PITTSBURGH PREVAILS IN SUPERBOWL XL111 (43)
Living up to their nickname the STEALERS (STEELERS)
2009-02-09 19:13:00-05
by Tom Cooney, “The Deaf American” and Sports Writer for Lily the Love Frog,Inc
It came down to two crucial plays in the closing minutes of each half. Time was running out in the second quarter, the ball was on the Pittsburgh 6 yard line with 35 seconds left. Kurt Warner let go an errant pass intended for Anquan Boldin on the Arizona 1 yard line when James Harrison, a hulking 6 foot 242-pound Pittsburgh Linebacker who was named the NFL player of the year, stepped in front of Boldin and intercepted the pass and rumbled huffing and puffing, and weaving his way through Arizona traffic 100 yards to the Arizona goal line and into the Super Bowl record books as the longest score ever. Harrison lay flat on his back out of breath for a few minutes before he was able to walk to the locker room with Pittsburgh holding a 17 to 7 lead.
In the 4th quarter Arizona strikes back with their no huddle offense, and quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald quickly put 2 scores on the board and pushing Arizona into the lead 23-20 with 2 minutes 37 seconds remaining in the game. For the first time, Pittsburgh was on the wrong end of the score.
Pittsburgh went to work as the clock was winding down. Roethlisberger took over and completed 5 of 7 passes for 84 yards, and scrambled for 4 more. That got Pittsburgh to the Arizona 6 yard line with 42 seconds left in the game. Pittsburgh was looking at a possible field goal and overtime.
Roeth took the snap from center Justin Hartwig who almost became the goat because of a penalty, and dropped back.......scrambling and looking for Haynes Wardon a slant, he was open but an Arizona defender was closing fast. Roeth did not feel comfy and scrambled some more as the seconds ticked away. As a last resort, he saw Santonio Holmes, a Florida resident in the right corner of the end zone.
He was covered by 3 defenders, and suddenly Roeth let the ball rip aiming at a small space near the white lines, and Holmes hands shot up in the crisp Tampa haze and snared the pass, scuffing both feet in the red clay as the defender safety Ralph Brown shoved him out of bounds. With his 9th game catch of the night, Holmes cradled the ball in his arms, as the Line Judges hands shot up.....TOUCHDOWN!!!! Holmes’ acrobatic catch sealed the victory and won him the MVP of the game.
On that most picturesque of plays the rock solid Steelers had won the game 27-23 I sat back in my Stadium Media seat, slapping my knee thinking about the glory days of the steel curtain, of Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris and Lynn Swann and all the time I shared with these talented men. There are many players that are still remembered by this sportswriter.
Names some may have long forgotten, as their heydays have come to an end, And as I silently sat reminiscing and giving thanks of days of yesteryear when I too was down on the field and Terry shared with me one of his cigars after a game one Sunday, and I got in a few puffs.
Coming back to Super Bowl XLIII, my eyes working overtime making up for my ears that do not work at all, I clearly saw. Arizona did not lose this game, Pittsburgh stole it away. The STEELERS have their 6th Super Bowl win, more than any other NFL team, and are fast becoming known as the Yankees of the NFL. Once again, I thank the NFL for the opportunity they have given this Deaf Sportswriter to cover the game.
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