The Red Sea rose, the towels spun, and even before the first Packers snap, the Cardinals’ crowd had an effect on Saturday’s NFC Divisional playoff game.
False start, No. 71 offense, the loud-speaker blared, and cheers cascaded from the frothing faithful.
The Cardinals know how much of an advantage home field can be, and if the choice was theirs, Sunday night’s NFC Championship game would be played in University of Phoenix Stadium.
But the Panthers emerged from the regular season with the conference’s best record, and therefore get the title game in Bank of America Stadium.