TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -Troy Polamalu couldn’t stop smiling.
Pittsburgh’s 27-23 victory over Arizona in the Super Bowl was only part of the reason. The All-Pro safety conducted postgame interviews with his young son sitting on his leg in a No. 43 Steelers jersey and his wife standing next to him.
“It’s a blessing,” said Polamalu, who was also part of the Pittsburgh team that won the NFL title three years ago. “I don’t know how much he’ll remember, but he might have two rings in his vault, and, God willing, maybe more. He’s speechless right now as you can see.”
Polamalu joked about a see-saw fourth quarter in which the lead changed twice in the final 2:37 and that the Steelers failing to put the game away until forcing Kurt Warner to fumble in the closing seconds “probably took a couple of years off my life.”
ans got.”
And, the Steelers got their record sixth Super Bowl crown.
“It’s arguably the best franchise in sports. To do it the way the Rooney family has done it, to have the support in Pittsburgh. It’s not a big market, it’s not like the Dallas Cowboys where you get a lot of press like that,” Polamalu said.
“It’s a blessing in the way it’s a blue collar team, we’ve grinded it out throughout the beginning of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it’s really wonderful that it paid off this way.”
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WE’LL BE BACK: Minutes after falling short in the biggest game in franchise history, the Arizona Cardinals were talking about returning soon.
“There isn’t anybody in a million years that would think we would get here. We fought our way in. We fought our way back into the game, but we came up short,” said defensive tackle Darnell Dockett, who had two sacks and finished with six tackles.
“We know what it takes to get back here again,” he said, adding the Cardinals will take some time off, then get back to work and “make a run for it” next season.
Nevertheless, losing was a major disappointment, especially after Arizona rallied from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to take a 23-20 lead.
“Everybody is down,” rookie cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie said. “You can’t describe the feeling of hurt, and the pain you see in the players’ eyes.”
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NT: In addition to being excited about winning his second Super Bowl ring and Pittsburgh’s sixth, Steelers receiver Hines Ward is looking forward to going to the White House to meet President Obama, who picked Pittsburgh in Sunday’s game.
“I’ve been wanting to meet the president for so long. To get an opportunity to meet him, shake his hand, go to D.C., man, I might break down and cry,” Ward said. “It’s definitely a big honor to be a part of history.”
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DISNEY BOUND: Next up for Santonio Holmes and Ben Roethlisberger: a quick trip to Disney World.
While it’s customary for the Super Bowl MVP to head to the amusement park for a celebratory parade the day after the NFL championship game, both Holmes and Roethlisberger were invited after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 27-23 victory on Sunday night.
The players filmed their “I’m going to Disney World” commercial on the field following the game and will head to Disney, about 80 miles east of Raymond James Stadium, on Monday.
Holmes was voted the game’s MVP with nine receptions for 131 yards, including the winning touchdown with 35 seconds remaining. Roethlisberger engineered the decisive drive, moving the Steelers 78 yards in eight plays and finishing 21-of-30 for 256 yards, one touchdown and an interception.
stuff that everyone talked bad about us is all going to be for nothing,”’ Roethlisberger said. “We got off to a little bit of a rocky start there, but we pulled through it and we found a way.”
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RECORD BOOK: Twelve Super Bowl records were broken and three more were tied Sunday night.
The Steelers set the mark for most wins by a franchise (six), and James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return for a touchdown was the longest play in Super Bowl history. At 36, Mike Tomlin becoming the youngest head coach to win.
Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner had his third 300-yard passing performance in an NFL title game, while the Steelers (58) and Cardinals (33) combined for the fewest rushing yards in a Super Bowl.
Arizona star Larry Fitzgerald finished with the most prolific statistics for a receiver in one postseason with 30 receptions for 546 yards and seven touchdowns, records in all three categories.
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TOUGH ASSIGNMENT: Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor routinely drew the assignment of providing primary coverage on the opposing team’s top receiver this season, faring well against Randy Moss, Reggie Wayne and Terrell Owens.
Taylor was on his way to another strong performance against Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald until the Cardinals star broke loose for six of his seven receptions in the fourth quarter, including a pair of touchdowns.
rds and 12 touchdowns during the regular season and three 100-yard games and five TDs in Arizona’s three playoff wins, was limited to one catch for 12 yards in the first half, none in the first 29 minutes of the game.
He didn’t have any receptions in the third quarter.
“When I was younger, I would have probably lost my cool and got a little upset,” Fitzgerald said. “But in a game of this magnitude, I knew we were going to call my number and eventually there were going to be some balls thrown my way.”
Fitzgerald finished with seven catches for 127 yards.
“Me, personally, I kind of felt like I let us down,” Taylor said. “I played strong for three and a half quarters, but it’s a 60-minute game.”
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MAN OF THE YEAR: Warner was presented with the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award during pregame festivities that included honoring the crew of US Airways Flight 1549.
Warner was selected over Minnesota center Matt Birk and Philadelphia safety Brian Dawkins, the other finalists for the award that recognizes players for charitable contributions and community involvement off the field.
The Cardinals quarterback formed a partnership with Habitat for Humanity after visiting regions affected by flooding last year and has raised more than $650,000 to help build homes in the Midwest.
tion.
Since creating the First Things First Foundation in 2001, the quarterback has made more than $1.5 million in donations to help sponsor trips for Make-A-Wish families and several other charitable causes.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Payton’s widow, Connie, made the presentation.
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ENDS: Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin is the 27th different coach to win a Super Bowl. … Teams scoring on an interception return during the Super Bowl are 9-0. … Twelve different franchises have lost the last 12 NFL title games. … The Steelers are 6-1 in Super Bowl games.
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