Super Bowl XLIII - February 1, 2009

Tampa, Atlanta, Houston and Miami presented bids to host Super Bowl XLIII. Since Miami was scheduled to host the 2007 game, it was considered a long shot. Houston previously hosted the game in 2004, Tampa most recently in 2001 and Atlanta in 2000. Since Atlanta went the longest without staging the event, and $150 million in improvements to the Georgia Dome were being proposed as part of the package, they were thought to be slight favorites. Houston's Reliant Stadium had received very favorable reviews after playing host. The Tampa group put together a strong offer that included a private party at Busch Gardens and free golf packages at local courses. The weather was a big part of the promotion and every owner was sent an Arnold Palmer signature putter. Atlanta also addressed the weather, but it was to prove that an ice storm at the 2000 game was an abnormality.

On the first ballot, Houston was eliminated. It was a bit of a surprise that Miami was not eliminated first, but it spoke volumes about the generosity of the financial compensation in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale offer. On the second ballot, Miami was eliminated. Neither Tampa or Atlanta received the required 21 votes on the third ballot, so it went to a simple majority and Tampa was named the site for Super Bowl XLIII. Buccaneers Executive Vice President Joel Glazer, after giving a concise speech to the owners prior to the vote, told the media, "Our community put an amazing bid together that couldn't be beat...and we have great weather." Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio added, "We promised the NFL we would make 2009 a first-class Super Bowl that they would be proud of...and that's exactly what we'll do."

The Arizona Cardinals made their first Super Bowl trip and the Pittsburgh Steelers went for the seventh time. The NFC West Champions Cardinals were 12-7 and posted playoff victories over Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia. The 14-4 AFC North Champion Steelers took postseason victories over San Diego and Baltimore. Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin and Arizona's Ken Whisenhunt were both coaching their first Super Bowl. At 36, Tomlin was the youngest coach to take his team to the title game.

A crowd of 70,774 filled Raymond James Stadium and Jennifer Hudson sang the National Anthem. Odds-makers made Pittsburgh seven point favorites.

A Jeff Reed field goal was the only score of the first quarter and a Gary Russell touchdown run put Pittsburgh up 10-0 early in the second. Kurt Warner hooked up with Ben Patrick and Arizona was threatening to score again just before the half. The Cardinals had the ball with a third down at the Steelers 1-yard line with 18 seconds before the break. Linebacker James Harrision stepped in front of a Warner pass and returned the interception 100 yards for a score with zeros on the clock. The momentum changing play was the longest in Super Bowl history and gave Pittsburgh an 17-7 advantage.

Pittsburgh would tack on another field goal and lead 20-7 heading into a wild fourth quarter. A Warner to Larry Fitzgerald TD pass narrowed the gap and a holding call in the end zone gave Arizona two more points. A 64-yard pass from Warner (31 of 43 for 377 yards with 3 TDS and 1 INT) to Fitzgerald (7 receptions for 127 yards) gave Arizona sixteen unanswered points and a 23-20 lead with 2:37 left in the game. The Steelers would answer with game MVP Santonio Holmes (9 catches for 131 yards) keeping his toes in the end zone on a 1-yard TD pass from Ben Roethlisberger (21 of 30 for 256 yards with 1 INT) with 35 seconds left. Pittsburgh had a 27-23 victory.

Mike Tolim spoke of Pittsburgh's record sixth Super Bowl championship. "We embrace these moments. We think we're built for them. I see five of them (Lombardi Trophies) every day when I go to work."

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