Until a week or two ago, the Chicago Cubs seemed like a heavy favorite to win a World Series before the Arizona Cardinals even appeared in a Super Bowl. Now the resurgent Cardinals are in the big game, despite losing four of their last six regular-season games before upending Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia in the playoffs.

That’s not to say Arizona will win Super Bowl XLIII. On Sunday they face the AFC champion Steelers, in pursuit of an unprecedented sixth Super Bowl victory and a good bet to make it happen.

Still, the Cardinals have moved far closer to ending their title-free drought than the 2008 Cubs, who won the National League Central and fell flat in their first-round matchup with the Dodgers in October. Of course, the transplanted Chicago-St. Louis-Arizona Cards still have a chance to do what once seemed unthinkable: put a fork in the second-longest stretch of franchise futility in the four major sports.

Longest Active Championship Drought in 4 Major Sports

MLB. . .Chicago Cubs. . . . . . . 1908
NFL. . .Arizona Cardinals. . . . . 1947. . . . (Chicago Cardinals)
NBA. . .Sacramento Kings. . . . 1950-51. . .(Rochester Royals)
NHL. . .Chicago Blackhawks. . .1960-61

Since the Chicago Cardinals claimed the NFL championship in 1947, another 23 NFL franchises have won the title. In the four major sports combined, 78 teams have won championships since the 1947 Cardinals made history.

Those 78 teams include two other franchises that have waited a long time to win it all again: the NBA's 1950-51 Rochester Royals, today's Sacramento Kings, and the 1960-61 Chicago Blackhawks.

If Arizona’s emergence had followed closely on the heels of the Red Sox and White Sox ending decades-long droughts by winning back-to-back World Series a few years ago, maybe it would feel more like it’s the Cardinals’ time.

Then again, it’s already been a year of landmarks for these Cardinals. They’ve secured the franchise’s first winning record since 1998, as well as its first postseason appearance since then. The Cards also claimed their first division title since 1975, and hosted their first playoff game since 1947. With a big day from Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald, just maybe another franchise landmark will be reached on Super Bowl Sunday.