Howard David Howard David Blog January 25, 2009 Al Michael's notoriety began when he uttered the famous phrase, "DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?" in the 1980 Winter Olympic Games to describe the improbable US hockey team's gold medal victory. Al is doing the telecast for NBC this year with John Madden. Should the Arizona Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, will he dust off the phrase of 29 years ago and say the same thing? Football fans around the country are convinced the Steelers will win and become the first franchise to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy for a sixth time, and the Cardinals don't need to bother to show up. One person, among many, doesn't believe that, and his name is Ken Whisenhunt, the head coach of the Cardinals. You can also throw in the 53 men on the Arizona roster, their coaching staff and everyone else associated with the team. You might also ask the Atlanta Falcons what they think; the Carolina Panthers and the Philadelphia Eagles, as well. They all three fell to the nomads from the desert. I mean, after all, why would anyone take them seriously? They clinched the NFC West with a 9-7 record by TWO full games over such powerhouses as the 49ers, Seahawks and Rams with three weeks left in the regular season. They lost at home in Week 15 to Minnesota by three touchdowns and followed up that gem by getting blown out in the snow by New England, 47-7. A meaningless win at home to Seattle on the final Sunday by 13 points didn't impress anyone, but they got to host a playoff game for the first time since 1947, coincidently the only year they won NFL championship. All together the Cardinals only played seven playoff games in their history before this year, and their only other playoff win was January 2, 1999, when they shocked the Dallas Cowboys in “Big D,” 20-7, behind Jake "the Snake" Plummer who threw more interceptions that season than touchdowns. So the fun began when they beat Atlanta, 30-24, and held the second-leading rushing squad in check, limiting Michael Turner, the NFL's second-leading rusher to 42 yards. They stunned Carolina next on the road, forcing five turnovers, and people still didn't believe. Another home playoff game against the blitz-happy Philadelphia Eagles, and the Cardinals were underdogs in NFC Championship game. The Arizona fans were furious that their beloved Cardinals weren't favorites in their own building for the NFC title! This was motivation for Whisenhunt and his team! The Cardinals raced out to a 24-6 lead as Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald took the Eagles apart, with Fitzgerald catching three TDs by halftime. Donovan McNabb led the Eagles back in the second and took a 25-24 lead. You knew what people were saying: "See, I told you the Arizona Cardinals were flukes." Sound the buzzer here! No, they weren't! Warner led the Cardinals on a 14-play, 72-yard march and all they needed was a field goal to retake the lead. Offensive coordinator Todd Haley calls a screen pass from the 8-yard line to Tim Hightower for the win, 32-25, over an Eagles defense that had given up an average of 12 ppg in their last six contests. Warner was sacked twice and hit 10 times, but he continued to get up. Now the Cardinals face the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are looking to set the bar higher as it relates to Super Bowl wins. The original Cardinals franchise was purchased for $50,000 in 1932. You might not be able to buy 10 seats at this year's Super Bowl for that. I'm not a gambling man, but if I were, I would think twice about betting against the Arizona Cardinals this year. If you would like to comment on this blog, please email Howard David at howarddavidh3@yahoo.com. Howard David is a veteran NFL and NBA play-by-play announcer. He can be heard on Sirius NFL Radio channel 124. This blog is written exclusively for ussportspages.com Archives: January 18, 2009 January 25, 2009