TEMPE, Ariz. -- Arizona Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt still hasn't watched a tape of his team's Super Bowl XLIII loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"I'm thinking probably before we play them in preseason that I'll go back and look at it," he said.
But Whisenhunt can't escape it. Every time he turns on the television, he finds a reminder of the Cardinals' bitter 27-23 defeat three months ago in Tampa, Fla.
"It seems like every time I turn around, they're showing a clip of it," Whisenhunt said after minicamp practice Saturday morning. "And as exciting as it was that we were in the Super Bowl, it's also painful that we were that close and didn't win it."
Whisenhunt had a few more reminders Saturday morning, when the Cardinals allowed fans into their practice facility for their annual glimpse of minicamp. Many fans sported Super Bowl gear.
Bryant McFadden, CB Arizona Cardinals
Career Statistics
Games/Starts: 51/18
Tackles: 135
Interceptions: 7
And there's also the team's new starting cornerback, Bryant McFadden, who left the defending world champion Steelers to sign a two-year, $10 million contract with the Cardinals in March. The four-year NFL veteran earned a starting job with the Steelers last season, but he missed six games with a broken forearm, and now he's with the Cardinals to help them try to win the Super Bowl.
Something that's still very much on the minds of Cardinals players and staff.
"The strangest part was when I got here, working out, and the strength coach, coach (John) Lott, kept talking about not winning it," McFadden said after practice. "And in the back of my mind, I'm like, 'Well, I won it.' "
McFadden hopes to become a champion in the desert. The concept would have seemed ludicrous until last winter, when the 9-7 Cardinals reached the playoffs for just the second time since they moved to Arizona in 1988, then made an improbable run to their first Super Bowl before losing a heartbreaker to McFadden and the Steelers.
That heartbreaker is still on Whisenhunt's mind. The memories of the Super Bowl sting.
"Have I had nightmares about it? Yeah, I've had a few of those," Whisenhunt said. "I don't really dream about it. Every once in a while, I'll think about it. Like today, there was a lot of Super Bowl merchandise out here. It was natural to think about that when you see that.
"I'm very proud of what our team did and am excited to have been there," Whisenhunt added. "But it's tough that you worked that hard and you get that close and you don't come out with the win."
The turnout for the fans' day was much heavier than a year ago, when the Cardinals were coming off an 8-8 record in Whisenhunt's first season.
"One of our players said, 'Coach, did we have security out here last year?'" Whisenhunt said. "I said, 'No.' He said, 'Well, why have we got it this year?' I said, 'That's what happens when you go to the Super Bowl."'
McFadden said he chose Arizona because the team gave him a good opportunity and because he liked Whisenhunt, who was on Pittsburgh's staff when the cornerback was drafted out of Florida State.
Whisenhunt said he expects McFadden to contribute as a leader as well as a member of an improving secondary.
"Leadership is a big part of it," Whisenhunt said. "Work ethic. Team guy. A lot of the things that were fundamental in us being successful last year, he embodies those, and that's why we're excited to get him here. He's a tough competitor. I was in Pittsburgh when he was drafted, so I watched him grow up in the league. We're excited that he's with our team."
McFadden has been impressed with the athleticism on the Cardinals' roster in his first minicamp, as well as his teammates' hunger to take the next step.
Need further proof that the quest to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy is a year-round duty? Take a look at all 32 teams' busy offseason schedules. More ... "I see the work ethic that they have here, because they were so close, a few months ago, to winning and being world champs, now doing everything you can to get back to that point," McFadden said.
That's a significant change for a team that used to view playoff appearances as the ultimate success. But McFadden wants the Cardinals to copy the Steelers' mindset.
"My four years in Pittsburgh, we had a lot of success," he said. "Playoffs was never a worry for us; our mindset going in was making it to the big game and taking care of our conference. Just knowing what it takes to get to that point and playing for four quarters.
"Coming here to an up-and-coming program, they have outstanding athletes," he said. "The most important thing is that they have had a taste of being a winner, and being respected. Everybody wants that and, as you can tell now, the way we're working, we're trying to get back to that this year."
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
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