Super Bowl XLII or Super Bowl XLIII?

Now that we have ended the 2008-2009 NFL football season we have crowned yet another Super Bowl champion. The Pittsburgh Steelers. But the real question is, how does this Super Bowl compare to last years. Lets take a look.

Regular Season records: This year the Pittsburgh Steelers posted a 12-4 record which is a very respectable record for a Super Bowl champion. But their opponent the Arizona Cardinals only had a 9-7 record in a very weak division. The Cards backed into the playoffs and made it along with the 9-6-1 Philadelphia Eagles showing once again that if a team catches fire they can be very dangerous come playoff time.

And of course there are the New England Patriots in the AFC who didn't make it with a 11-5 record. And then last year the Giants posted a 10-6 record which is okay but they did run a hot streak to get to the playoffs.

The difference between them and the Cardinals though is that the Giants played strong at the end and didn't stumble in like the Cards did. And of course the losers of last years Super Bowl the 16-0 New England Patriots. So when it comes to Regular Season play the obvious play goes to Super Bowl 42.

Quarterback play: People always say that the play of your quarter back can decide championships. There have been exceptions though(see Rex Grossman) but for the most part this is true. Well all four Super Bowl QB's were solid QB's. I think two of them are a lock for the Hall Of Fame and one of them could make it. And since the one I don't think could make it played in last years Super Bowl I'd give the advantage to Super Bowl 43.

Coaching: Another tough one. You have two young guys coaching against each other this year and two older experienced coaches last year. Only one of these guys had a previous Super Bowl going into the year though.

Bill Belichick had three Super Bowls and was looking for four. Don't get me wrong Mike Tomlin is probably one of the best young coaches in the league but when you have a coach who has three super bowl rings then you have to take him. Advantage 42.

First three Quarter play: I decided to separate this from fourth quarter play because we all know that in both of these Super Bowl's there was amazing fourth quarter play and game winning drives but this is about the three quarters before that. In Super Bowl 42 The Giants jumped out 3-0 and at halftime the score was 3-0.

When we entered the all important fourth quarter the score was 7-3. In Super Bowl 43 the score was 23-7 going into that final quarter. Now it depends on what you like as a fan but I know I favor a close game. I take Super Bowl 42 again.

4th quarter play: Real tough. Both games saw lead changes in the final quarter. In the Giants vs. Pats we saw the Giants drive down and throw a TD pass to a reciever who no one knew before the game but everyone would know after. Then the Pats answered back but left much to much time left on the clock giving the Giants 2:42 to work with.

On this drive we almost saw the game come to an end but Pats cornerback Asante Samuel let it slip through his hands. This would set up the most amazing play in Super Bowl history.

We all know by know how it goes. Manning drops back, he's getting rushed, he escapes and throws a bomb down the field which gets caught by a fourth string receiver being covered by one of the best safeties in the league. And he caught the ball on his helmet. It was remarkable. And then Eli drops it in to Plaxico in the end zone and we cap off a great fourth quarter drive. But was Big Ben's better.

We saw this fourth quarter start with Warner and his Cardinals driving down the field and throwing a one yard TD pass to Larry Fitzgerald. We all thought to ourselves "Alright they are finally making a game of this." Then we saw the Steelers get backed into their own end zone and Big Ben throw a pass to Santonio Holmes who caught the ball. But a penalty flag was thrown and it got called back for a safety.

The game was now 20-16 and Steelers fans where getting nervous. Then we saw Larry fitzgerald split the Steel Curtain and take the ball 64 yards to the house. The Cards had taken the lead but had left way to much time on the clock.

Enter, Big Ben. We see Ben come in time after time and prove to be a clutch quarterback. No reason not to this time. Santonio Holmes was a gigantic part of that final drive making all the plays besides an 11 yard reception by Nate Washington. And then Ben made another amazing play and threaded the ball in for Santonio to catch.

This play was equally amazing but was not the best play in super bowl history. The Steelers had come back and won. And the Cards did get the ball back but failed to score. Kurt Warner's arm was not coming forward. Marked another great fourth quarter game.

When I look at the two I love the Manning to Tyree play and all but the Steelers totally collapsed in the Super Bowl but they picked themselves back up and scored to win. I'll take 43 in this one.

Overall quality of the game: This one is an easy one for me. Last years Super Bowl was extremely interesting throughout the whole game. It was a close competitive game and kept you watching. This years game bored me at halftime and I actually went onto the computer. I kept watching the game and saw the rest but overall the game was much better in Super Bowl 42.

Outstanding Play: We know about last years big play and we know about this years. So which one is better? To me this is another no brainer. It's gotta be Manning to Tyree. That play was flat out amazing. It was something we have never seen before. Eli escaped the grasp of the Patriots, stumbled out of the pocket and heaved the ball to Tyree.

Tyree then made a catch like I said earlier. The Holmes catch was a good catch but it was nothing special. We see catches like that every year at least 3-4 times. It's not even a discussion. Manning to Tyree.

So in the end lets tally this up.

42: Regular season records,coaching, first three quarter play,overall quality, and outstanding play

43: QB play and fourth quarter play.

So that officially helps me decide what was obvious already to me. Super Bowl 42 was outstanding and 43 was alright. Live on Manning to Tyree.