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Produced an all time classic Super Bowl 43
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IG: aj_mckenzie416
Twitter: AJMckenzie94847
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01:30I didn't know what to think. I was so happy. I was so overwhelmed.
01:38To know that you have done something that so few people have been able to do really was kind of
01:44special.
01:45But for Ben Roethlisberger, Super Bowl 40 was also bittersweet.
01:53Yeah, I did think about, um, I didn't play my best game.
01:57Yeah, he did, though.
01:58Statistically, it was the worst game ever played by a Super Bowl winning quarterback.
02:14Winning it obviously made everything kind of go away, but I said, I've got to get back.
02:20I've got to get back to the Super Bowl so that I can kind of redeem myself.
02:40I'm almost losing my life.
02:43That was God's way of knocking me back down and saying, you know, you need to understand some things here.
02:49Roethlisberger's accident was the start of a disastrous title defense.
02:55In 2006, the Steelers failed to make the playoffs.
03:01A year after winning the Super Bowl, team leaders Jerome Bettis and Joey Porter were gone, as was iconic head
03:08coach Bill Cowher, replaced by an unknown 34-year-old named Mike Tomlin.
03:16I knew that we had a veteran team, but it wasn't a veteran team to me.
03:20It was important that we got to know one another.
03:23And really, the only way you get to do that is through adversity.
03:26And I was willing and prepared to create it.
03:29I want to see how miserable we can get today.
03:33Who enjoys it?
03:36There were some dog days, and we got to know one another.
03:40Punch it! Let's go, baby!
03:43Don't let me catch you smiling today like you're actually having a good time.
03:46I wasn't concerned about winning them over.
03:49I really wasn't.
03:50I've always coached guys that were about my age, or in some cases, older.
03:54We never thought about his age, you know.
03:56But we did think about, why is this coach being, you know, so strict with us?
04:01Alright, man.
04:02As soon as he stepped in, you know, he was the man.
04:04Thriving or surviving, right?
04:06And we all did everything he said to the tee.
04:11By most measures, Tomlin's debut was a success.
04:15In 2007, the Steelers won their division.
04:19They have been...
04:20Oh, uh...
04:24Pittsburgh doesn't like that.
04:27Best defense.
04:29And their still young quarterback had his best season.
04:33But the Steelers faded in December, losing four of their final five games.
04:39I mean, we got worn down.
04:41We were a tired football team.
04:43It's a terrible habit that came to bite Tomlin in the butt.
04:49He's last ten years in Pittsburgh.
04:52Or so.
04:53Their season ended at home in the first round of the playoffs.
04:59We were so beat up.
05:01And our bodies didn't allow us to go any farther.
05:03Even though our minds and our hearts wanted us to.
05:06But I think Coach Tomlin learned from that.
05:08I probably grinded the team to a nub.
05:12And I knew that there was a risk of that when I put together the training camp schedule
05:17and really the practice schedule.
05:19And I think it was productive.
05:20But in the end, I think it was one of the things that got us, you know.
05:25There's no manual for this job.
05:27So, when you make a decision in regards to how training camp's going to be,
05:30you've got to live with it.
05:35Oh, that this is not Bill's team anymore.
05:37It's tough.
05:37It's not going to be easy.
05:39But...
05:43NFL history.
05:45They'd face eight playoff teams from the previous season.
05:51The Steelers seemed built for the task.
05:55Smash these boys, man.
05:57But one area of concern was the offensive line.
06:01Especially when Ben Roethlisberger separated his shoulder in the season opener
06:05and suffered one of the worst beatings of his career two weeks later in Philadelphia.
06:10Oh, they're all over.
06:11And he's going to be sacked.
06:12Here's the blitz.
06:13Ben is going to be hit and sacked.
06:16Hey!
06:17Excuse me!
06:18Excuse me!
06:19Everybody look at me, okay?
06:21Get your damn head up, look at the man, let's talk.
06:23Let's communicate.
06:24Let's be mentally tough.
06:25They came from everywhere.
06:27That's out of there.
06:28Now he's going to be hit the ball.
06:30We had no answers.
06:33This is just the beginning of our schedule,
06:35and we have the toughest schedule in the NFL.
06:37This could be a long year.
06:40Taking big hits was nothing new for Big Ben.
06:43But the blame didn't always fall on the offensive line.
06:48During the 06 and 07 seasons, he was sacked 99 times.
06:54Most quarterbacks want to live to fight another play.
06:57He tries to make every play.
06:59It is a double-edged sword.
07:01And, you know, with my play, quarterback, you have to live by it and die by it.
07:05Probably 28 teams or so that will take that problem.
07:08And so I'm glad...
07:32He's not like a Tom Brady and he's not like a Peyton Manning.
07:36He is who he is.
07:37And I don't think that we could say that holding on to the ball too long,
07:41you know, he should stop doing that or he should stop doing this.
07:44You know, Ben should just keep being Ben.
07:47That's why I always tell my linemen, just don't get frustrated.
07:49Don't get worried when people talk about the sacks because a lot of it's on me.
07:52You know, I'm not a pocket passer.
07:53I can make throws in the pocket.
07:55I'm not a running quarterback, but I can make plays with my legs.
07:59I honestly think that I'm just a crazy gunslinger back there, I guess.
08:04Gunfighters get shot sometimes.
08:06You know, that's what you say.
08:08The gunfighter was sacked eight times in Philadelphia.
08:12And against Baltimore the next week, the painful play continued.
08:18Eight quarters.
08:20Steelers without a touchdown.
08:23Trailing 13-3, the Steelers were booed off their home field at halftime.
08:28I'd like to be there in a locker room and find out exactly what is said.
08:32For the first time ever, it was my turn to stand up and kind of get emotional.
08:39One of those things that had to happen,
08:42part of him becoming the mature veteran franchise caliber quarterback that he is,
08:47it was one of those forks in the road.
08:49And I truly believe that he took the right turn at that moment.
08:54But I pointed to our defense, I said, that group has kept us in so many, kept us in the
08:57game.
08:58And they've done it for the last, you know, last week and so far.
09:02It's embarrassing.
09:02We're letting them down.
09:03We're letting our fans down.
09:04They're booing us.
09:05You know, this is truly embarrassing.
09:07I'm embarrassed.
09:09And if you guys don't want to be embarrassed the rest of, you know, the rest of this game,
09:14the rest of the season, then we need to do something about it.
09:17In the second half, the Steelers went to their no-huddle or lightning package.
09:24In a matter of 15 seconds, lightning struck twice.
09:42Say it ain't so, Joe.
09:44Jeffy's field goal beat Baltimore, marking the first of six games in which the Steelers came
09:50from behind in the fourth quarter or won in overtime.
09:57The fighting to the finish was nothing new for Ben Roethlisberger.
10:02It's something he specialized in at Miami University under Coach Terry Hepburn.
10:07Coach, I believe in Miami, Ohio, not Miami, Florida.
10:12Miami, Ohio for the Ohio native.
10:15Me early when no one else did the first school to offer me a scholarship.
10:20He just was an amazing person.
10:23More than a coach, I really was like a son to him.
10:26Hepner died of brain cancer in 2007.
10:29But he and his favorite poem, entitled Don't Quit, left a big impression on Big Ben.
10:36He would read it to us once or twice a year.
10:38He would get really into it and, you know, emotional about it.
10:42And it was really something special, especially when he passed.
10:45So I put the poem up in my locker so that every day I can see it and know that
10:49no matter what,
10:50just don't give up, don't quit.
10:53Success is failure.
10:55And, you know, been through a lot, obviously.
10:57And especially that last one, you know, when your heart is hit, just don't quit.
11:01And that's, you know, me in the fourth quarter.
11:03Or if you're down and you're sore and you're bleeding, whatever it is, you just don't quit.
11:08You don't give up.
11:09And that's kind of always been my thing.
11:12Ball at the 31.
11:14Ben in the shotgun.
11:16Russell to his left.
11:19Steelers trailing by one.
11:20He gets the snap.
11:21He's back.
11:22Blitz.
11:23He's going to be throwing the football.
11:25It's caught at the 15.
11:26First down at the 13-yard line.
11:29I remember standing in the pocket and kind of doing a little sidestep.
11:33And all of a sudden, I saw Heinz come across the field.
11:36And I did what I probably shouldn't have done with a guy or two hanging on.
11:40I don't know who it was, but I threw it.
11:45I did that a lot.
11:47Ben Roethlisberger is a master at this.
11:50Stepping up, stepping up.
11:51And just make a throw like this.
11:53That's Pittsburgh Steelers football.
11:55In a snapshot, that defines him.
11:58Not only what he's capable of from a physical standpoint, but also the spirit of him, the
12:04competitor in him.
12:06In the face of the most difficult adversity, he's the most calm and he's at his best.
12:121.59 to go.
12:14Steelers down by one.
12:19Ben is going to throw it.
12:20A little timing pattern.
12:22It's time for a touchdown.
12:23Heinz won.
12:25Yes!
12:25Five games into their brutal schedule, the Steelers were 4-1.
12:32They were both champions.
12:34And in both games, their quarterback was outplayed by a Manning.
12:42Pittsburgh's double-edged sword was causing self-inflicted wounds.
12:47Blitz.
12:48He throws it, and it's intercepted.
12:51Oh, my.
12:52That was a horrible throw.
12:55In the two losses, Ben Roethlisberger threw seven interceptions.
13:01But in defeat, Pittsburgh discovered a formula for success.
13:07I probably knew it more than anybody.
13:08Just don't turn the ball over.
13:10Don't do it together, all right?
13:11Don't try to force it on there.
13:12Just play your game.
13:14Without fault.
13:14There's certain games we went into that it was like, hey, if we score three points, we'll
13:18probably win this game.
13:19That's how good our defense was.
13:29This defense has been nothing less than spectacular.
13:34That's our defense.
13:37A lot was written and said about our defense.
13:41And that our defense carried us.
13:44And they did.
13:46The league's top-ranked defense featured number 92.
13:49James Harrison.
13:52He was the NFL's defensive player of the year.
13:56But he was not the face of the Steelers' defense.
14:01I don't think I love the face and the hair of the Steelers' defense.
14:06I love football.
14:07I love life.
14:09I love life.
14:10But football is a part of life.
14:12And in that way, I do love football.
14:14I don't idolize football.
14:16Football doesn't run my life.
14:18Football's not who we are.
14:19It's what we do.
14:24You play dumb sometimes.
14:26You know what I mean?
14:26You act like you don't understand defensive concept.
14:28But then when we get football games, get hot, you're a D coordinator.
14:31You know what I mean?
14:32You're a funny guy.
14:36You know, when the fire starts getting hot, I want to make sure I've got my hands on the wheel
14:41and I'm driving the bus rather than giving somebody else control.
14:46I'm not going to walk away from the game saying, you know what?
14:49Maybe I should have stepped just a little bit out of my shell.
14:51It would have made the difference, you know, in winning and losing this game.
14:57If ever there were a player who let his actions speak louder than his words, it's Troy Paul Amaro.
15:04And he plays on the defense.
15:13There's no problem expressing itself.
15:18We hit these motherfuckers in my mouth and we do it all day long.
15:25I'd like to think that I share that same passion that they do.
15:29However, I may not express it the same way they do.
15:33For reasons, about the only thing Paul Amaro will say on the field is a prayer.
15:40Well, because I'm scared for one, you know, I'm scared of a lot of things, you know, being injured.
15:45Plus, I just think that there's a lot of temptation on the football field dealing with passions of arrogance.
15:52Of ego, of pride, of all these vain type of things that I just try to protect myself against.
16:02Against San Diego, the incredibly humble safety made one incredible play.
16:14That's definitely no skill at all.
16:16It's just kind of luck the way that everything happened.
16:18A lot of people are like, oh my gosh, unbelievable.
16:20This is crazy.
16:21What an unbelievable play.
16:22I can lead to Troy Paul Amaro.
16:24Got that.
16:25For us, it was like, wow, that was pretty amazing, Troy.
16:28But that's it, because it was like, you just expect it from him.
16:31I mean, he might be one of the greatest athletes that I've ever met.
16:36I like the kid Troy.
16:37You know, he thinks he's a great broken field runner.
16:40When he gets the ball, you can pretty much book he's going to cut across the field.
16:44Hooks for blockers.
16:45Cuts back to his left.
16:46I don't know if that makes him a great broken field runner.
16:48He's just a cutback guy.
16:51Led by Polamalu and Harrison.
16:53He's going to be in the bus.
16:55Loose picked up by San Diego.
16:57We've got a safety.
16:59Pittsburgh beat San Diego without scoring a touchdown and proved to 73.
17:04But their schedule wasn't about to get any easier.
17:12...show just how far Mike Tomlin's team had come.
17:17Pittsburgh's schedule climaxed with a stretch that would make or break the season.
17:22I can convince myself of a lot of things.
17:25And I did.
17:26And I think our team did.
17:28You know, we had a saying.
17:30It's a five-star matchup because we're in it.
17:32Five-star matchup.
17:34Anybody we play is a five-star matchup because we're in it.
17:38We use that saying quite a bit over the second half of the year.
17:42And I think somewhere along the line, we all believe it.
17:46What he got across to us is that it's about us.
17:49It's not about anybody else.
17:51It ain't about that team.
17:52It's about what we do.
17:5450 minutes.
17:55You know what I mean?
17:55Hey, baby, let's go.
17:59They began the stretch drive with an impressive victory over the Patriots.
18:07And the Steelers have had a lot of fun in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
18:11Not only a big win, but it's an old-fashioned butt-whooping.
18:16Those are the days when it was an event when the Patriots got blown up.
18:22To see them get blown out at home, it used to be really special to see the Patriots get blown
18:29out.
18:31The next week was a different story.
18:37Midway through the fourth quarter, they trailed the Cowboys 13-3.
18:49A field goal drew them closer, but they still needed a touchdown to tie the game.
18:55First and goal, Steelers at the Cowboys.
18:58Six trailing by seven.
18:592-17 remaining.
19:01Here's the blitz.
19:02He throws the quick out.
19:03Here comes Heath Miller.
19:04He's got a touchdown.
19:07We are tied at 13 in this five-star matchup.
19:11Let's go!
19:14This crowd in a frenzy.
19:16Home on the gun.
19:17He's back.
19:18He waits.
19:19He looks.
19:20He finds intercepted.
19:21He was hit at the 25.
19:23DeShane Thompson to the 10.
19:24To the 5.
19:25He backs for the no line.
19:27Pittsburgh touchdown.
19:29DeShane Thompson.
19:31Goal!
19:32The Pittsburgh Steelers have kept an unbelievable comeback.
19:36Wow!
19:39Man, what a beautiful game.
19:41And I mean that.
19:43I just told the team that, you know, people get too preoccupied with style points.
19:48That was a beautiful football game.
19:50Who cares how we win?
19:51Who cares under what circumstances?
19:54Who cares who delivers the plays?
19:56It's December.
19:57We'll take the W.
19:59As long as we have one more point, I don't care.
20:01And I want to create an environment where it's okay for everybody to feel that way.
20:07Not everyone did.
20:10After the Dallas game, a season of frustration for Willie Parker.
20:17Willie Parker!
20:18Keep pounding!
20:19You want the sound like bliss on you.
20:20Keep pounding!
20:22Pose the wheel on this crew!
20:24Pose the wheel on them!
20:26That's what the Pittsburgh running game used to do.
20:30For years, it was called Steelers football.
20:35But in 2008, the running game was ranked near the bottom of the league.
20:39And Parker wasn't happy about it.
20:43He told the media his team had gotten away from Steelers football.
20:47His coach's reaction was swift and clear.
20:51Every morning I come to work, I walk past five Lombardis, not five rushing titles.
20:56The issue is winning.
20:57So, you know, do we need to get better in terms of running the football?
21:01Absolutely.
21:02And the reason is this.
21:03Because it increases our chances of winning.
21:06That's going to be a fight.
21:08Nothing refocuses the attention like Ravens-Steelers.
21:11We hear them!
21:13Yeah!
21:14All flights of chances!
21:15To me, it's simple.
21:17They try to beat up...
21:18...all-time great rivalry.
21:20I don't care how young it is.
21:22All-time great sports rivalry.
21:25...we try to beat them up.
21:27We're the number one defense, not them, baby.
21:29Let's go out here for the game.
21:30They play football the way we desire to play football.
21:35Doesn't necessarily mean you got a warm, fuzzy feeling when you see them.
21:39There's just a...
21:40I don't want to say hatred, but some people just generally hate each other on these teams.
21:45Takes a snap.
21:47Ray Lewis, and a blitz!
21:48Sacks him back at the field!
21:52The NFL's two best defenses matched each other blow for blow.
22:00Bang!
22:01Let's go!
22:02We gotta finish, that's all.
22:09When Ben Roethlisberger took the field with less than four minutes left in the game,
22:13neither team had scored a touchdown.
22:17And there was no reason to believe that was about to change.
22:22You know, we have a long way to go.
22:24It's different when you're on the 20 or the 30-yard line.
22:26To be on the 8-yard line was tough.
22:29He's gonna throw it.
22:30And his goal line.
22:31He waits, he looks, they come up his back, he throws it, and a great catch at the 21!
22:36They're looking very confident.
22:37Their offensive line's doing a nice job picking up the twist and the blitzes.
22:42They blitz, and he dumps it over the middle.
22:44And with a football, making a bad miss, is Heinz Warren up over the 30.
22:49He fires a pass.
22:50Wide open at the 22!
22:51The Steelers have it inside the 20, down to the 15!
22:57Quick pop over the middle.
22:59The pass is caught at the 10, the 5, spinning to the 4, Heinz Warren!
23:02They move the ball down the field pretty quick.
23:05And that last play was just kind of crazy.
23:09Brown on its feet.
23:10Game on the line!
23:12Roethlisberger takes, he wants to throw it on third and goal.
23:14It looks right, nothing there.
23:16Scamper's left.
23:16Looks, stops.
23:18Now comes back to his right.
23:19Throws the pass, touchdown!
23:27The Pittsburgh Steelers are AFC North Division champions.
23:31What do you do, boy?
23:32That's the way you play football!
23:34Scramble back to the right, because you know I hold onto the ball too long.
23:37And, um...
23:40It doesn't matter how you do it, as long as you reach the end zone.
23:45Even if it's only by an inch.
23:49That's a definition of Steelers football.
23:52They could all agree on.
23:55Steelers football is 60 minutes!
23:57Y'all, it's 60 minutes!
24:00Just great.
24:02I mean...
24:03I can't believe the Ravens really went 0-3 against the AFC championship included.
24:13It's 60 minutes!
24:15Good job!
24:17We appreciate the end result of our work.
24:22I appreciate just getting to do the work.
24:26I want to smell the roses.
24:28I make a conscious effort to.
24:34And in moments like that one...
24:38It overwhelms you.
24:39And it's really kind of cool.
24:43It got even cooler when Santonio Holmes got his hands on the football.
24:47Santonio Holmes, clutch to the middle.
24:4945!
24:50Over to B!
24:50He goes to the end of the corner!
24:52He's over to San Francisco!
24:5320, 45!
24:54Ticks up the back to 10!
24:56Into the end!
24:57With a Pittsburgh touchdown!
24:59Santonio Holmes!
25:01That's what big players do.
25:02Come on down this thing now!
25:04Come on this damn thing!
25:05Close the house!
25:07Go on!
25:08In the third quarter, Pittsburgh held the ball for all but 17 seconds.
25:13And with a happy Willie Parker rushing for 146 yards,
25:16the Steelers ran their way into the AFC Championship.
25:23You deserve it, man.
25:24Congratulations.
25:26What else would you expect?
25:27You know, us and the Ravens.
25:30It would be a big game if it was a scrimmage.
25:32It just happens to be AFC Championship.
25:35It's different from them than it would be from anybody else in the league.
25:44We also felt like this is our division.
25:48There's no better way to drive that point home than beat them in the AFC Championship game
25:53and beat them three times in a football season.
26:08We talked about this was going to be a bloodbath.
26:11And it is just like we thought it was going to be.
26:13Probably the most physical game in the history of football.
26:17That's big time defense right there!
26:19You're lucky if you're going to walk off the field.
26:21Defense, dominate.
26:23But for the...
26:24I don't know if it's the most physical game the Steelers have ever been involved in.
26:28Go ask the Raiders.
26:31Second week in a row, no one could stop Santonio Holmes.
26:36Now he's going to throw it to the near sideline.
26:37And it's caught by Santonio!
26:39Defender down!
26:40Touched in the middle of the field!
26:41Gets by another defender!
26:42Picks up a block from the 30.
26:47Santonio, 15, 10, 5.
26:49Touchdown from the air!
26:51Wow!
26:52Holmes scored the Steelers' only offensive touchdown in each of the three games against
26:56the Ravens.
26:58But Pittsburgh's prayers were answered this time thanks to their spiritual safety.
27:14I think there comes a point in the game where you're not really cognitively thinking.
27:21Honestly, before that play, I wasn't thinking, oh, it's fourth and one.
27:26You just kind of see just like the way everything develops, the way the offense alignment come
27:31up, the way they get set.
27:32You kind of see their splits.
27:33You kind of see the quarterback's energy.
27:36The more and more you play the game of football, the more and more you have the sensitivity,
27:39the rhythm of the football game.
27:41And, uh, you know, you can just do things like that.
27:45That's Troy.
27:46Uh, that's the play that I think about when I think about Troy.
27:51Most Steelers fans will think of another play.
27:54The one that decided the AFC Championship.
27:57What makes teams great?
28:00What makes games great?
28:02And it's these, these opportunities that seldomly come in a huge stage of the AFC Championship
28:08game.
28:09You have a rookie quarterback.
28:10You have a rookie coach on their sidelines.
28:12And you're thinking, wow, what a great time for them to come back and kick a field goal
28:18and beat the rivalries that they've lost to twice.
28:21You know, all these things are running to your head.
28:23But that would be a great story, you know, for them.
28:27Um, but, uh, it didn't happen that way.
28:30The clock at 4.43 and winding.
28:33Flacco with the gun.
28:34He's back.
28:37And it's interceding.
28:38Flacco on the 40s.
28:4035-30.
28:41Flacco's at the 25.
28:44He's running by right at the 15.
28:46He turns and goes for the goal line.
28:48And he's in for the pitchfork.
28:50He looks touchdown.
28:51And this place is on fire.
28:59There may be a split second.
29:01It's like, oh my gosh, I got the ball in my hands.
29:03You know, what do I do?
29:04If you're Troy Polamalu, you cut back.
29:09On your way to the end zone.
29:11And the Super Bowl.
29:15That's a line for letting Joe Flacco throw the ball right to him.
29:21Because January Joe got cut right in half.
29:31Well, it was the first game that my son had ever been to.
29:34So the first thing that crossed my mind was to point up at him and wave at him.
29:39He's like, look, son.
29:41So it was pretty cool.
29:44What a game.
29:45I'm not sure I have witnessed a game this vicious before.
29:49Good job, coach.
29:50Good job.
29:50Good luck.
29:50Y'all are healthy football team.
29:52Y'all bring the best out of us.
29:53A lot of these matchups, man.
29:55Let's pitch Derek Steelers.
29:57Our AFC Conference Champions.
30:01Ravens, Steelers, Harbaugh, Tomlin.
30:04We'll never see it again after the January 4th Classic of this year.
30:12We'll never see it again.
30:16The uniform or whatever uniform is great.
30:20We're going to play it perfectly.
30:21We're going to play it physical.
30:23That's the story of the 2008 Steelers.
30:25We lay it on the line for one another, don't we?
30:27Yes.
30:27And that's all it comes down to.
30:29Love this group.
30:30Get it in here.
30:31Let's go.
30:31Let's go.
30:32Bye, fellas.
30:35They had the look of a team that had been here before.
30:39There is a quiet confidence.
30:42They are not awed by being here.
30:44And focus, intense, intense focus.
30:47Super Bowl Sunday.
30:50Five-star matchup.
30:51Because we're in it.
30:54Making a regular ball game.
30:55I know it's going to be hard.
30:56But I didn't do it.
30:58You know?
30:59Yep.
31:00You don't want to do anything other than just be yourself.
31:02Okay.
31:03I knew I was going to be okay.
31:05I did.
31:05I knew that I just approached it different.
31:08I was older.
31:10He was older.
31:11And from the game's first series,
31:14Ben Roethlisberger was better.
31:16Back is bent.
31:17Throws a pass down the field wide open.
31:19That is high.
31:20The Cardinals weren't that good.
31:22They weren't supposed to be that good.
31:25Four to the 50.
31:26The 40.
31:27First down to the 35.
31:28Big man.
31:30Big man.
31:31Big man.
31:31Big man.
31:33All week long, he's been talking about how bummed out he was after the last Super Bowl.
31:38Because he didn't play very well.
31:40And he just had this do not be denied attitude coming into this ball game.
31:46Ben.
31:46Scrambles out of the pocket left.
31:48Now goes back to the right.
31:49Boy, that is just unbelievable.
31:51Classic big Ben Roethlisberger.
31:53It is crunk.
31:54First down to the 22-yard line.
31:57Filing in for a Steelers touchdown.
32:00It's Gary Russell.
32:01Way to start out the Super Bowl, baby.
32:04Don't blink.
32:05Don't blink.
32:06The Steelers controlled the first half.
32:08But late in the second quarter,
32:10the Cardinals were in position to take the lead.
32:1518 seconds left.
32:16First and goal, Arizona at the two-yard line.
32:20Steelers show blitz.
32:22They're back.
32:22He throws the pass up.
32:24It's going to be picked off.
32:25James Harrison has it.
32:26He's running up the sideline.
32:3225-30, 35-40.
32:34Still on his feet at the 45 and down.
32:37No, he's still on his feet.
32:38Here's Johnson Harrison jumping over people.
32:40To the 20, the 15, the 10, the 5.
32:43And there's a touchdown from Pittsburgh.
32:45An amazing play by James Harrison.
32:52The immaculate interception was one of the greatest plays in NFL history.
32:58And James Harrison had plenty of help along the way.
33:02That was no accident.
33:08We had a practice down there at the University of South Florida prior to the game.
33:13We picked off maybe five or six passes.
33:17And I'm watching a practice tape on Wednesday night.
33:20I can't sleep.
33:21I'm at the team hotel.
33:22And I decided to make a cut up of every interception that we had in that practice.
33:27I noticed that we weren't rallying and getting offensive.
33:31So when we met at 9 o'clock on Thursday, I ran that cut up.
33:37Didn't say much other than the fact that we're going to need this kind of performance.
33:43But this performance is probably not going to be enough.
33:46We're going to have to get out in front of people.
33:48And we're going to have to run one back or maybe two back.
33:51Yeah, yeah, it's all nice.
33:53But let's be honest.
33:55Because Kent Weishard won the Steelers the game.
34:01They throw the ball out of the back of the end zone.
34:04Kurt Warner throws the ball out of the back of the end zone.
34:06They kick a field goal.
34:08No Steelers pick six.
34:09They go in the halftime.
34:12They win that game.
34:16Brett Kiesel.
34:17DeShay.
34:19Lamar Woodley.
34:21The number of people out in front of him.
34:24And the people willing to peel back and get people chasing him as he ran out of gas is as
34:30spectacular as the play itself.
34:35It's pretty amazing the way things worked out that way.
34:39Him showing us that film, him driving that point across, him getting out of bed.
34:44That's a sign of a great coach, you know.
34:50I would have stayed at bed and kept sleeping.
34:53You know.
34:54That's what the defense do.
34:56We put points on the ball.
34:58Second half to go, baby.
34:59The last time I was here with the number one team, we scored three.
35:03We're short.
35:03Okay.
35:04We're short, too.
35:06But it was the Cardinals who scored the game's next two touchdowns.
35:10Warner to pass.
35:11With time.
35:11Fires over the middle.
35:12The Fitz caught at the 45-50.
35:14Goodbye.
35:15Cardinals lead.
35:16Larry Fitzgerald.
35:18You know, that's the same case.
35:20Great stories happen in great games for great teams.
35:25How am I going to be a part of this?
35:37But then, I look at Coach and I was amazed about how calm he was.
35:41They're going to score?
35:42That's how you want him to score, huh?
35:43Quick, quick.
35:44Let's go.
35:46You don't have time in those moments to go, woe is me, or ponder the misery.
35:51And really, as I went up and down the sideline to communicate with people, it was obvious
35:55that everybody was of that mindset.
35:59The adversity that we had faced throughout the course of the year had prepared us for
36:03that moment, had hardened us for that moment.
36:06And really, we were destined to do it and do it in that way.
36:12That adversity provided the proper platform for Ben to be Ben, for Santonio to be Santonio.
36:20Time to be great.
36:22Time to be great.
36:23For our offensive line to exercise the demons that have plagued them.
36:27It all comes down to this, baby.
36:29No better way to finish it.
36:30Football is the ultimate team game.
36:33In no way were we going to waltz in there and win a world championship on the strength
36:37of our defense alone.
36:40We need y'all right now.
36:41We got you ready for everything, guys.
36:42We need y'all.
36:43No more, boys.
36:44It's not that.
36:45It was football justice.
36:48And I believe in it.
36:51To be the one, everybody has to stand and deliver.
36:57The failure in our secondary provided the rightful opportunity for others to do what
37:05they were called to do and help us bring home the sixth Lombardi.
37:13That's a lot this year.
37:14You line especially.
37:18They will be right if we don't do this.
37:20If we don't go down this field right now and score a touchdown.
37:22And I didn't have anything witty or crazy or John Candy story.
37:28But if you guys want to be remembered forever, this is how you do it.
37:32And then the first play, we had a holding penalty and went backwards.
37:36Pacing backwards before firing your best shot is pretty routine for a gunslinger.
37:41He escapes, starts running to his right, throws it on the run.
37:45The pass is caught out over the 25.
37:47You know what?
37:47I was actually pretty relaxed.
37:48I surprised myself when I looked back on it.
37:50I wasn't freaking out.
37:51And people probably don't believe me when I say this, but I almost at a time forgot that
37:57it was the Super Bowl.
38:02I just forgot that this is it.
38:05To me, it was just another last minute drive.
38:08We had to go score.
38:11During that whole drive, to me, it was just playing football.
38:37I remember letting go of it and thinking, there it is.
38:40That's the one right there.
38:44And then when it went through his hand, I couldn't believe it.
38:46I was like, oh my goodness.
38:48He came back like, my bad, my bad.
38:49I'm like, don't worry about it.
38:50We'll get it again.
38:51Because I joke with him now, I'm like, that was actually an easier catch than the next one.
38:5543 seconds to go.
39:07Ben gets the snap.
39:09He's back.
39:10He pops.
39:11He scrambles around.
39:12Throws it back over the end zone.
39:16Santonio with a touchdown.
39:18Santonio holds.
39:19I don't know how he did it.
39:31Looking back on how covered he was, I never should have thrown it.
39:34For some reason, I just wound up and let it go.
39:38And I thought, oh my goodness, this ball is intercepted.
39:41I saw Tone reach up.
39:45I knew he caught it, but the next question was, where's speed in?
39:51You know, when he saw the ref do the signal, then it's like, okay, that's one of the greatest
39:57feelings in the world.
40:00Every time this team needed to make a play this year, they came home with a big play.
40:06I couldn't celebrate too much because we still had to go back out on the football field.
40:11And there's still that doubt, you know, in your mind that, you know what?
40:14They're going to go against Fitzgerald.
40:18He just, he had the greatest postseason for a receiver of all time, even though they didn't
40:23win it all.
40:255 and 46 yards, seven touchdowns.
40:29Still make a great story here.
40:31You know, what side of it do I want to be on?
40:34Hey, defense, come here.
40:35Hey, look.
40:36Style points don't matter.
40:38He said that throughout the whole playoff run.
40:41He says, style points don't matter.
40:44You guys win your great defense.
40:46We win the game.
40:47This is a legendary defense.
40:49Put an exclamation point on your word.
40:52Oh, please, please, please.
40:55We're too close, Hans.
41:00He steps up.
41:01He runs a lot.
41:02He's going to be.
41:03Do the Steelers have it together?
41:05It's over, folks.
41:07The Pittsburgh Steelers have won the Super Bowl for a six-time unprecedented.
41:14In the annals of NFL play.
41:23We're part of a story with a happy ending.
41:27We're 2-0 with him now.
41:35Mike Tomlin's second Super Bowl was sweeter, but just as sticky as his first.
41:41As an assistant, when I was a part of a Super Bowl champion, I remember riding back from San Diego
41:47to Tampa on the plane.
41:49And when you do that, you pass Lombardi around.
41:53When you see him displayed, shiny, clean, really, really impressive.
42:00By the time it gets to you on an airplane of a Super Bowl champion, it's not how you envision
42:06it.
42:07It's sticky.
42:08It's got a bunch of fingerprints on it.
42:11And it's really kind of dirty.
42:14He always just talked about hoisting the sticky Lombardi and passing it around and kissing the sticky Lombardi.
42:20We got so tired of hearing it, I think we just wanted to do it so he would just stop
42:23saying it.
42:24Hey, Tom, let me tell you that sticky name.
42:28I wanted to paint a picture of what that moment was going to be about for us.
42:33I wanted them to know what that thing was going to look like, that it was okay to put their
42:38fingerprints on it, their lips on it, because it was out of their labor that we were going to acquire
42:48it.
42:50We have the six Lombardis now in our front office.
42:54I think what they just stopped doing is washing them.
42:57I think that the fingerprint, the slobber, the Gatorade, whatever may be on it, should always be a part of
43:03the trophy.
43:04Coach always talks about passing around a sticky Lombardi.
43:07You know, all these marks have memories.
43:11A lot of players that have worked really hard to get their hands on this.
43:15And no player left a bigger mark on the sticky Lombardi than the quarterback who three years earlier made it
43:22his quest to earn another one.
43:26To be able to get back there.
43:27What a rip, man.
43:31Ravens would have beaten the crap out of the Cardinals also.
43:34He would have beaten the crap out of the Cardinals.
43:38Makes it that much worse that they had to lose that year.
43:42But hey.
43:44To win it, to win it that way.
43:46To win it with my offensive line.
43:48Offensive line.
43:49Who's laughing now, O-line?
43:54It was an emotional, amazing journey.
43:59For me especially.
44:02I'm growing up a lot.
44:04I've matured a lot.
44:04I understand what comes with being a franchise quarterback.
44:09Most little boys growing up play football.
44:13They want to be a quarterback.
44:15They want to play in the Super Bowl.
44:16And they want to have the game-winning drive and throw a touchdown pass to win the Super Bowl.
44:30I've got to do that.
44:32I've got to do that.
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