Sunday marked the 43rd Super Bowl in NFL history, and in a game that wasn’t really that exciting until the fourth quarter, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23. If you have somehow not heard about the game yet, you probably will in the next week. Furthermore, chances are it will be the only thing talked about on ESPN SportsCenter for the next week until the Pro Bowl. Then, after the 15 minutes of highlights dedicated to the Pro Bowl, you’ll get another two months of Super Bowl coverage.
Now that I’ve successfully griped about my distaste for overextended Super Bowl discussion, I will tell you about the two stories I think actually matter. Naturally, these are completely biased and have nothing to do with the historical nonsense that the sports anchors on TV will be talking about for the rest of eternity.
First story: Cavalier alumni make their mark, again. Before the game even started, a former Cavalier almost decided the fate of the game. Steelers’ linebacker and defensive captain James Farrior, who played at Virginia from 1993 to 1996, called tails in the pregame coin toss — and lost. He made up for this gaffe, however, by leading the Steelers defense with seven tackles. His teammate, tight end Heath Miller, who played at Virginia from 2002 to 2004, also came up big with five catches for 57 yards, including a 21-yard gain on the first drive that gave the Steelers a first-and-goal on the one-yard line. Only wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who was named the game’s MVP, had more receptions and receiving yards for the Steelers than Miller.
Both Farrior and Miller won their second Super Bowl rings with the Steelers with this victory. Farrior had four tackles and two assists on tackles in Super Bowl XL (Feb. 5, 2006). In that game, his presence on the field was felt by Seahawks running back and league MVP Shaun Alexander, who was held to less than 100 yards rushing and no scores in a season during which he averaged 89.6 yards per game and set an NFL record with 27 rushing touchdowns. Miller started in Super Bowl XL as a rookie — an impressive feat in itself. He didn’t record any catches, but his team ran the ball 33 times and only passed it on 22 occasions. His quarterback had a mere nine completions for 123 yards, so you couldn’t blame the rookie tight end for not getting his name in the box score. Furthermore, his team won 21-10, so who really cares?
Second story: Larry Fitzgerald is, without question, the best wide receiver in the National Football League. You may be thinking, “This is a bold claim,” and it is — but hear me out. Fitzgerald had seven catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns in the Super Bowl, against a defense that was clamping down on him the entire game and led the NFL in both fewest total yards allowed and fewest passing yards allowed during the regular season. Fitzgerald is a freak athlete with insane jumping ability, great hands and ridiculous body control — in that he can get two feet in bounds on pretty much any sideline catch. Not to mention his blazing speed: Did you see the 64-yard touchdown catch-and-run he made late in the fourth quarter? No Pittsburgh player came close to catching him as he raced toward the end zone. It’s not his fault that the Cardinals couldn’t hold a 23-20 lead with 2:47 left to play, so I don’t want to hear that he left too much time on the clock. What do you want him to do, kneel? They needed the points!
Now that you know about Fitzgerald’s amazing Super Bowl performance and overall athleticism, consider the fact that he ranked second in the league in receiving yards and tied for first in receiving touchdowns this regular season, while sharing the ball with another stud wideout in Anquan Boldin. But it’s the calm and cool that come with the great statistics that make Fitzgerald the best in the league. He doesn’t complain about sharing the ball and still records better numbers than crybabies like Terrell Owens. In fact, he doesn’t complain about much at all, which separates him from the prima donnas that populate his position. Fitzgerald is even willing to restructure the contract that he signed just last year so his team can make an offer to keep Boldin. How else can you say, “unselfish”?
That’s all I have to say about the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, there are still two full months until baseball season starts, which means that there will be two more months of Super Bowl recaps and analysis to (not) look forward to watching. It’s either that or the NBA regular season — I don’t know what’s worse.
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