Super Bowl Recap

Super Bowl XLIII is in the books as the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in Tampa on Sunday night. The victory gave the Steelers their 6th Super Bowl title in franchise history. The game was an exciting conclusion to another great NFL season. No sport can match the product of the NFL, and this Super Bowl was a fitting conclusion to a memorable 2008 season. As far a breakdown of the Super Bowl, here are my thoughts on the game: First, if the Steelers would have lost the game, it would have been the biggest meltdown in Super Bowl history. The Steelers had so many chances to put this game away. The biggest was when Pitt couldn't add a touchdown to their 17-7 lead late in the third quarter. They settled for a field goal, and they left the door open for Arizona to come back. Second, Ben Roethlisberger has established himself as an elite Quarterback. He may not be Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, but Big Ben is up there after capturing his second Super Bowl in his five year career. He might not put up the best numbers or sometimes he drives you nuts, but he is a gamer and a winner. When your team is down three points with a little over two minutes to go in the Super Bowl, and your quarterback takes you down the field with big throw after big throw to win the game, he is an elite player. Big Ben has carved his own niche. Third, the Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes play will go down as one of the greatest touchdown plays in Super Bowl history. It was a just a fantastic play on every level. Fourth, Arizona and Kurt Warner were definitely not losers last night. The Cardinals run in the playoffs was amazing, and they certainly should hold their heads up high during the offseason. Warner didn't disappoint and played great in the fourth quarter, and he basically willed his team backed in the game late. Finally, although many people are getting ready to argue that this was the greatest Super Bowl of all time, let's just put a hold to all of that talk. This was a very good game, but this was not a great game. The game was very nondescript and choppy for three quarters. The game was an average to below average game until Arizona started to make their comeback down 20-7. The fourth quarter of this game was exciting and amazing, and it will go down as one of the best fourth quarters ever, but this game lacked the energy and excitement for three quarters before it picked up. At least the game lived up to the hype. Also, the Super Bowl has become a good game every year with some memorable fourth quarters and great finishes. That is all you could ask for in a Super Bowl game. Congrats to the Steelers on their 6th Vince Lombardi trophy