Super Bowl XLIII: One For the Books

Super Bowl XLIII is the championship game the NFL wants every year.  No 45-7 blowout but a game that was in the balance until the final seconds.  And isn't it the way it should be?  The two best teams from their respective divisions facing off to become Super Bowl Champions?

It's too bad that in games like these, someone has to lose.

While I am disappointed the Arizona Cardinals didn't pull it out, this game was one of the best I've seen in a long time.  There was the drama of a team that hadn't seen a championship in 61 years vs. a team going for history to become the first NFL team to win the Super Bowl six times.

My favorite part of the whole game?  The fact the Cardinals didn't blink in the face of the number one defense in the NFL.  In fact, defense wasn't the mainstay of the game.  Yes, there were great defensive plays such as James Harrison's record breaking 100 yard interception return for a touchdown.  Steelers fan or not, you had to root for the big guy to cross the goal line.

Then there was the goal line stand the Cardinals had to force the Steelers to kick a field goal only to have to do it all over again after getting a roughing the holder call.  The Cardinals could have folded right there, but the Steelers couldn't punch it through and had to settle for the field goal again.

I was on my feet when the ageless Kurt Warner hit Larry Fitzgerald on a slant that he took to the house with 2:37 left in the game.  When I was done celebrating the Cardinals taking the lead, I knew there was too much time on the clock.  But you take scores when you get them.  Besides, the Cardinal defense had been playing very well up to that point.

Ah but then the drive to win the game and the exquisite catch made by Santonio Holmes that broke the hearts of many Cardinals fans including mine.  But teams don't make the Super Bowl to fold under pressure and Ben Roethlisberger dispelled any notions that he's a nervous quarterback.  Hats off to him for staying cool and picking up Holmes after checking off his running back and Hines Ward before going to Holmes.

I'm sure many fans can come up with their own memorable plays, but these are the ones that stand out the most for me.

Thank you Arizona Cardinals for giving the underdogs hope they can get to the Super Bowl.

Thank you Pittsburgh Steelers for winning your sixth Super Bowl title in epic fashion.

And thank you to both teams for giving the world one of the best Super Bowls ever.