2/1/2009 Super Bowl XLIII, Arizona Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL


 12 years ago today...

February 1, 2009 - Tampa, FL

It was the best of times.  It was the worst of times.  In stunning fashion, the Pittsburgh Steelers came from behind to defeat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in Super Bowl XLIII at Raymond James Stadium.

Within a few minutes time, we Cardinals fans went from the giddy high of watching a Kurt Warner to Larry Fitzgerald 64-yard TD pass to take the lead to a crushing low when Ben Roethlisberger found Santonio Holmes in the back of the end zone for the winning score.

The 2 minutes 37 seconds left on the clock after the Fitz TD is easily the longest and most painful 2:37 of my sports-watching days. 

Spoiler alert: the $800 face value of this Super Bowl ducat will be the highest price paid by the author for any ticket over the life of the Ticket Stub Time Travels blog. 
 
What a whirlwind two weeks it was between the Cardinals defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game at University of Phoenix Stadium to arriving in Tampa for the team's first Super Bowl appearance.  In short order we came up with hotel rooms, round-trip flights (ironically routed thru Philly) and the game tickets, a right-to-purchase-privilege for Club Level season ticket holders.

In the loss, Cards QB Kurt Warner was 31 of 43 for 377 yards and 3 TDs.  Larry caught 7 of those passes for 127 yards and 2 TDs including the electrifying 64-yarder in the 4Q.
  
As the first half ended, 300-lb Steelers LB James Harrison picked off a Warner pass and rumbled 100-yards (!) for a TD, the longest TD in SB history to date.  Ridiculous.  After catching the game-winning TD, Holmes was named the game MVP.

This was the most watched Super Bowl in history.  NFL Network proclaimed it #1 of the Top 10 Super Bowls of all time, and #4 of the Top 10 NFL Greatest Games of All Time.

Adding to my excitement, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band rocked the halftime show with a medley of concert classics.

Our home in Tampa was the Doubletree Hotel near the stadium, one of the few lodges taken over by Cardinals fandom.  The Cardinals cheerleaders and staffers stayed here, as did Kool & the Gang, hired to be the post-game party entertainment for the victory party.  We chatted up the Gang in the lounge and were planning to crash the bash with a green light from the band, but after the finish we just witnessed, we were in no mood to "celebrate good times, c'mon." 

Ironically three Super Bowls have been played in Arizona within 15 miles of our home, but we could never get tickets until the game is played 2,100 miles away in Tampa.  Hopefully we will see another Super Bowl game live, but if not, this was an unforgettable one for the ages.



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