Sunday, January 18, 2009

What The Arizona Cardinals Can Teach Lawyers And Law Students

The Arizona Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl.

The "underdog" Arizona Cardinals. The "improbable" Arizona Cardinals. The led-by-the-third-oldest-quarterback-to-go-to-the-Super-Bowl-Arizona Cardinals.

When the Cardinals were set to play the Carolina Panthers last week, an online forum had this post stating 5 reasons why the Cardinals would beat the Panthers.

I analogize it to why lawyers should never under estimate their colleagues, and why you as a lawyer, or soon to be lawyer, should never be intimidated by anyone with a law license.

The anonymous poster, named "Yukmouth 2005" gives the 5 following reasons the Cardinals would beat the Panthers:

I want you to read this from the perspective of a lawyer:

5) The Role of Underdog

"With the exception of diehard Cardinals’ fans, no one expects the Redbirds to pull off the upset in Carolina Saturday night."

"Although the Cardinals shouldn’t need motivation, being overlooked can help this young team gain that little extra focus needed to win on the road. Not to mention that with Carolina being a 9.5 point favorite, the largest spread of the weekend, the Panthers may be looking forward to the NFC Championship Game rather than taking care of business at home."

4) Every streak has to come to an end

The Cardinals are 0-5 in games east of the Mississippi this year and 2-19 over the last 6 seasons, while the Panthers are 8-0 at home this year. Not encouraging stats when you think about it, but every streak has to come to an end right?

3) Edgerrin James

"Edge has been the Britney Spears of the NFL in the last few weeks. Like Britney, he teetered on the edge of irrelevance, only to reinvent himself and thrust himself back into the spotlight. If he continues to be effective when called upon, the Cardinals offense is next to unstoppable. That balanced attack could propel the Cards to victory.

2) Week 8 of the NFL season: Panthers 27, Cardinals 23

How can a 27-23 loss be reason for optimism?

The Cardinals know that they can hang with the Panthers in Carolina because of this game. If they can minimize mistakes and follow a similar game plan to that of Week 8, they should be in strong position to win.

1) Kurt Warner

Plain and simple, Kurt Warner knows how to win in big situations. As the starting quarterback in 1994 at Northern Iowa he won the Missouri Valley Football Conference Championship. In the Arena Football League, Warner was 5-3 as a starter in the playoffs with two arena bowl appearances in his 3 seasons. As a starting quarterback in the NFL, he is 7-2 in the playoffs with two trips to the Super Bowl.

Every time Kurt Warner seems to be counted out, he finds a way to win. His experience and leadership are enough to give the Cardinals a good chance.

Never underestimate yourself, let others do that.

Located in Miami, Florida, Brian Tannebaum practices Bar Admission and Discipline and Criminal Defense. Read his free ebook The Truth About Hiring A Criminal Defense Lawyer. Please visit www.tannebaumweiss.com

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