Early on Super Bowl Sunday, I said I would be cheering for the underdog, the Arizona Cardinals. I also said I really didn't care which team won.
I didn't expect to pay too much attention to the actual game, but that's not what happened.
I did get into the game and I really wanted the Cardinals to win.
They were so close to pulling the upset and being Super Bowl champions.
What a heartbreaker!
TAMPA, Florida -- Santonio Holmes made a brilliant 6-yard catch deep in the right corner of the end zone with 35 seconds remaining Sunday to lift the Pittsburgh Steelers to a record-setting sixth Super Bowl win, 27-23 over the Arizona Cardinals.
The Steelers, who won their second Super Bowl in four seasons, led 20-7 in the fourth quarter, only to see Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner effect a remarkable rally to put Arizona ahead 23-20 with less than three minutes remaining.
Warner hit All-Pro receiver Larry Fitzgerald in stride for a 64-yard touchdown with 2:37 left. Fitzgerald sped down the middle of the field, watching himself outrun the Steelers on the huge video screen.
But Fitzgerald could only watch from the sideline as Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger engineered a 78-yard drive to win the NFL title...
When Kurt Warner threw that interception at the end of the first half, I had a flashback. I got that same sinking feeling I would get when Brett Favre would throw an interception at the worst possible time.
...The Cardinals got to the 1, then the Steelers' defense asserted itself — magnificently.
[James] Harrison, the defensive player of the year, stepped in front of Boldin at the goal line, picked off Warner's throw and began a journey down the right sideline to the longest play in Super Bowl history.
Harrison ran past or through most of the Cardinals, nearly stepped out of bounds at one point, and was dragged down by Fitzgerald as he fell to the goal line.
...The previous longest play was Desmond Howard's 99-yard kickoff return for Green Bay in 1997.
It doesn't seem like it's been 12 years since Desmond Howard made that kickoff return.
What a great play that was! What a great season! Unforgettable.
Anyway, I was really happy when the Cardinals came back in the fourth quarter and took the lead.
Then, just as quickly, I wasn't happy anymore when the Steelers took it back. I didn't count on feeling disappointed. I wasn't supposed to care about this one. Usually my disappointment is reserved for the Packers' losses.
Congratulations to the Steelers.
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