Super Bowl History in the Making

Super Bowl XLIII will feature a matchup of two franchises on different ends of the Super Bowl history spectrum, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals.

Take a look at the chart on the left, detailing the NFL's 32 teams and 42-year Super Bowl history leading up to this season. Either team will make history with a win.

The Steelers, playing in their seventh Super Bowl and second in four years, can break a tie with Dallas and San Francisco to become the first team to win six Super Bowls.

On the flipside, the Cardinals are appearing in the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history, leaving just five teams without a Super Bowl appearance.

The Cardinals will attempt to become the 18th NFL franchise to win the Vince Lombardi trophy. The Steelers will attempt to become the first franchise to have enough rings to start loading up a second hand.

The smashmouth tradition of the Steelers against the high-octane offense, nobody-believed-in-us Cardinals. It's Super Bowl XLIII, and it's 13 days away, so expect plenty of hype, stories, analysis and predictions between now and kickoff on Feb. 1.

Calling all bandwagons! Calling all bandwagons! Last call!

If you’re a bandwagon fan (you know who you are), now’s your last chance to make a choice. But choose wisely. You don’t want to choose to suddenly become a “longtime supporter” of one of the four remaining NFL teams only to see them stumble one game short of the Super Bowl.

If you wait until the Super Bowl, you miss out on the two-week hype-fest. If you wait until after the Super Bowl, well, that’s just pathetic. To be a bandwagon fan, you’re OK with sacrificing a lot of your loyalty and self-respect, but if you care to salvage whatever bit you have left, you have to make a choice now. So, which bandwagon should you latch on to? Here’s my guide for you, the lowly bandwagon fan. (2007 Patriots AFC Championship shirts sold separately.)

Pittsburgh Steelers
I live in Pennsylvania, so I know all about the Keystone state’s bandwagon fans. And boy do they love the Steelers, especially when they’re winning. Just let them tell you about their love of the Steelers. Or don’t ask. They’ll probably tell you anyway.

Does the prospect of cheering for someone named Big Ben excite you? If you can’t spell his last name, that’s OK. If you don’t know what college he played at, hear someone say “Miami,” and think it’d be cool to cheer for someone from The U, then Big Ben and the Steelers are a perfect bandwagon pick.

Want to cheer for someone because of their long-flowing mane? You’ve got Troy Poly-pola…oh well, you can just call all your players by their first names! Ben, Troy, Willie. Yeah, it’s like you’re all buddies hanging out together.

Plus, you play in a field named after a ketchup company. That has to whet your appetite as a bandwagon fan. And guess what? You have a receiver named Hines, too! OK, so it’s spelled differently and there’s really no correlation whatsoever, but Hines at Heinz sounds cool! Maybe you should buy his jersey at Wal-Mart!

Philadelphia Eagles
The team from the eastern part of the state is not quite as popular where I live, but do they ever have a bandwagon buy-in for you?! Beards. Playoff beards are the craze in Philadelphia. So join in the fun and stop shaving. Or, if you’re like me and unable to grow a beard on command, buy a fake beard.

Get a Santa Claus beard while you’re at it. Wait, scratch that idea. The Eagles fans once booed Santa Claus—even though their current coach is resembling him more and more by the day. But a regular beard will make you as much a part of the team as caveman Kevin Curtis. If you’ve never heard of Kevin Curtis, you’re a perfect candidate to hop aboard the Eagles bandwagon.

For what it’s worth, they’re being labeled as “this year’s Giants,” the team that won the Super Bowl last year. Of course, they could also face the fate of this year’s Giants and lose an upset to an unsuspecting bird of prey.

Arizona Cardinals
Well, I actually don’t know if the Cardinals are birds of prey. But they’re birds of pray(er) led by the religious and revived ageless Kurt Warner. You may even have hopped on his bandwagon before with the 1999 St. Louis Rams.

I’ve maintained for years now that the Cardinals have the smallest national following. As recently as a few months ago, I was asking my brother if he knew a single Cardinals fan. Neither one of us could do so. It may be the only team that I don’t know a single fan of.

Be a part of history and join the Cardinals bandwagon. Plenty of good seats are still available. As an added bonus, they’re the only team left playing in a warm-weather city. So, if you really want to go all-out as a bandwagon and move to follow them, at least you’ll be living in the warmth of Phoenix when they sink back into NFL obscurity.

Baltimore Ravens
If you have any Cleveland Browns fans as friends, I advise you to stay away from this bandwagon choice. The prospect of the Ravens winning a second Super Bowl before the Browns ever play in one is painful even for me, a diehard Raiders fan.

But if you don’t have any Cleveland tie-ins, you may want to invest in becoming a Ravens fan. Whether you’re a fan of Edgar Allen Poe, the color purple or uninventive offense, the Ravens have you covered.

The Ravens are great for bandwagon fans because you’re not supposed to know the names of their offensive players. They’re just there to keep the field warm for the defense. And since bandwagon fans are already a demographic that is not looked upon fondly by diehards around the league, you’ll have no problem becoming the instant rival of two fanbases—Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

Bandwagon fans of the NFL, the options are there for the taking. As for me, you may have already heard my picks on the podcast earlier this week. If not, here’s who I’m taking in the championship games

Pittsburgh over Baltimore
Philadelphia over Arizona

Yes, I’m forecasting an all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl. But don’t worry, you won’t find me riding either one of those bandwagons. Nope, I’m staying out of it and just hoping for close, competitive games the rest of the way.

(OK, and maybe nudging the Cardinals bandwagon just a bit to keep it’s unlikely wheels a-turnin’.

Matt's 2009 NFL Playoff Predictions Tally
LAST WEEK: 2-2
Overall: 5-3

AFC West You Pick It Response

You know the drill by now. Bill Williamson has a "You pick it" question on his AFC West blog each week. More often than not, I write in with my response and, fortuntaely, Williamson often posts my remarks. This week, I opted to chime in on the Chargers seeing their season come to an end.

Reviewing Lakers-Spurs from 1/14/09

A moral victory. A good loss. Generally, I don’t buy into those ideas. But I really don’t know how else to classify this game. The Lakers were playing the second game of a back-to-back Texas-double-dip in San Antonio. It was the Spurs’ first game against the hated Lakers since L.A. knocked them out of the Western Conference Finals last year. And the Lakers were suiting up without Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Luke Walton. Plus, the Lakers had upcoming showcase games against Orlando and Cleveland.

All the ingredients were in place for a blowout. But Kobe Bryant and company had other ideas.

After falling behind by 11 points in the fourth quarter, Bryant spearheaded a comeback effort that saw the Lakers take the lead. Josh Powell—this year’s Ronny Turiaf—even contributed in a big way, nailing three fourth quarter jumpers when Bryant was double-teamed on the pick ‘n roll.

Then, after Tim Duncan scored on a ridiculous flip shot to give the Spurs a one-point advantage, Kobe drained what appeared to be a dagger three, prompting him to break out the Sam Cassell testicle dance. Unreal.

There was still time on the clock, however. The Spurs found Roger Mason Jr. in the corner when Derek Fisher unsuccessfully gambled for a steal. Mason hit the shot and caught the body of an out-of-position Fisher, to earn a bonus free throw that put San Antonio up by one.

The Lakers brought the ball up for a final possession with 10 seconds remaining. Kobe was again double-teamed and passed to Trevor Ariza at the top of the key. As he drove, he was bumped by Manu Ginobli, who was trying to rotate to take a charge. The bump affected Ariza’s footing and he was called for a travel, effectively ending the game and securing a 112-111 win for San Antonio.

It was incredibly frustrating to watch the final play sequences as a Lakers fan, but I came away form this game feeling more encouraged than disappointed. Their were plenty of plays that, had they gone the other way, would have won the game for the Lakers, including a silly foul by Ariza at the end of the first quarter and a buzzer-beating three from Ginobli to end the third.

It was a big win for the Spurs, no doubt. But the Lakers have plenty to feel good about, too:

• Kobe Bryant is playing the game better than ever.
  He’s not the athlete he was when he teamed with Shaq to win three titles, but this Kobe is better. He’s still a world-class athlete, but he’s also mastered the subtleties of the game in a way no one since Jordan has. He knows how to pick his spots offensively. He knows how to get his teammates involved and make them better. And he is a tireless, ferocious defender with infectious tenacity.
  
  
• Their depth is a blessing.
  The good news about all the Lakers injuries is that they have such a capable bench. They essentially played the Spurs with just two guards—Bryant and Fisher. The versatility of players like Ariza and Lamar Odom allows them to adapt as well as any team in the NBA. This game also had to boost the confidence of Josh Powell, the new guy in the Lakers locker room this season. He’ll surely be called upon at some point in May or June, and this game will be one that gives him confidence to play those big minutes.
  
  
• Bynum is progressing.
  He’s not Dwight Howard, but he’s not Greg Oden either. Bynum is coming back from last year’s injury-shortened season, and he’s making a difference. He went toe-to-toe with Tim Duncan for parts of this game, and the young fella held his own. He could have done more on the boards, but his defense definitely seemed to bother Duncan.
  
  
• They showed some heart.
  With everything stacked against them, it would have been easy for the Lakers to have mailed this one in after they fell behind in the fourth quarter with both Bryant and Pau Gasol on the bench. Instead, they mounted an impressive comeback with textbook offensive execution and some timely stops on defense. That sort of fourth quarter execution sans the final two plays is what will win games in the playoffs.

I cannot say with absolute certainty that the Lakers are the best team in the league, but they are in the conversation. I do believe they have the most talented roster. And if they’re able to give this effort in the playoffs, watch out.

At full strength, it’s hard to imagine them not winning this game. So, congratulations to the Spurs for winning what I would call the most entertaining game of the NBA season so far. Getting Fisher on the losing-end of a close call in San Antonio was probably poetic justice. But the Spurs are still chasing the Lakers in the standings, and I like L.A.’s chances of remaining the best in the West this season.

AFC West Sound Off Response

With the Chargers’ loss on Sunday, the season is over for the AFC West. But Bill Williamson’s AFC West blog forges ahead. As always, Bill had a “Sound Off” question of the week. This time he asked if the Denver Broncos made the right hire by naming Josh McDaniels head coach. To read my thoughts and the responses of others, check out the full post on ESPN.com.

Finally, Something Good Comes From the BCS

This year's college football season got off to a bad start for me when Michigan lost its home opener to Utah. Of course, I had no idea back then that Utah would finish the season undefeated and Michigan would win just three games. Fortunately for me, there was a good ending to the season, in part thanks to Utah.

In Erie Times-News columnist Duane Rankin's BCS challenge, I correctly predicted Utah would defeat Alabama. I also picked USC, Texas, Virginia Tech and Florida to give me a 5-0 mark and the win.

Rankin wrote a column about my "historic" undefeated run through the BCS, which ran today in the sports section of the Erie Times-News and on goerie.com.

Here's some of what Rankin wrote:

Matt Hubert made history.

He's the first to go 5-0 in my Bowl Championship Series bowl contest.

Considering he's a Michigan fan, this was likely the best news he had all college football season, but you have to give the 24-year-old Erie resident credit.

Out of the 35 contest entrants, Hubert and Jeff Taylor, 49, of Millcreek Township, entered the BCS title game with 4-0 records.

Hubert picked Florida. Taylor went with Oklahoma.

Florida won 24-14.

Taylor figured Oklahoma was done when it failed to score twice from the goal line in the first half.

As for Hubert, Tim Tebow is why he picked the Gators.

Hubert should send Tebow a thank-you card. The Florida junior quarterback threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another 109 yards.

So for making history, Hubert won a Michigan T-shirt, a calendar that plays the school's fight song and a 2007 Michigan-Penn State game program from when the Wolverines beat the Nittany Lions in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Congratulations, Matt.

Thanks, Duane. Now I'm just hoping Michigan can get back to its winning ways in '09 so my bowl-picking success isn't the highlight of another college football season.

Podcast 1/13/09

This week, Matt & Mike discuss the Baseball Hall of Fame, the struggles of the Tar Heels and Celtics, and the AFC and NFC Championship games. Plus, they feel bad for the Browns fans (well, one of them does).

Listen using the Podcast Player on the MattHubert.com home page, iTunes, or click to download here.