For Some, Chance to Visit Obama White House Is Motivation to Win Super Bowl

When the Cardinals opened training camp last summer, a few people had them winning the division, but not much else. There are only so many times you can be duped into picking Arizona as "the team to make a deep playoff run this year" before you tire of being mocked, I suppose.

Well, here we are, five months later, and the Cardinals are in the Super Bowl. After defeating the upstart Falcons in the wild card round, improbable wins over the Panthers and Eagles have Arizona headed to Tampa. And should they somehow manage to beat the Steelers, they'll be the first NFL franchise to visit the White House in the Obama administration

Obvious, I know. But unlike last year's Giants, who were spurred more by their 18-0 opponent than a chance to spend an afternoon with the most unpopular president in a half-century, some players from this year's Cardinals team are using the opportunity to stand with Barack Obama on the South Lawn as motivation to win the Super Bowl, according to NFL.com's Adam Schefter.

Such sentiments are as much a repudiation of the previous eight years -- marred by wars, punctuated by recession -- as it is a nod to change, to history, and to hope.