Although the Arizona Cardinals are Super Bowl newcomers, they are the oldest, established, permanent, floating football team in the country. They are actually 20 years older than the NFL.

Based at the Morgan Athletic Club, the team began as a neighborhood amateur team in 1898 on Chicago's South Side. Playing at Normal Field on Racine Avenue, they became known as the Racine Normals.

In 1901 their manager, Charles O'Brien, bought a lot of maroon uniforms from the University of Chicago. The uniforms were so faded, O'Brien thought they were closer to "cardinal red" than maroon, and they became the Racine Cardinals.

By 1917, they were kings of the competitive Chicago amateur scene.

In 1920, O'Brien paid $100 to join the new professional league, which was to become the NFL. Local player Paddy Driscoll was signed up for $3,000 a year.

In 1922, the NFL included a team from Racine, Wisconsin and to avoid confusion, O'Brien's team became the Chicago Cardinals and moved into Comiskey Park, where they played 37 years, longer than any of their other venues.

The Cardinals (11-2-1) were declared champs in 1925, guided by player-coach Ernie Nevers.

Charles Bidwill purchased the Cardinals for $50,000 in 1932.

The Cardinals and Steelers (0-10) combined to play as one team in 1944 because  many players were serving in World War II

In 1947, Bidwill landed Charley Trippi, the best player in the country, for 100,000 to complete the solid team he was assembling. Bidwell however died that April and could not see his vision become reality. The Cardinals beat the Eagles for the NFL football championship.

The Cardinals gained the reputation for trick plays, throughout the 1950s. Signatures of the team were reverses, flea-flickers and other gimmickry and they had become second-fiddle to the Bears in Chicago.

Following the 1958 season, the Cardinals engineered one of the most famous trades in NFL football history, sending star running back Ollie Matson to the Rams for nine players.

The Bidwill family moved the team to St. Louis in 1961, sharing Sportsman's Park and Busch Stadium with the baseball Cardinals.

Violet Bidwill died in 1962 and control of the franchise passed to her sons, Charles Jr. and Bill. The Cardinals, though, remained non-contenders, despite stars such as Larry Wilson, Jim Hart and Roger Werhli.

By the mid-1970s, Bill Bidwill took control of the team. The Cardinals made the playoffs in 1974, 1975 and 1982, but never got close to the Super Bowl.

With plans in place for a move to Arizona, Cardinals fans held up signs like "We'll help you pack" as the 1987 season ended. The Phoenix Cardinals debuted in 1988.

With the seventh name change in 96 years they became the Arizona Cardinals in 1994.

Jake Plummer led the Arizona Cardinals to a playoff win in 1998, their first since 1947 and their last until this season.

In 2006, after sharing a stadium with the White Sox, the baseball Cardinals and Arizona State, the Cardinals finally had a home built specifically for them in Glendale.