All that stands between the Pittsburgh Steelers and an unprecedented sixth Super Bowl title is an odds-defying Arizona Cardinals squad trying to end a 61-season title drought. The Cardinals and Steelers booked a date in the National Football League's Feb. 1 championship spectacle at Tampa, Florida, with emotional victories Sunday in conference finals. Kurt Warner threw four touchdown passes, three to Larry Fitzgerald, and Arizona held off a late rally to defeat Philadelphia 32-25 for the National Conference title, giving the Cardinals their first Super Bowl berth. Troy Polamalu returned an interception 40 yards for a Pittsburgh touchdown with 4:24 remaining and the Steelers' top-rated NFL defense forced two later Baltimore turnovers in a 23-14 triumph for the American Conference crown. “We're a selfless group. We're an opportunistic group. We will get in the lab and give our fans something to be happy about,” said Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, the youngest coach in Super Bowl history at age 36. The Cardinals, who won their only NFL crown in 1947 when based in Chicago, have the second-longest title drought in North American pro sports, eclipsed only by the 100-season gap since baseball's Chicago Cubs won the World Series. A Cardinals team that won only two playoff games in its history won three in the past three weeks to reach the Super Bowl. Nearly 18 million spectators in three home cities have watched 1,203 Cardinals players since the team has won a title. The Cardinals, who moved to St. Louis in 1960 and Arizona in 1988, had not made the playoffs since 1998. With Barack Obama's inauguration Tuesday, the Cardinals' futility span will include parts of the terms of 12 US Presidents. Pittsburgh won back-to-back Super Bowl crowns in 1975 and 1976 as well as 1979 and 1980 plus another in 2006. Now Ben Roethlisberger seeks his second title in four seasons. “I'm really proud of this band of brothers,” said Steelers quarterback Roethlisberger, who threw a 65-yard touchdown to Santonio Holmes for the only offensive touchdown Pittsburgh needed to advance. Willis McGahee, who ran for two Ravens touchdowns, was taken off the field on a stretcher after taking a heavy hit late. Ravens officials said he had significant neck pain but was talking and had movement in his arms and legs. Warner, 37, will be the third-oldest quarterback to play in the Super Bowl. He won a Super Bowl title with the St. Louis Rams in 2000 and lost with them to New England in 2002. The Cardinals led 24-6 at half-time on Warner touchdown tosses of one, nine and 62 yards to Fitzgerald, who was not content to simply book a trip to the Super Bowl. Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb led the Eagles back, tossing touchdown passes of six and 31 yards to Brent Celek and 62 yards to rookie DeSean Jackson to give the Eagles their first lead at 25
