Cardinals mascot “Big Red” sends a message

The world (well, except for Buck and Jon) will watch as the Arizona Cardinals, who have never been to a Super Bowl, try to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have won the big game five times. The winners will take home gold and diamond rings, along with bragging rights that last right up until their next big loss.

But even though the Cardinals would like to show the world once and for all that they are a real football team by actually winning the Super Bowl, not just finally playing in one, there’s another reason they want to prevail: the team that wins Super Bowl 43 will have a chance to meet President 44.

“History has been made with Obama,” Arizona receiver [Steve Breaston] said. “I would be ecstatic if we could be the first team to go in and shake his hand.”

A day after the Steelers won the AFC championship and the Cardinals added to their surprising playoff run by claiming the NFC title, Obama took the oath of office in the nation’s capital. In central Florida, Arizona defensive end Bertrand Berry was filming a promotional spot with his daughter, but he took time off to watch history unfold.

“It was really emotional for me,” Berry said. “I don’t believe I stopped crying the whole time.”

You would think the team from John McCain’s adopted home state would be a little bitter toward his rival. But who besides Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter would stoop that low? In fact, the same opportunity to meet the president is motivating Pittsburgh.

“That would be very special,” Steelers linebacker James Farrier said Wednesday. “Everybody is excited about our new president. Being the first African-American president, it’s a great time in our country. We definitely want to be the first team to go meet him after the Super Bowl. That would be one of the highlights of being in the Super Bowl and winning the Super Bowl.”