Super Bowl XLIII

We are mere hours away from what is arguably the best sporting event of the year. Each year the Super Bowl is an excuse to get drunk on a Sunday and swear at the TV with your friends.

This year, both teams playing off for the Lombardi Trophy come as a bit of a surprise.

Arizona Cardinals v.s. Pittsburgh Steelers
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For the past two weeks, I have done my fair share of research on Super Bowl XLIII, trying to determine who might win. One of the best resources, and I recommend you check it out if you haven't already, is ESPN's Football Today Podcast. You can download the Podcast for free by clicking on that last link. I download the podcast every day and listen to it on my way home from work, and it is absolutely the best way to get run-downs on games all through the regular season and the playoffs.

The Vegas odds are going to close where they opened - the Steelers are 7 point favorites, and the Over/Under is set at 46.5 points.

I have stated all along that the winner of the AFC Championship Game (between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers) would go on to win the Super Bowl. So my bold prediction is the Pittsburgh Steelers to win Super Bowl XLIII.

I could post hundreds of small tidbits of information that lead me to believe that Pittsburgh will win.....but they are irrelevant because I predicted Pittsburgh would win even before I knew who they were playing. There is ONE THING that stands out as to why Pittsburgh will win, and it's something that you have heard a thousand times.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS.

Who honestly thought that the Giants would beat the Patriots heading into Super Bowl XLII last year? Sure, you may have hoped for the Giants....you may have even thought that they would keep it close. But after rolling through the regular season with an NFL first PERFECT 16-0 regular season, plus winning two tough playoff games, who really believed that the Patriots could be beat? But the Giants defense got pressure on Tom Brady and made him rush his throws - before stud receivers Randy Moss & Wes Welker were ready - and the Giants were able to keep it close enough that they gave Eli a chance to win it in the end - and he pulled it off.

While the 2008 Cardinals are really not even in the same league as the 2007 Patriots (in terms of offensive production), the teams are similar. They are pass-first teams with suspect running games that put a pile of points on the board. The Steelers defense is going to need to come to play....but don't they always?

Two awesome links for you to check out before the big game later today:

-ESPN's Madden 09 Super Bowl XLIII simulation
-ESPN's Super Bowl Intel Report

With everything i've said above......i'm still cheering for the Cardinals. Being a Browns fan, it is impossible for me to bring myself to cheer for our rival Steelers. So although it may be in vain, i'm going to be rooting for Warner, Fitzgerald, Boldin and all the other redbirds in the hope that they can pull out the upset.

Enjoy the game everyone, it should be a good one!