In the same year that America elected its first black president, the Arizona Cardinals will compete in their first Super Bowl in franchise history. It’s that kind of year.

John McCain may not be President, but he gets the consolation prize of rooting for his Cardinals in the big game. He and Barack Obama will (indirectly) duke it out again on Feb. 1.

Obama, who was endorsed by legendary Pittsburgh Steelers’ chairman Dan Rooney during the presidential campaign, is a Chicago Bears fan but told Rooney that he and his staff will be pulling for the Steelers.

The Steelers and Cardinals are two vastly different teams, but there is some familiarity between the two sides. Cardinals Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt won a ring with Pittsburgh in 2005 as the team’s offensive coordinator. Former Pro Bowl guard Russ Grimm served as the assistant head coach/offensive line coach of the ‘05 Steelers and now serves in the same capacity in Arizona.

The Steelers are looking to win their sixth title, but the seven point underdog Cardinals are the truly compelling story.

At 37, Kurt Warner will be the second quarterback to start in a Super Bowl with two different teams, the first of which was the St. Louis Rams. He set the Super Bowl passing record with 414 yards in a victory over the Tennessee Titans in the 1999 season and was crowned the Super Bowl MVP.

Wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who last week become the first player to catch three touchdowns in one half during the postseason, has already broken Jerry Rice’s single postseason receiving record with 419 yards.

Jacksonville Jaguars sportswriter Vic Ketchman, a veteran sports journalist not known to heap praise, writes about Fitzgerald’s ability: “He may be the best receiver I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen anyone look more natural at catching the ball, more fluid in running through the passing lanes, more athletic in adjusting to the ball and more instinctive in how he presents himself to the quarterback.”

Larry Fitzgerald, Sr., who has covered the Super Bowl as a sportswriter for the Minnesota Spokesman- Recorder since 1981, will be watching his son from the press box in Tampa, FL.

You have to love the quote the elder Fitzgerald gave ESPN The Magazine’s Rick Reilly:

“I always had this dream that Larry would play in a Super Bowl,” he says, “but never, ever did I think we’d have a black president.”