Pittsburghers will come out today to cheer their Steelers, Super Bowl champions once more, as they parade along the route of the annual St. Patrick's Day parade Downtown. The luck of the Irish has nothing on the luck of Pittsburghers.
What other city has a team quite like this fabled Football franchise, which now has won a record six Super Bowls? Where else do people from all walks of life share such an emotional bond with the team that proudly carries its name? Who else can lay claim to such heroics as were witnessed in Tampa on Sunday night?
To be from Pittsburgh when the game ended was to be part of a great and fortunate tribe. (In truth, you didn't even have to be from Pittsburgh in order to feel blessed, because adopted sons and daughters who live elsewhere swell the ranks of Steelers Nation).
Yes, Pittsburghers have the luck, but their team makes its own. The Steelers had not one but two great plays in Super Bowl XLIII that deserve never to be forgotten as long as Football is played.
The first occurred just before halftime. The Arizona Cardinals had a first down at the Steelers' one-yard line and were threatening to score a touchdown that would have given them a 14-10 lead at the break.
Instead, Steelers linebacker James Harrison intercepted a pass from quarterback Kurt Warner and rumbled 100 yards for a touchdown, the longest play in Super Bowl history. The Steelers went to the locker room leading 17-7.
The Cardinals came storming back in the fourth quarter to lead 23-20 with two and a half minutes left in the game. Undaunted, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger led his team down the field to set up the moment of magic when receiver Santonio Holmes, in the farthest reaches of the end zone, caught the winning touchdown pass over the heads of three defenders.
The Cardinals were a worthy opponent, but greatness in this game rested on the Steelers and will endure the ages. Immaculate Reception, move over -- two more legends have been added to the store.
