mostly benefitting from 1) mediocre competition 2) not having to face us.

 

[ausbacker]

The Cardinals started off like a house on fire, then slowly cooled and have gotten hot at the right time of the season. It isn't like they are a hack of a team. They had a form slump and have remedied it in the best possible fashion.. playing well on both sides of the ball and special teams when it matters most.. post season.

I'd love the Cardinals to win, mainly due to my dislike of the Steelers.

 

[DisgruntledTunaFan]

The Cardinals started off like a house on fire, then slowly cooled and have gotten hot at the right time of the season. It isn't like they are a hack of a team. They had a form slump and have remedied it in the best possible fashion.. playing well on both sides of the ball and special teams when it matters most.. post season.

I'd love the Cardinals to win, mainly due to my dislike of the Steelers.

There were a couple of things that turned the Cards around when the postseason started...

1) Whisenhunt made adjustments to run the ball more. Throughout the season, he was pass-happy. In the postseason, he's gotten James/Hightower involved more, and it's paid dividends for them. Frankly, I'm not sure why he waited until very late in the year to do so, especially with weapons in the passing game that makes the opposition over-respect this aspect.

2) They may have gotten complacent after clinching the NFCW on 12/7. They followed that with 2 blowout losses...after that, Whisenhunt chewed out his team and worked their tails off in practice the following Monday after the 12/21 loss.

Anyhow-this is one reason why you can't count out anyone once the postseason starts...the better coaching staffs WILL make the proper adjustments when their seasons are on the line. And to boot-the better ones also know how to push their team at the right moments(i.e. the anti-Wade Phillips guys, that is).

Also, remember Whisenhunt was the OC of that '05 Steelers team that got hot at the perfect time-it was during the postseason when Pitt started going on an arial attack and strayed away a bit from their bread-and-butter run game.

 

[Lansdowne]

Most NFL fans didn't have a problem with a 10-6 wildcard team winning the Super Bowl last year. So **** them, what difference does it make?

 

[Double G]

I think it is good for the NFL as it builds fan interest, ie, the old "all teams have a shot every year at the brass ring" (ok, Lions and Jets excluded). If the Doofins can go from 1-15 to division winners and that lousy Ravens team of a year ago can advance to the AFCCG, then anything is possible.

If that nightmare of a Super Bowl taught us anything, it is that.

 

[DisgruntledTunaFan]

I think it is good for the NFL as it builds fan interest, ie, the old "all teams have a shot every year at the brass ring" (ok, Lions and Jets excluded). If the Doofins can go from 1-15 to division winners and that lousy Ravens team of a year ago can advance to the AFCCG, then anything is possible.

If that nightmare of a Super Bowl taught us anything, it is that.

The downside of these rags to riches teams is just that...they OVERACHIEVE, end up fooling their respective coaching staffs and FOs, as well as their fans and the media...to the point where they think they really put out very talented teams, when in reality they had glaring holes to begin with.

The Fins, sadly, will come back down to earth next year. They benefited largely from not only a cake schedule, but also from not having to face Brady 2 X's. I mean really...do you think noodle-arm Chad Pennington will have another stellar season? The Fins secondary is garbage as well. Tuna better look for a QB in the draft this year, as well as fixing the defensive backfield.

If anything, teams that are in rebuilding mode and end up fininishing 6-10 or 7-9 in phase 1 are alot better off...they KNOW their glaring holes, they have higher draft seedings to fill these holes, etc.

BTW-the Ravens will suffer from losing key guys next year...Ray Lewis' absense will be HUGE.