Smash-Mouth Cartooning

Football players aren’t the only ones who can go head to head on the playing field. Steve Benson, Pulitzer-Prize winning cartoonist for the Arizona Republic, challenged me to line up against him and have a gridiron sketch-off. I accepted his challenge.

The goal: to illustrate the mind of the opponent’s fans. He drew a Steelers fan and I drew a Cardinals fan. Naturally, Steve had a lot more personality to grab on to with a Steelers fan than I did with a Cardinals fan. His cartoon is more in-your-face (like a Steelers fan) and mine is more timid (like a Cardinals fan.) Both of these cartoons will run in Sunday’s paper on page two, but you are lucky enough to get a sneak peek. Enjoy!

Steve Benson wrote: When I was given the opportunity to comment on Pittsburgh fans, I remembered having been to Pittsburgh myself, where I enjoyed watching the Pirates play in their new stadium as the setting sun cast a beautiful glow across where the Allegheny and the Monongahela meet the Ohio, causing me to think:  "I hate the Steelers." You see, I was raised in Dallas, I can't stand Terry Bradshaw and I know that, thanks to the Arizona Cardinals, it will soon be curtains for them.

Rob Rogers wrote: I had a tough time pinpointing exactly who and what a Cardinals fan is. I think that is because THEY don't know who they are. They have a bit of an identity crisis. The team has been in three different cities without a history of success. Arizonans are all from somewhere else. Plus, I've never heard anyone say they're moving to the desert for the football. Allergies and arthritis, maybe. Not football.

HOW WOULD YOU DRAW IT? Click on the "comments" link below to give your own observations about the differences between Pittsburgh and Arizona fans and tell me how you would have drawn them.