It
was a clash of epic proportions when the Arizona Cardinals squared
off against the Pittsburgh Steelers for Super Bowl XLIII on Sunday,
February 1, 2009 at the Raymond James stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Super
Bowl TV Schedule & Kickoff
On TV, football
fans wordlwide tuned into the battle over the coveted Vince
Lombardi trophy and to decide which team gets to wear
their Super
Bowl rings as it played out live beginning at 6 pm
ET on NBC.
Kick-off time
was approximately 6:20 pm on the East Coast; 5:20 pm Central;
4:20 pm Mountain; and 3:20 pm Pacific. Across the pond, (and five
hours ahead of East Coast time) UK checked out the live game in
the wee morning hours on BBC.
For the 2009
halftime show, the Super Bowl committee again went with the "safe
choice" with rocker Bruce
Springsteen who take the stage with "Born to Run"
a highlight of the 12-minute set. Also on game day, the return
of the zooming U.S.
Air Force Thunderbirds to put on a spectacular flyover just
before kickoff.
Game
Analysis & Predictions
Super
Bowl 2009 Recap
The teams
are on the field. Steelers in bright yellow, Cardinals in red.
Fans screaming. Kurt Warner is awarded the Walter Payton NFL Man
of the Year Award. Faith Hill sings God Bless America as the camera
shows representatives of the Armed Services at attention with
their hands over their hearts. The Color Guard enters and Jennifer
Hudson adds her sweet voice with the Star Spangled Banner. The
Thunderbirds fly overhead... It's finally here. The match up between
the Kurt Warner and the unstoppable Arizona Cardinals offense
against the unbreakable defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Experts
have been arguing all week about who will take this game.
The
coin toss... goes to the Arizona Cardinals - 12th consecutive year that the NFC
has won the toss. The Cardinals elect to kick. 6:22 ET the ball is kicked Roethelisberger
connects with Heinz Ward for the first spectacular catch of the game... so much
for all the talk. The game is on. Heath Miller catches a well thrown pass and
it's 1st and goal. Roethelisberger has the ball with a 3rd and goal and can't
find a receiver so he runs the ball in himself. It's called a touch down on the
field, but did his knee touch before the ball crossed the line? The Cardinals
challenged. The runner was down short of the goal line... no touchdown. Reed kicks
the field goal and the Steelers have 3 points on the board with 6 minutes gone.
And the game
goes on with plenty of hard action mixed with those gotta see commercials.
The
Cardinals can't do much with the ball. The Steelers get it back and on their 2nd
possession drive down to the 2 yard line before the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter starts with the Steelers crossing the goal line. The kick for
the extra point is good and the score is 10 - 0 Steelers.
Warner
connects with Holden who carries the ball all the way... all the way... to 1st
& goal. Then Boldin makes a spectacular catch to put the Cardinals back into
the game. Steelers 10 - Cardinals 7. Steelers don't do much and Cardinals return
the punt halfway down the field. They stall after a penalty and are 3rd and 22
when they call a time out. Announcers note that the Cardinals have averaged 15
yards to go on 3rd downs during this half. They wind up with a punt with 2:55
to go in the half. The Steelers get the ball back on their own 16 yard line. Roethelisberger
gets intercepted and the Cardinals have the ball back in Steelers territory. 1:55
left to go before the half. The Cardinals try for the touchdown... pass is intercepted
by Harrison who runs back 100 yards for a touchdown... the longest play in Superbowl
history.
The
Steelers have dominated the first half with possessions, completed passes, and
every stat... the score is 17 - 7 at the half.
Back
from the half... The Steelers add another 3 with a field goal that gets called
back for a personal foul. The Steelers get another chance to make the TD but the
Cardinals defense holds them a second time. The Pittsburgh field goal is good
this time and the score goes to 20 - 7.
The
Cardinals are not out of the game, but they do need to get their offense moving
without penalties or mistakes... and they come up with that action halfway through
the 4th. A pass to FitzGerald connects in the end zone and to bring it to a one
score game. The next play is a good sack on Roethlesberger followed by a shut
down of the Pittsburgh offense. The Cardinals get the ball back in good position
with plenty of time... but can't move it. At 4th and 20 Arizona punts back to
the Steelers 1 yard line. On 3rd and 10 a pass to the 20 is completed, but a facemasking
penalty in the endzone gives AZ a safety - 16 to Pittsburgh's 10. The next possession...
Fitzgerald runs the ball for a TD PIT 20 - AZ 23 - 4th Quarter - 2:30 left. Can
you believe this?
Completed
pass to Pittsburgh in the endzone gives them a 3 point lead over Arizona... but
is the receiver inbounds? After lenghty review... he was, it's good Pittsburgh
has the lead by 4 with 35 seconds. The final indignity, a questionable fumble,
(was it an incomplete pass or a fumble) gives the Steelers the ball ... and the
game.
Moments
of brillance mixed with madness were the story of this game. Luck and penalties
played a larger role than we'd like to see at this level of professional play...
but it was one hell of a game with excitement to the last seconds. The Steelers
earned their rings.
Super
Bowl Tickets
If
you want to see the game up close and personal, note that a only 1% of Super Bowl
tickets are distributed to fans by the NFL, controlled through an annual random
drawing that begins in February of the prior year and ends the following June.
Otherwise, prepare to pay top dollar for tickets to THE most popular and most-watched
sporting event of the year.
Or
wait until the drawing opens up again - on February 1, 2009 - for next year's
Super Bowl 44 played at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on February
7, 2010.
Tarik's
NFL Super Bowl Results - Quick overview of who won what and when, and
great for solving barroom discussions at a clip. Click on the info buttons for
more details.
Super
Bowl Trivia - What was the name of the first Super Bowl? Which one got
the highest TV ratings? Who won MVP in two consecutive years? Like that. And more.
Super
Bowl Commercials
Super
Bowl Commercials
- Our very own on-site feature with information and links to video previews of
the funniest and most buzzed-about Super Bowl commercials.
Super
Bowl Ads - Catch all of the funniest and best TV commercials of the past
& present in QuickTime, RealPlayer or Windows Media Player. Courtesy of IFILM.
SuperBowl
Ads.com - A great interface of clickable screenshots leading to memorable
video clips from 1998 - 2008, with a featured page of Super Bowl commercial all-time
classics.
Super
Bowl Party Ideas
Super
Bowl Recipes - Great ideas for serving up an unforgettable Super Bowl
Fest including recipes for dips and spreads, chicken wings, appetizers, nuts and
snacks, and Sloppy Joes.
Football
Party Theme
- Suggested ideas for party games, what food to serve, along with decorations
and kids' activities.
A
Super Bowl Party Spread - Feature story from Food Network with pictures,
instructions and recipes for a complete party menu.
Super
snacks for the Super Bowl - Wow everybody with these recipes for a great
knosh including ingredients & instructions for hot wings, pizza, party popcorn,
desserts and more.