Chapter 449: Divisional Arch-rivals

The first Super Bowl was held in 1967, marking the beginning of the NFL’s Super Bowl era and a period of rapid advancement in business and marketing. However, as of this year, only forty-four Super Bowls have been held. Compared to older football leagues, its history seems to pale in comparison.

In fact, the history of the football league can be traced back to 1920, spanning a full ninety-one years. Throughout this long history, it has witnessed countless triumphs and tribulations while also fostering innumerable rivalries and feuds. When people mention the oldest team in the Alliance, the Green Bay Packers are always the first name that comes to mind.

Founded in 1919, the Green Bay Packers are not only one of the original founding members of the current Alliance, but their legendary coach, Vince Lombardi, also made history time and again—

In the Packers’ history, they have won a total of thirteen championships: nine before the Super Bowl era and four after. Lombardi alone led the team to five of those victories.

After Lombardi passed away in 1970, the merged Alliance decided to name the Super Bowl trophy in his honor.

The Super Bowl trophy, full name: the Vince Lombardi Cup.

Undoubtedly, the Green Bay Packers are one of the oldest teams in Alliance history. However, only the most die-hard fans know that the Packers are merely the third-oldest team in the Alliance, with the Chicago Bears being the second.

It is no exaggeration to say that the feud between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers, both in the same division, has spanned an entire century. This has made the two teams the most storied divisional arch-rivals in the Alliance, bar none.

So, which team is the oldest?

The answer is the Arizona Cardinals. Founded in 1898, they are not only the oldest team in the Alliance but also one of its most ill-fated and nomadic representatives.

The team has witnessed nearly every turning point in the football Alliance’s history, constantly moving around, changing hands, and relocating multiple times. Throughout its history, it has been the Chicago Cardinals, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Phoenix Cardinals, before finally settling in Glendale, Arizona, in 1994 to become the team it is today.

In a league where fanbases are rooted in their cities, these repeated relocations caused the Cardinals’ die-hard following to gradually disappear over time. In terms of sheer numbers, their fanbase can’t compare to those of teams like the Packers and the Bears; they don’t even hold much of an advantage over newer teams like the Carolina Panthers.

What’s even more lamentable is that the Arizona Cardinals have never had a truly glorious era. The team’s greatest achievements were winning two league championships before the Super Bowl era, in 1925 and 1947. Since the Super Bowl era began, they have never won the title.

The Arizona Cardinals made it to the Super Bowl only once, in 2008, where they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers and their league-sweeping “Iron Curtain” defense. They could only watch as a maturing Ben Roethlisberger claimed the ultimate prize for the second time. The man who led the Cardinals to the Super Bowl that year was none other than “Cinderella” himself, Kurt Warner.

For the past twelve years, the Arizona Cardinals have been in a constant state of flux. Their peak was in 2008 and 2009, but they fell off sharply afterward. Last year, they scraped by with a five-win, eleven-loss record. Even in the weak National League West, they finished at the bottom, which landed them the fifth overall pick in the draft.

If the fluctuating fortunes of the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers chronicled the football Alliance’s steady march toward glory, then the turbulent history of the Arizona Cardinals chronicled the stumbles and growing pains of the Professional Alliance.

It sounds absurd, and a little sad, but as the oldest team in the Alliance’s history, the Arizona Cardinals can’t even point to a single, proper arch-rival.

Due to the team’s transient history, their divisional opponents were constantly changing. All their head-to-head histories, game records, and past glories were slowly lost to the river of time, forcing them to start over again and again.

It wasn’t until 2002, when the Arizona Cardinals joined the National League West, that they finally ended their nomadic existence and began to find their footing.

However, over the past eight years of divisional play, the spotlight has always been on the Seattle Seahawks. The rebuilt team won the division title for four consecutive years from 2004 to 2007. The St. Louis Rams took it in 2003, the Cardinals in 2008 and 2009, and in 2010, the top spot in the division returned to the Seahawks.

Within the division, the St. Louis Rams and the San Francisco 49ers were the true arch-rivals. The other intradivisional rivalries, built up over a mere eight years, were frankly insipid. The division’s overall competitiveness was so poor that the clashes between these floundering teams failed to generate much interest. It was hard to even work up a good sense of hatred.

After ending last year with a dismal five-win, eleven-loss record, the Arizona Cardinals still seemed to be struggling in the new season. They won their regular-season opener against the Carolina Panthers, getting off to a good start, but immediately followed it with a six-game losing streak, showing no signs of hope. Their recent form could only be described as dreadful.

However, over the past two weeks, the Cardinals have shown some signs of a resurgence. In Week 9, they beat the St. Louis Rams in overtime. In Week 10, they scraped by with a last-minute victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, securing a two-game winning streak. This brought their season record to three wins and six losses, but even with this momentum, their odds against this week’s opponent, the San Francisco 49ers, were slim.

At the start of the season, the Cardinals’ starting quarterback was a fifth-year player, Kevin Kolb. He entered the Alliance as the thirty-sixth pick in the second round of the 2007 draft. After spending four years with the Philadelphia Eagles, he joined the Cardinals during this year’s offseason to become their starting quarterback.

In the first game against the Panthers, Kolb played exceptionally well, throwing for two touchdowns with no interceptions for a quarterback rating of 130.0. He managed to defeat Cam Newton, who had just set a new rookie passing record. After that, however, Kolb’s performance was an unmitigated disaster. Plagued by his own mistakes and hampered by injuries, he was finally forced to give up his starting position in Week 9 due to injury.

His replacement was the second-year quarterback, John Skelton. A one hundred fifty-fifth pick in the fifth round of last year’s draft, Skelton threw touchdowns and interceptions with equal abandon, stumbling his way to leading the team to a two-game winning streak. And though his quarterback rating never broke eighty, at least the defense finally found its rhythm, and the offense finally showed some signs of life. The two-game streak may have been messy and full of stumbles, but a win is a win, and it finally halted their downward spiral.

Overall, the Arizona Cardinals were still floundering. Their performance this year was a slight improvement over last year, but the signs of a real turnaround weren’t obvious. By comparison, the San Francisco 49ers’ performance could be described as dominant and unstoppable, with their eight-and-one record as the best proof.

More importantly, a closer analysis of each game revealed their character: they were ruthless against weak teams and stood their ground against strong ones. The San Francisco 49ers were displaying all the hallmarks of a truly elite team.

Without a doubt, the San Francisco 49ers were the clear favorites heading into this matchup.

The only element of uncertainty was the team’s starting quarterback, Lu Ke. In the last game against the New York Giants, he had experienced some muscle spasms in his right throwing arm, which affected his play in the third quarter and indirectly led to a nail-biting finish in the fourth.

However, those worries were put to rest after the official media day on Wednesday. During an interview, Jim Hubble stated that there was nothing wrong with Lu Ke’s arm; it had just been a minor issue caused by overexertion, and a post-game massage had cleared it up completely. He added that the team had conducted further comprehensive checkups to ensure their starting quarterback was perfectly healthy.

Team doctor Walter Hudson reaffirmed this in his own interview, confirming the team had performed a detailed, comprehensive examination on Lu Ke and the results were definitely positive. In the next game, the undrafted rookie would continue to lead his team forward.

During the subsequent open practice, Lu Ke’s excellent passing performance put all the fans’ minds at ease. Not only was he uninjured, but he was also in top form. Coming off a five-game winning streak, the entire team was on the right track, appearing relaxed and confident about the upcoming game.

With that, the scales of victory tipped firmly in the San Francisco 49ers’ favor—a nearly unanimous opinion among all the experts.

During a taping of the show “Inside the Alliance,” nine analysts predicted a San Francisco 49ers victory. The sole exception was Charles Davis. He picked the Arizona Cardinals, reasoning that “the momentum from their two-game winning streak gives the Cardinals the ability to compete.”

However, no one called Charles out, nor did anyone actually believe him. After the recent “Across the Pacific” fiasco, everyone knew Charles and Lu Ke had bad blood. It was only natural for Charles to pick the Arizona Cardinals—the enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all.

The opinion held by analysts like Spencer Larson was the mainstream view across the Alliance: the San Francisco 49ers had demonstrated sufficient strength and potential, making a victory over the Arizona Cardinals highly likely.

The Las Vegas betting odds were the most direct proof. The odds for a San Francisco 49ers victory were just 1.1, while the odds for an Arizona Cardinals victory were 4.6. It was clear that the bookmakers also considered it a surefire win for the 49ers.

Almost imperceptibly, this young, spirited, and vibrant team was slowly changing everyone’s perceptions, growing into an even more outstanding squad. But whether they were a dark horse or a powerhouse, games still had to be played on the field. Victory isn’t won through calculations on paper.

Week 11 of the regular season: the San Francisco 49ers host the Arizona Cardinals!