February 1, 2009: Super Bowl XLIII is played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. It turns out to be one of the best NFL Championship Games ever played, under any name.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were in their 7th Super Bowl, looking for their 6th win. They had won the game 3 years earlier, under head coach Bill Cowher. Now, his former assistant Mike Tomlin was in charge. Ben Roethlisberger, their quarterback in Super Bowl XL, was going for his 2nd title.
In contrast, the Arizona Cardinals were in their 1st Super Bowl. As the Chicago Cardinals, they had won the NFL Championship in 1925, before there was an NFL Championship Game; won the NFL Championship Game in 1947 and lost it in 1948; left Chicago for St. Louis in 1960; made the Playoffs only 3 times; left St. Louis for the Phoenix area in 1988; finally reached the Playoffs again in 1998, winning their 1st postseason game in 51 years; and now, under coach Ken Whisenhunt, had reached the title game again for the 1st time in 61 years.
The quarterback for this most unlikely of NFL finalists was also unlikely, but not as unlikely as he had been 9 years earlier. Kurt Warner had fallen to the Arena Football League before getting a lifeline with the St. Louis Rams, helping them to win Super Bowl XXXIV and reach Super Bowl XXXVI. Now with the Cardinals, he joined Craig Morton as the 2nd quarterback ever to guide 2 different teams into the Super Bowl. Of course, both of Morton's had lost, so that wasn't a good sign.
The Steelers' Jeff Reed kicked a field goal in the 1st quarter, and Gary Russell's run gave them a 10-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter. Warner threw a touchdown pass to make it 10-7. But on the last play of the 1st half, Warner was intercepted in the end zone by James Harrison, who returned the ball 100 yards for a touchdown and a 17-7 Steeler lead. Michael Wilbon, columnist for The Washington Post and co-host of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, has called that the greatest play in Super Bowl history. Reed kicked a field goal late in the 3rd quarter, and it was 20-7 Steelers. Anyone calling this game a classic at this point would have been kidding himself.
But Warner kicked the Cards into high gear, leading them down the field for a touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald. With 3 minutes left, the Steelers committed a holding penalty in the end zone, which awarded the Cardinals a safety. It was 20-16. And Warner struck quickly, throwing a 64-yard touchdown pass to Fitzgerald, giving the Cardinals a 23-20 lead. The Cards had scored 16 points in less than 5 minutes of the 4th quarter.
The Steelers had 2:37 left. Roethlisberger went to work, including a 41-yard pass to Santonio Holmes. With 35 seconds left, "Big Ben" threw to Holmes again. Holmes snared the pass, came down, landed on his toes, getting both feet in bounds, and fell out. It was enough: Steelers 27, Cardinals 23.
That play, which became known as "The Tampa Toe-Tap," gave Holmes 9 catches for 131 yards, and the game's Most Valuable Player Award. It also gave the Steelers their 6th Super Bowl win, surpassing the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers for the most Super Bowls.
The New England Patriots have since reached 6 Super Bowl wins, but no one has won 7. Overall, the Green Bay Packers still lead the NFL with 13 league championships.
The Steelers have been to 1 Super Bowl since, losing it; the Cardinals haven't been to any. Despite the defeat, Warner's performance that season may have made the difference to getting him into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as he was elected in 2017. Holmes is eligible for the Hall, but does not seem to have the career statistics necessary to gain election. Fitzgerald will be eligible for the Hall in the election of 2026; Roethlisberger, in 2027.
In 2019, a poll ranked this game 12th on a list of the 100 Greatest Games of the NFL's 1st 100 years.
UPDATE: Larry Fitzgerald was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2026.
The Steelers have a team hall of fame, calling it the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor. From their Super Bowl XLIII winners, they have inducted team owner Dan Rooney, executive Art Rooney Jr. (Dan's brother), assistant coach Dick LeBeau, scout Bill Nunn, broadcaster Tunch Ilkin; quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Willie Parker, receiver Hines Ward, tight end Heath Miller; defensive end Aaron Smith, defensive tackle Casey Hampton, linebacker James Farrior and James Harrison; and safety Troy Polamalu. Head coach Mike Tomlin has not yet been inducted.
Center Maurkice Pouncey was added to their team after the win in Super Bowl XLIII, and playing on the team that lost Super Bowl XLV.
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February 1, 2009 was a Sunday. Baseball was out of season. The NBA risked playing 4 games as distractions from the Super Bowl:
* The Boston Celtics beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 109-101 at the TD Garden in Boston. Paul Pierce scored 36 points.
* The Orlando Magic beat the Toronto Raptors, 113-90 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.
* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons, 90-80 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. LeBron James scored 33 points.
* And the Sacramento Kings beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 122-118 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Kelvin Martin scored 37 points for the Kings.
And there were 3 games played in the NHL:
* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
* The Washington Capitals beat the Ottawa Senators, 7-4 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington. Alexander Ovechkin scored a hat trick.
* And the Nashville Predators beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 at the Northlands Coliseum (then known as Rexall Place) in Edmonton.
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