Super Bowl Awash in Subplots

You can't spell “conflict” without NFL, and this year's Super Bowl contains plenty of opposing loyalties, Sam Farmer writes in the Los Angeles Times. You can’t throw a stone at the Arizona Cardinals’ sideline without hitting a former Pittsburgh resident, player, or coach—and that last category might give Arizona an edge, Rick Gosselin adds in the Dallas Morning News.

Both head coach Ken Whisenhunt and his second in command, Russ Grimm, came to Arizona after being passed over for the Steelers’ top job. To pile on the insider knowledge, the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator grew up as a Pittsburgh ball boy, star receiver Larry Fitzgerald got his start at the University of Pittsburgh, and fellow wideout Steve Breaston grew up waving a Terrible Towel. (More Super Bowl XLIII stories.)