Watercooler Blog

Arizona Cardinals fans were late to join the playoff party, but they certainly have a lot to celebrate now.  Defying the laws of science, nature, and any other force out there, the Cardinals have made their way to their first Super Bowl.  As a friend of mine said on his Facebook status today: Sandy is thinking with the Devil Rays in the World Series and the Cardinals in the Super Bowl, we should all watch out for flying pigs. I couldn’t have said it better myself.  If the Atlanta Hawks make the NBA finals, we should all be running for cover.

That said, the matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals is actually pretty interesting both on and off the field.  You won’t find two more contrasting styles with the Steelers led by their rock-solid defense and the Cardinals led by their quick-strike passing offense.  I think the Cardinals will be able to get their points, so the real matchup is probably on the other side with the Cardinals attempting to match up with the Pittsburgh offense which can be very good.

Off the field, the teams are equally different with the Steelers implanted as one of the top sports team brands in the US.  Additionally, Pittsburgh is led by a tradition-rich fan base cheering for their sixth Super Bowl title while the Cardinals have been the NFL equivalent of the one night stand with stays in Chicago and St. Louis before moving to Phoenix in 1988.  And while the Cardinals have never been to the Super Bowl, the interesting thing is that they were actually founded in 1920 as one of the original NFL teams.  That said, most people wouldn’t confuse Cardinals fans with the Terrible Towel waving crazies that attend Steelers games.

So as both groups of fans prepare to face off in Super Bowl XLIII, let’s take a look at how they stack up in the FanSection community.

• Total Members - From a raw numbers perspective, there’s no contest as the total fans in the Steerlers application dwarf those in the Cardinals 374,727 to 31,888.  Point Steelers.
• Super Bowl Hype - Pittsburgh fans have sent over 30,000 Super Bowl waves to friends while Arizona fans have only sent 4,000.  But on a pound for pound basis, Cardinals fans have more hype with a ratio of .12 to .08.  Point Cardinals.
• Fan Rankings Points - Pittsburgh fans have 1.2 million fan points from sending all sorts of waves while Arizona fans have 327K points.  Again though, Cardinals fans far out-distance their counterparts on a pound for pound basis with a ratio of 9.9 vs 3.2.  Point Cardinals.
• Fan Blogs - Both groups of fans have some great fan blogs in their corner.  Here’s one for the Cardinals as well as one for the Steelers.  Draw
• Fan Creativity - In the Biggest Fan Photo Contest, Cardinals and Steelers fans voted for the following photos as their favorites in their community.  Nice try Arizona fans. Point Steelers.

So far it’s too close to call one way or the other as fans of both teams appear to be rallying around the cause.  I have to give a small nod to the Steelers since their superior numbers are simply too large to ignore.  I’ll be following the action in the FanSection community over the next several weeks, and will provide updates accordingly.