Warner deserved to have a dance with his wife Brenda, with kisses and hugs by the stadium railing - instead of having to stand on the field in a state of shock, watching the last dance go to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

This was supposed to be Warner's second Super Bowl triumph, and the official happy ending that would complete a remarkable career comeback.

But valiant Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger grabbed history from Warner with a rally of his own. And this gripping, gut-wrenching, instant-classic of a Super Bowl ended with the Men of Steal ripping the moment from Warner's grasp for a 27-23 victory and the sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy for the Steelers franchise.

Warner fans watching in St. Louis had seen this movie before. They have felt Warner's pain on another Sunday like this, seven years ago. For Warner, this was the sequel. Not to Super Bowl XXXIV, but to Super Bowl XXXVI, when his late comeback from 14 points down for a tie was upstaged by quarterback Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

"It's always disappointing, losing your last game of the season, especially when it's the Super Bowl," Warner said. "It's disappointing when there is a chance to win at the end."

For a while, it looked like Warner, 37, would reach that promised land in what could be the final game of his unique NFL career. He had fired a slant into the hands of the breakaway racehorse, Larry Fitzgerald, who ran off for a 64-yard touchdown. The Cardinals, trailing 20-7 after three quarters, suddenly had a 23-20 lead with 2 minutes, 37 seconds remaining.

"It was a shot to the heart," Steelers safety Troy Polamalu said.

Warner made only one mistake on what should have been the winning drive: He left too much time on the clock. But no one could change that now; Kurt's work was done. At that stage, he had passed for 344 yards and three touchdowns. He had become the first quarterback in Super Bowl history to have three 300-yard passing games. He has the three highest yardage totals in this game's annals. He had tied Joe Montana's record of 11 touchdowns in one NFL postseason. No quarterback has passed for more career Super Bowl yards (1,156) than Warner. It would be downright greedy to ask for anything more.

Warner had even recovered from his terrible blunder at the end of the first half, when he got baited into a goal-line interception that Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison returned for a Super Bowl-record 100-yard touchdown. It gave the Steelers a 17-7 lead at the half.

Warner recovered. Doesn't he always? Counted out again, Warner hurried the Cardinals back with two fourth-quarter TD passes to Fitzgerald for the late lead.

Believe it or not, Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill was about to become the champion of the NFL after a long, meandering journey of futility through three NFL territories: Chicago, St. Louis and Arizona.

I suppose some things are not meant to be.

Bidwill had Warner, the old quarterback from St. Louis. Unfortunately, at the end of Super Bowl XLIII, Bidwill also had one of those old, soft St. Louis defenses, circa 1975.

Bidwill collects bow ties. The Rooneys, who own the Steelers, collect Lombardi trophies. Just getting Bidwill's franchise to the Super Bowl was an epic achievement for Warner.

"Kurt Warner is Kurt Warner," Roethlisberger said. "He is a phenomenal Football player. He is a heck of a competitor, and I told him it was an honor to play against him."

Nearly 10 years ago, Warner and the St . Louis Rams won a Super Bowl because the Rams' defense held off Tennessee near the goal line, with linebacker Mike Jones making "The Tackle" to secure the victory.

Who would be Jones this time? Nobody. There would be no rescue. Warner lost a Super Bowl because the Arizona defense couldn't hold off the Steelers, and no one stepped forward to make a saving tackle on Santonio Holmes.

Holmes set up the cash-money score by buzzing 40 yards with a Roethlisberger pass, then jumped high into the night to pull down the winning 6-yard touchdown pass with 35 seconds remaining.

After the kickoff, Warner had only 29 seconds to work with, and he was low on time and ammo. There would be no more heroics - just a sack and a fumble on his final snap. Warner completed 31 of 43 passes for 377 yards and the three scores, and if anything this performance only buttressed his Hall of Fame credentials. But Warner wasn't thinking about that now.

"It's hard," Warner said. "You have the lead late, but you know it isn't over, and everything is still riding in the balance. Your emotions are so high with two minutes left in the game, and you know that you are two minutes from being world champions. On the flip side, they come down and make a big play to win the game and the emotions flip."

Tom Brady did it to Warner once, and now it was Big Ben. Two kicks to the gut, seven years apart, that left Warner staring at the scoreboard. It was tough watching him walk away like this again.

bjmiklasz@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8192