The Side Line

The Super Bowl has never been so super. What an incredible game the Steelers and Cardinals just gave us.

This year’s game is the greatest I can remember, and I am not likely to be convinced that it is not the best Super Bowl ever.

While I believe the NFL playoff system is inherently flawed, sometimes an outstanding matchup comes out of it, such as we witnessed this year.

The Cardinals were the underdogs, even from the beginning of the playoffs, who no one gave a chance to win it all. This is a historically wretched franchise, who has experienced a rebirth this season under the coaching of Ken Wizzenhunt and the leadership of grizzled veteran Kurt Warner.

The Steelers, on the other hand, are one of the greatest franchises of all time, in any sport. They seem to always be good, and are particularly tough in the postseason.

So to reflect on the game itself, let’s consider the greatness on the field. Two Hall of Fame quarterbacks faced off, throwing to three or possibly four (considering what Santonio Holmes did) Hall of Fame receivers, and at least four Hall of Fame defenders were on the field.

Not too shabby, and the best part was that the great players had a chance to make huge plays, and did just that.

It can be argued that James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return or Santonio Holmes’ ridiculous, improbable, and frankly insane touchdown catch to win the game are two of the top five greatest plays in Super Bowl history.

Lost in all this is the amazing performance of Larry Fitzgerald, who was quite uncoverable the last month of the season. His two touchdowns were both incredible plays, top highlights any other day, but the Steelers simply stole the show when it counted, at the end of each half.

I can’t think of a better ending to the NFL (and all football) for the year, except maybe the Falcons going all the way, and I doubt I will see a game nearly that good for a while.

Props to the Steelers for winning their sixth title, but I have to say the story is the Cardinals, who proved what can be done when a team plays together and believes in each other, regardless of what people say they can or can’t do.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 6 2009. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry