Shawshank Super Bowl

This year's Super Bowl looks a lot like the movie Shawshank Redemption.

In the film, Andy (Tim Robbins) is wrongfully imprisoned and sentenced to life. Kind of reminds you of how Kurt Warner was banished off to the baron wasteland of Arizona - like the NFL's version of Napolean Boneparte - after his career took a New York nosedive. Andy manages to break out, scheme the warden out of a bunch of money and live the rest of his life frolicking along the beach.

Well, I guess the resemblance hinges on the game's final score.

The Steelers, of course, are the Warden. Or if they win, the Nurse Ratched of the football field. They are a powerful, soulless group who, by the end of the game, you hate so much you'd like to take a page out of Tonya Harding's handbook on Big Ben.

The personality of the squad is about as vibrant as the jet black and dull gold they don. They are meaner than Joe Greene could have ever imagined and as unique as a Wal-Mart shopping cart. A manila folder would find their hand-off-40-times-and-never-let-anyone-else-score playing style boring.

What is strange is the Steelers are America's second favorite NFL team behind Dallas. Rod Woodson called it, "Steeler nation."

I've got a few guesses why, but first, here's not why: It isn't because of Troy's hair. It isn't those obnoxious towels, which would do more good waxing Dan Rooney's head than they do in the stands. And it isn't that they have a group of upstanding citizens, is it Santonio?

It is because they have won the most Super Bowls and because they have made the playoffs 12 of the last 16 years. Everybody loves a winner, I guess, but where is the excitement in a team who does nothing but win? By the mid-50's, was anyone really cheering for the mechanical Yankees to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers?

Ever heard the cliche, "You can't truly appreciate a sunny day if you've never seen rain?" You can almost hear 'Steeler Nation' now: "Hey, we won again...uhh...cool....I guess." Where is the emotion in that? Where is the drama or the storyline to a team who wins all the time. With the NFL's strongest roster and best coaching staff, they've had less leaps and bounds than a parking lot.

It's hard to imagine not enjoying victory for those who have endlessly battled to achieve. Think Olympic Speed Skater Dan Janson. Or how about Tony Dungy? Even Los Angeles Laker fans had a tear welling up last NBA season when Kevin Garnett won his first NBA championship after 12 years of being blasted for never winning.

The Arizona Cardinals have been around since 1920 and only made the playoffs 7 times and the Super Bowl once. How hard do you have to clench your teeth to say, "That Ben, he's been through so much, going to two Super Bowls in four years and all."

Imagine if Arizona won. Kurt Warner would do a Dick Vermeil, Adrian Wilson would be vindicated for sticking it out through the Dennis Green era and the Arizona fans and owner Bill Bidwell would finally get to know what joy feels like. A nation of sports fans could experience a feeling similar to when the Warden discovers Andy's tunnel.

The Cardinals play with the same kind of passionate naivety that made the '69 Mets special. They go for the big play, lay out at all costs, they yell and scream and smile and hug on the sideline, they are fun, and like a great protagonist in film, they make you care. After winning the NFC championship game, Ponce de Leon a.k.a. Kurt Warner and Adrian Wilson both were in tears and who (outside of Phili) wasn't smiling?

If you only care about making yourself feel important because you are the fan of a team who always wins, then the Steelers are for you. Order the guard to shoot the guy and give the lobotomy, heck gun down Ole' Yeller while your at it.