Superbowl Thoughts

Well what started out as a very unexciting Superbowl game, ended with a flurry activity and one of the most exciting endings in the big game’s history. After the way the first half ended, I was curious to see how the Cardinals would react. At first, they didn’t seem to react well as they continued to allow the Steelers to dictate the game. However, if we learned anything through these playoffs, it is that we should not count out Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and the Cardinals. Pittsburgh continually failed to put away the game and they left a door open for the Cardinals to pull off the greatest comeback in Superbowl history. As the Steelers struggled in the fourth quarter, I kept thinking that they let the Cardinals hang around and now it was going to bite them. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they actually scored too easily which allowed a lot of time for the Steelers to come back.

The final drive was vintage Ben Roethlisberger. As he always does, he continued to buy time in the pocket so he could find the open receiver which was usually Santonio Holmes. Eventually, the game culminated with what I believe was the greatest catch in Superbowl history. At first viewing, I didn’t think Santonio Holmes got both feet in, but I thought the replay confirmed it pretty easily. The pass was perfect as, despite the triple coverage, only Big Ben’s receiver had a shot at it. As perfect as the pass was though, it was eclipsed by the poise and concentration Holmes showed in pulling it in while doing a tap dance with the tip of his shoes in the end zone. I can never remember a prettier catch in such a big game. The closest one was Dwight Clark’s leaping end zone grab against the Cowboys in the NFC Championship game to send the 49ers to their first Superbowl.

I felt Holmes rightfully deserved the MVP for this game, but a very strong case could have been made for Ben Roethlisberger. I forget which analyst I heard after the game but he was right in talking about how the current culture of fantasy football only focuses on stats and in doing so, it diminishes guys like Roethlisberger who just gets things done when they need to be. From a stats perspective, you would say that Kurt Warner had the better game. He threw for more yards, completions, completion percentage and touchdowns. However, if you asked him which side he would rather have been on, there would have been no question. All this proves something that I have been saying for years: When it comes to quarterbacks, the only stat that matters is wins and losses. It doesn’t matter how many yards Roethlisberger threw for, he needed to move his team 78 yards at the end of the game and he did. It doesn’t matter how many touchdowns Roethlisberger threw for, he needed to get one at the end of the game and he did. So even though his stats may not have shown it, he had an impressive game.

So where does this Superbowl rank? I heard a lot of talk after this game about it being the best ever. Not even close. It is definitely in the top ten, but the game was played sloppily by both teams for three quarters. Both teams committed stupid penalties that cost their teams in big ways. It wasn’t exactly a great display of football. In fact, I hate to admit it since I despise the Giants, but last year’s upset win over the Patriots was better. The best ever in my estimation continues to be Superbowl XXIII when Joe Montana became a legend with his game winning drive against the Cincinnati Bengals to win 20-16. For now, let’s just be happy that this game was competitive and not a blow out. I’m sure we can all remember that it wasn’t too long ago that the game routinely became a snooze fest by halftime. We don’t need to overreact by calling this one the best ever. Better than most, yes. Best, no.