Cincinnati Bengals passer Joe Burrow carries with him a fond memory of the Arizona Cardinals appearance in Super Bowl XLIII.
Roughly 13 years have passed since the Arizona Cardinals made their first and only attempt at a Super Bowl championship. It was a memorable day, to say the least, for both the organization and its legion of followers who have always remained loyal to the team.
Apparently, Cardinals fans are not the only ones who were impacted by the squad’s 27-23 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers back in 2009. Joe Burrow, the starting quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals, also carries with him a vivid memory of that scintillating game. The 25-year-old, who will lead the Bengals against the Los Angeles Rams on Super Bowl Sunday, was asked if there was an NFL title game from his childhood that stands out in his mind.
"“The one that I really remember was when the Cardinals were playing the Steelers, and Big Ben [Roethlisberger] made that amazing throw on the back pylon.”"
Arizona enthusiasts would like to forget that last part of Burrow’s description, the touchdown pass to wide receiver Santonio Holmes that resulted in a Pittsburgh victory. Nevertheless, it’s kind of neat that Cincinnati’s young signal-caller would name the only Super Bowl that the Cards appeared in as the one he recalls so fondly.
Joe Burrow wanted the Arizona Cardinals to prevail in Super Bowl XLIII
Burrow and his family were rooting for the Cardinals to defeat the Steelers on that February Sunday. The Bengals superstar, who was only 12-years-old at the time, gave the reason for the Burrow household’s allegiance to the team from the desert.
"“Kurt Warner was always a family friend. My dad was actually on the Iowa Barnstormers’ [Indoor Football League] staff when Kurt was their quarterback. My family’s known Kurt for a long time, so we were cheering for Kurt in that situation.”"
The 6-foot-4, 221-pound Burrow was drafted with the first-overall pick of the 2020 NFL draft. Exactly one year earlier, Arizona acquired Kyler Murray with the number-one overall selection in 2019. Imagine the fantastic shape that the Cards would currently be in if they had the outstanding Burrow running the offense instead of the diminutive and limited Murray.
Being one year too early on landing a premier pocket passer (the style of quarterback that wins championships) is just another glowing example of the Cardinals’ rotten luck. For now, the best we can hope for is that Burrow and the Bengals beat the pants off those despicable Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI.