Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23

[Isaac Sauvage]

we were all pretty upset with this one.

i didn't personally care who won but the officials did a very suspect job IMO.
too many ticky-tack calls against the cards, missed holding calls against the steelers, and the topper was probably the one where a pittsburgh guy (#92 i think) who for no good reason was pummeling a cards player who was on his knees... and all the officials did is call him for a "half the distance" penalty, which made almost zero difference in the yardage.

also, where were the one-second commercials that were supposed to appear?

still, it was fun. but the federer-nadal match from last night was better IMO.

 

[m4paws]

we were all pretty upset with this one.

i didn't personally care who won but the officials did a very suspect job IMO.
too many ticky-tack calls against the cards, missed holding calls against the steelers, and the topper was probably the one where a pittsburgh guy (#92 i think) who for no good reason was pummeling a cards player who was on his knees... and all the officials did is call him for a "half the distance" penalty, which made almost zero difference in the yardage.

Don't you live in PA? I thought you'd be thrilled. Most of us were routing for AZ, but really just because we didn't like the Steelers. Our impressions of the game pretty much matched yours - the officiating seemed a bit uneven, and you're right, the James Harrison (92) play was absurd. I'm pretty sure the better team won in the end though. At many times AZ just looked like they didn't belong there. Overall, I found it was tough to get excited about two teams I really could care less about. I'm glad the games have been close the last few years though, at least it was fun to watch. In the past a lot of the games were boring blowouts that could essentially be turned off at half-time.

My biggest SuperBowl SuperGripe is that it's played on Sunday night. Why?! Without question this game should be played on Saturday night, or at least Sunday afternoon. These Sunday night games don't do justice to the party that the SuperBowl should be.

 

[bob]

I didn't care who would win, but I was rooting on the Cards too. It was a great game and The Boss was pretty good too.

 

[LeeVanCleef]

That game rocked the hizz-ouse! But that's because my two favorite teams are
1. The Pittsburgh Steelers
2. Whoever plays against the Dallas Cowboys

Turns out that Steelers player was just trying to pound some sense into the Cards to get them to quit giving them so many yards in penalties. The Cards shouldn't do the crime if they can't do the time! The refs did a fine job of officiating because the Cards were playing like the prisoners in The Longest Yard (the Burt Reynolds version, not the Adam Sandler version!) And they sure didn't hesitate to hand out the safety to the Steelers!
Oh, and also rocking the hizz-ouse? Brooooooooce! He and Prince are tied for the best boob-less halftime show!

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

Don't you live in PA? I thought you'd be thrilled.

i live in PA but if i was a football fan i'd be an eagles fan for sure.
also, i usually like the underdog. especially if it's their first time to the big dance.

I'm pretty sure the better team won in the end though. At many times AZ just looked like they didn't belong there.

i thought the biggest difference was that the pittsburgh offensive line looked like a steel wall most of the game whereas the arizona line broke down on many key plays.

also, arizona seemed to play a strange game in that for the first three quarters they avoided going to their strengths, which was supposedly their deep receiving.

another really weird one was going for the endzone pass just before the half when they had time and a timeout to run one running play and then a pass if necessary. we all saw how well that decision worked out...

In the past a lot of the games were boring blowouts that could essentially be turned off at half-time.

i remember from my 20's or so, the AFC would keep sending the broncos and the bills to the superbowl and they kept getting destroyed by NFC powerhouses like the bears, giants, redskins and 49ers.

 

[m4paws]

i thought the biggest difference was that the pittsburgh offensive line looked like a steel wall most of the game whereas the arizona line broke down on many key plays.

And I thought the biggest difference was Big Ben. When the offensive line on each side allowed the defense through, Ben did an excellent job eluding them on several occasions while Warner looked ... well, he looked his age.

 

[LeeVanCleef]

And I thought the biggest difference was Big Ben. When the offensive line on each side allowed the defense through, Ben did an excellent job eluding them on several occasions while Warner looked ... well, he looked his age.

Maybe that's why the Steelers went so easy on him. For having the supposed best defense in the league, it was pretty surprising that the Steel Curtain couldn't find the quarterback until the 4th quarter.

 

[m4paws]

Maybe that's why the Steelers went so easy on him. For having the supposed best defense in the league, it was pretty surprising that the Steel Curtain couldn't find the quarterback until the 4th quarter.

I don't get to see the Steelers that often, but you're right, that certainly didn't look like the best defense in the league to me. I'm sure a number of them have a hard time of thinking of the SuperBowl as just another game and it's reflected in their performance - on both sides.

 

[mrschultz]

Guess they need a new rule, blatant unsportsmanlike conduct that should be 15 yards (or an ejection) gets turned into 1 yard because of the half the distance rule...

Why no penalty for using the ball as a prop? That's supposed to be automatic...

Why no review of the fumble at the end? Could have been called either way from the replays.

Terrible officiating.

I think Arizona made too many mistakes on both sides of the ball, but did better than I thought they would.

Harrison running that interception back is the highlight for me.

Later,
Marty

 

[marv75]

Nice job Steelers! I may be a Browns fan (Yeah I know they stink) but I'll root for a team that's that close to where I live...good game on both sides! :)

 

[m4paws]

Why no review of the fumble at the end? Could have been called either way from the replays.

Exactly, and yet no one's talking about that. That's supposed to be an automatic booth review. Not that there would have been enough evidence to overturn the call necessarily, but they didn't even bother to look. It sure seemed just as incomplete as the previous "fumble" that was challenged and overturned.

 

[faralos]

I'm from 'joisey' and CANT STAND BRUCE!!

I had the (dis)pleasure of meeting him once at the 'stoned pony' a nightclub at the jersey shore. I waited with about 50 people after he showed up unannounced at the bar and jammed with the local band for about an hour! afterwards we gathered in the parking lot to bs with him and the other band. This dickhead had the audacity to blow us all off,saying he didn't have the time! what the hell was he doing there then? he wasn't on the bill but just showed up! what a cad
on another note, GO STEELERS! ok the refs really sucked with all the flags against AZ, and I agree '92' should have been tossed from the game after pummeling the guy who was on his knees, then he just shoves him! what a dick! But man it was a real close game, right up to the last play! I don't really have a fave football team (coming from jersey where there isn't a team to represent the state) but since I am nowin PA, what the heck, since the Eagles blew their chance, I might as well root for the local guys, even if they acted like bullies, grabbing and punching their way to victory.
It DID remind me of the (burt reynolds) Longest Yard what with all the unnecessary roughness, esp when the steelers guy went thru thesidelines and hit a few of the AZ temmates who were just standing there. what no ref call on that one eh? The general opinion at my place was that the refs all were bought by the steelers for that game, as few calls went against them but so many were against arizona!
oh well, it was an exciting nail-biter (unlike so many recent superbowls when you knew who was the winner by halftime!) ifonly az could have dione that good in the first half, the game might have been different. oh well, there's always next year!

 

[TomcatLeader]

Myself, I'm a Bengals fan and I do still remember 2005. The reason the Steelers couldn't get to Warner was that "quick release" he has. Whisenhunt was too conservative in the first half, IMO, but there were MANY questionable calls against Arizona, like the "Roughing the Passer" call. I'm sorry, but if your coming from the corner on the blitz and the tackle pushes you off, you can't just pull up the reins and stop on a dime. Its humanly impossible. As for Harrison, He should have gotten the gate for his little stunt. As for the Steeler defense, why in the world were they giving the Cards the out passes? Those passes is what sustains the drive. Wouldn't you just want to cut off the out routs. Its like playing 3-4 zone. When your safeties give that much yardage off the receivers, you're going to get beaten under coverage every time. Same with playing Cover 2, you leave a guy wide open, which is what happened to the Steelers twice for touchdowns. They were so worried about Anquan Bolton, they forgot about Breaston and Fitzgerald. And Fitzgerald was making the Steeler secondary pay, dearly.

 

[sleepy]

Bruce was probably there just to jam or pay tribute to a friend in the band, not play air guitar in the parking lot.
If he only jammed for an hour, then I would believe him when he said he didn't have the time. This guy is legendary for unannounced jams with other bands for 3 or more hours at a time.