The Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals will battle for football supremacy in Super Bowl XLIII on February 1.

Once the conference finals concluded, it came down to a legendary AFC franchise (Pittsburgh Steelers) and a vagabond organization from the NFC which has passed through three cities over the couses of its history: Chicago, St. Louis and Phoenix.

Plots, plots, plots. Always looking for storylines and plots during the Super Bowl.

While I’m sure there are many sub-plots here are “main” ones (plus some ethereal questions and statistics) to consider:

-The average QB pass completion rating in the playoffs since 2000 is 60%. However, in three Super Bowl finals (2000, 2002, 2005) the average was 48%. Roethlisberger himself completed 43% of his passes in 2006 on his way to his first title. Warner hit 64% in 2000 while earning a championship. I’m not sure where I’m going with this but I will say you can win without bombing away with the pass. Question: which team has a better shot if their QB doesn’t carry them?

-The last time the Cardinals won an NFL title was in 1947 when they were in Chicago.

- Super Bowl XVIII will pit two Quarterbacks who have won a Super Bowl. Ben Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a title in 2006 while Kurt Warner led the St. Louis Rams to victory in 2000.The last time that happened was in 1984 when Joe Theisman’s Washington Redskins beat Jim Plunkett and the Oakland Raiders.

-By now, cats already well-versed in football literature are familiar with the Kurt Warner story. When he signed on with the St. Louis Rams way back when he didn’t know at the time his career came with a built-in novel and movie script. From Bags’N Rags to Bowl Bash N’ Cash.

A forgotten passing relic, despite winning a Super Bowl, his career spiraled into obscurity (largely because of injuries) before joining the Cardinals as a back up to rookie QB Matt Leinart. When Leinart fumbled and stumbled at the start of the season, Warner was there to carry the Cardinals.

So yeah, Warner is a good story. A feel good story for an all-round good guy.

-The Steelers have reached the Super Bowl for the seventh time and are in a position to become the first NFL team to win six Super Bowls. Pittsburgh, Dallas and San Francisco each have five titles.

-Ken Wisenhunt and Russ Grimm used to be assistants in Pittsburgh. Present Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is 36 years old. Makes me wonder what I’m doing with my life.

- Many eyes, bespeckled or not, will be on Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau to see what he comes up with to deal with Warner/Fitzgerald/Boldin.

-Will the officials decide the outcome of this game?

- Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are performing at the Halftime show. What are the odds they play songs from Nebraska?

And so the Super Bowl hype machine continues. Next to college sports in the United States, the Super Bowl is a fascinating glimpse into American sports culture. It’s so deeply entrenched in the minds of people and fans, I remember reading how Hunter S. Thompson was dreading meeting President Richard Nixon; a man he loathed. To his surprise, he shared a common passion with the President: football.

When two people as different as Nixon and Thompson can find common ground with football what more proof do you want about its place in American sports culture?