Best _____ Ever

With every mention of Sunday's amazing Super Bowl, the question was inevitably asked whether it was the best Super Bowl Ever. Some outright proclaimed it. I think we're a little too close to have real perspective on that because prior to Sunday, last year's Super Bowl was the best ever. On ESPN's Top 10 Super Bowl Plays of All-Time, three were from Sunday's game. Really? Two...maybe.

I'm of course partial to Super Bowl XXXII and John Elway's helicopter scramble that made middle aged men all over America wince...he is in fact a Hero. There is Super Bowl XXV played in Tampa, under the shadow of the first war with Iraq. There is Super Bowl XXIII, with Joe Montana pointing out John Candy in the crowd before leading the 9ers to a comeback win in the final seconds. There's Namath's Jets, there's Marcus Allen "running into the night" and there are a handful of catches made by Pittsburgh receivers before Santonio Holmes was born, that deserve mention. There's a little historical perspective and marinating that this game has to achieve before you can crown it.

One argument that I have not seen made is this Steeler Team's place in history amongst the great teams of all-time. There are of course the '89 9ers who were dominant in the essence of the word following their third title and demolishing my Broncos 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV. There are '98 Broncos who went 15-1 and also repeated as champions and the '85 Bears who in addition to having one of the great defenses of all-time, brought us the Super Bowl Shuffle. We can't forget the '72 Dolphins and perfection. You can take your pick of the 70's Steelers teams, the Cowboys of the 90's and the Patriots recently. Had it not been for last year's Giants team, this would be a moot point.



This Steeler Team has a place at the table. They went 12-4 against the NFL's toughest regular season schedule in 20+ years, while putting out an all-time defense. The offense wasn't the greatest the league has ever seen, but as happened Sunday, they are a great clutch offense. They pulled out 6 "4th Quarter Comback Wins" throughout the season, including Sunday's game.



Jeff Reed made more headlines this post season for bleaching his hair than he did for making big kicks. It's all been done on the back of Ben Roethlisberger...making plays and throwing touchdowns. Tom Brady's been great at getting his team within Adam Vinateri's range for a game-winning field goal, but the Steelers haven't had that luxury...they had to score touchdowns this year.

Pittsburgh finished 15-4, with their 4 losses coming to the Giants, Titans, Eagles and Colts. Two coming at home and two away. Two against the best teams in each conference. The Eagles finished in the final four and the Colts were just better that day, as will happen on a given Sunday. But the Steelers know when it's big and they play accordingly. The Polumalu interception return late in the AFC Championship, Holmes' punt return against the Chargers in the Divisional Round. James Harrison's interception return and longest play in Super Bowl History, creating (at least) a 10 point swing going into halftime of Super Bowl XLIII. Countless highlights that tell the story of a team who understands the moment they are in and executes. The best team of 2008 has won the championship.



This Steeler team is young, their core has won 2 Super Bowls and their coach was referred to on Sunday as "The Blueprint". They are balanced and committed like no other team in the NFL now or recent memory and they should be around for a little while.