WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said he's pulling for the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Arizona Cardinals in football's biggest game on Sunday — and he did so with a politician's touch.

Obama said Thursday that he would root for Pittsburgh against the "long-suffering" and "great Cinderella story" Cardinals. His spokesman also said the president would have friends as well as a bipartisan group of lawmakers over to the White House to watch the game.

"I have to say, you know, I wish the Cardinals the best," Obama said diplomatically. "You know, Kurt Warner is a great story, and he's closer to my age than anybody else on the field."

Warner, Arizona's 37-year-old quarterback, came out of nowhere about a decade ago to take the St. Louis Rams to two Super Bowls, including a title in 2000. Just when he seemed washed up, Warner rose to the top again this year.

Steelers owner Dan Rooney, a longtime Republican, endorsed Obama's presidential bid. During Oval Office remarks, Obama noted that one of the Steelers' most beloved former players, Franco Harris, had campaigned for him in Pittsburgh, too.

"Other than the (Chicago) Bears," Obama said, "the Steelers are probably the team that's closest to my heart."