The day has come and gone and the Steelers are Super Bowl Champions once again. Let the debates begin.
First, is Ben Roethlisberger worthy of being added to the name of greats? At 23, he won his first Super Bowl and second just three years later. His numbers are pretty impressive, but is he better than Tom Brady, Brett Favre or Peyton Manning? Nah. For some reason, Big Ben doesn't get the love as much as these other guys. He's accomplished more than some of them already, but many would argue he can't stack up to them. Don't ask me why, because I can't really give you that answer. All I do know is that I would have to agree. When you think of great quarterbacks in the NFL, the guy from Pittsburgh isn't totally on my radar screen. Now, maybe that's because I'm an NFC gal, but that's just the way I see it.
However, if Roethlisberger can produce a game like he did yesterday, he should be given some more attention. He's 26, he'll have time to develop into one of those big names. As of now, he's practically still a kid but with a hell of a lot of potential. Sure, his numbers weren't as good as Kurt Warner's but it's the final score that counts, as cliche as that is. In the Super Bowl, anything and everything will happen, which leads me to the catch.
Another dilemma. David Tyree's helmet, physics-defying catch or Santonio Holmes' perfect, game-ending snag? Now, I will say the first three quarters of SB XLII and XLIII weren't the most thrilling. I'm OK with that. Last night, my group of friends were more concerned with catching Miller Lite's one-second ad than how the snoozefest was playing out. (On a side note, I'd like to say the commercials also weren't totally entertaining. Although there were some gems.) But here's the clincher in the catch debate. Tyree's catch made Super Bowl XLII one of the best, if not the best, ever.
We're so quick to judge which SB is best but at least in my life time, there still hasn't been anything to top last year. The Steelers were supposed to beat the Cardinals...handily. They didn't even cover the spread of 7. Take what you can get in the Super Bowl and the Steelers certainly deserved it after clutch plays like Harrison's pick 6 and Holmes' catch. It was a fantastic fourth quarter, but it didn't beat Eli Manning's sudden slick maneuvering in the pocket and Tyree's improbable shining moment. It didn't match the Wild Card Giants beating the "dynasty," one-win-away-from-perfect New England Patriots.
Congratulations Steeler fans. Your team has the most Super Bowl wins in history and deservedly so, but best Super Bowl ever? I don't think so.
