And That's a Wrap

Well ladies, the 2008 season has come to a close with the Pittsburgh Steelers pulling out a spectacular win over the Arizona Cardinals. They have now entered the history books as the first team to win six Super Bowls. Did I think they'd win? Yes. Am I happy? Not really. I was really hoping the Cardinals would be able to stun the football world even more than they already had by taking down the Steelers but it wasn't meant to be. The first half of the game was thrilling/disappointing depending on who you were rooting for. Regardless, James Harrison's interception on the one yard line for a 100-yard return/touchdown was fantastic (at this point, I knew it was going to come back to haunt the Cards at the end)! The Steelers were definitely dominating even though the Cardinals defense held them in check. But the second half...now that was a game! Kurt Warner was on fire and the defense continued to hold the Steelers at bay. Where was Larry Fitzgerald in the first half???? The guy can catch anything within a six foot radius surrounded by a bazillion defenders! So once Kurt started taking chances, the magic happened. But then the all-too-familiar meltdown proved itself once again. When teams are winning toward the end of a game, they tend to go into this "prevent" defense - or as my dad calls it, the "prevent you from winning" defense - where they back off the rush and try to fill up the secondary. Why fix something that ain't broke? Pressuring Roethlisberger was working! Why would they change up the defense when they needed it the most??? So sure enough, Big Ben had all day to throw with a dangerous Santonio Holmes running around (covered or not) and BAM! Game Over. Yes, this game really got exciting! If you were one of the many spectators who left mid-third quarter because you thought it would be a blowout, you missed a show! But was it up there with last year's spectacle? I don't think so. Pretty much everyone had their money on the Steelers to win even though they were looking forward to a Cinderella happy ending. But come on, you have to admit hearing the ginormous thud from the Patriots' fall back to earth after the Giants chopped them off at the knees was so much sweeter. Well, as I said before, it's any given season. So who will be next season's Cinderella team? Who will be the next Goliath? All I know is that it's roughly 212 days to kickoff!