Another Superbowl, another Steelers appearance.

I have a running bet with my brothers and, if the Steelers won (again), I’d owe (again).  So, of course, I was rooting against the Steelers.  And, I don’t dislike the Cardinals, so I was all for the Cards winning.

The game started out alright, with the Cards stopping the Steelers on a couple of drives.  I mean, one of those stops was necessary after that running into the holder penalty, which seemed a bit ticky-tacky, but still, the Card defense was pretty impressive.  And stopping Big Ben at the goal was pretty damn impressive.  The team as a whole had too many penalties, started the game off sloppy.  But, they were still in it, holding the Steelers to just 10 points and starting to come alive offensively.  First they got the one touchdown to the tight end, and then, after getting that tipped interception, were about to score again to finish the first half ahead.  Then, Warner throws that interception, returned for a TD, the longest play in the history of the Superbowl (not sure how many times I heard that).  Not the best way to end the first half, and a bit disappointing that no one on the offense can tackle worth a damn.

The second half got really exciting as the Cards mounted a comeback.  Two TDs to Fitzgerald, one of them for 64 yards as he blew by the secondary, made it a game and put the Cards ahead.  And the Steelers were getting sloppy too, with the holding penalty in the end zone for the safety, the personal foul for hitting.  It looked like the Cards might actually win.  The left the Steelers only a couple of minutes to try to tie the game.  But, for some reason, the Card D decided they didn’t need to defend Holmes any more.  First the first down.  Then the TD.  And the game is over.  Maybe not quite.  The Cards had one more chance, but it ends in a maybe-somewhat-controversial fumble call.

Overall, I thought it was a good game.  A little sloppy at times, with too many penalties, the stupid kind.  But, the Cards played, overall, a better game, I thought.  If it wasn’t for that interception return, they would have likely won the game.  I think the Steelers did just enough to win, but the Cards also shot themselves in the foot more than a few times with all those penalties and the int.  They definitely showed that they deserved to be on the same field as the Steelers, in contrast to what all the pundits claimed.  And the Steelers didn’t dominate like some feared.  So, while the game, I thought, was overall very good and very exciting, I was still disappointed with the outcome.

Someday, maybe the Vikings will be on the other side of the trophy.  Someday.  The dream of the fan lives on.