The Pittsburgh Steelers have signified success in the Super Bowl era with their stable ownership, brilliant coaching and throwback style. A victory on Sunday will give them a record sixth Super Bowl title, and they are big favorites against the surprising Arizona Cardinals. The Steelers won the Super Bowl in 1974, ‘75, ‘78, ‘79 and 2005, tied for the most with Dallas and San Francisco. “Legacies are something you kind of worry about after the season,” Steelers All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu said. By contrast, the Cardinals - a team which has signified dysfunction for decades - are in the Super Bowl for the first time. Since moving to Arizona in 1988, they've had only two winning seasons. In 1997, they beat Dallas for the team's second playoff victory ever. The other came in the 1947 NFL championship game, and the Cardinals didn't even host a playoff contest again until this month. “It's exciting to be a part of watching this organization go somewhere that they haven't gone before,” Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner said. “That's stuff that you can't replace with anything else.” The Cardinals beat Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia, all as underdogs, to surpass their all-time playoff victory total - and shockingly get into the Super Bowl. A wonderful story, with only one acceptable ending for the Cardinals. “Nobody remembers the Super Bowl loser,” defensive tackle Darnell Dockett said. “I don't believe in losing. “We are definitely the underdogs. We all play with the underdog mentality. Once we got in the playoffs and we realized we're going to be the underdogs no matter what or who we played, we thought we would shock the world. “One more step.” The Steelers are trying to live up to a tradition of excellence established by the Chuck Noll-coached 1970s teams nicknamed the “Steel Curtain” and carried on through the Bill Cowher years. Their current coach, Mike Tomlin, has been in the job for only two years and has few ties to Noll or Cowher. Pittsburgh has the league's best defense. The Steelers allowed the fewest points (223) and ranked first in nearly every defensive category, led by defensive player of the year James Harrison and James Farrior at linebacker, and Polamalu in the secondary. The Cardinals' lack of playoff pedigree hasn't hurt them so far, but they haven't faced anything like the Steelers' defense. “I think the biggest thing about the Steelers that you're concerned with, especially from a defensive standpoint, is just all the different looks that they give you,” said Warner, whose reclamation story - from two-time league MVP and 2000 Super Bowl champion to backup to star quarterback - is unique for the Cardinals. “They're going to throw things at us that we've never seen before with all their playmakers and all the different guys they can move around. Our recognition of what they're doing, where they're coming from, who we're blocking, who are the free guys, I think that's going to be a huge key come Sunday evening on how much success we have.” Warner has plenty of offensive support. All-Pro receiver Larry Fitzgerald already has a playoff-record 419 yards receiving and five touchdowns. If Warner gets time, he and Fitzgerald could swing matters in Arizona's favor. The Cardinals coach is Ken Whisenhunt, who was the offensive coordinator for the Steelers during their last Super Bowl run. He was passed over for Tomlin two years ago, making for yet another juicy storyline. “I'm sure coach will have some insight into what we do,” said Ben Roethlisberger, who was the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl when he led Pittsburgh past Seattle.
