In February of 2011 I was given the opportunity to watch the Super Bowl. I am an enormous Pittsburgh Steelers fan, or at least like to think of myself as one, and I am writing this piece as a Steelers fan experiencing the game against the Packers in Super Bowl 45. It starts from my perspective as I await to enter Cowboys Stadium with part of my family: my dad, my soon to be step brother, and step-mother.
As we wait in line for an hour or so to through more security than airports, anxiety builds. I was fortunate enough to go to Detroit for Super Bowl XL, but I was pretty young back then, and didn’t realize how amazing the opportunity was. When I got the chance to go this time, I really soaked it all in, or at least tried to. We ended up at our seats about an hour early, and as everyone else mingled about buying souvenirs and snacks, I sat. Watching and noticing everything. Everything there was spectacular. From the enormous jumbo-tron that looked bigger than the field itself, how could I not notice that, to the each player warming up. Pre game was an amazing time to look around and see everything that is at the Super Bowl. There are more people then even fathomable for most, and is truly a breathtaking experience.
For those of you who don’t know which Super Bowl it was, it was Super Bowl 45, against the Green Bay Packers, who are now my least favorite team. The energy in the building was extraordinary. Everyone, fan or not, was watching the game and rooting for either the Steelers or Packers. After every play there was loud cheers,close to what you would hear at a home game, and disappointment in other fans voices. On every play everybody was at the edge of their seat awaiting what would happen next. The Packers took an early lead, but that didn’t stop any fans who were getting even more noisy. Aaron Rodgers was tearing apart through the Steelers secondary, early and often completing a total of 3 touchdowns in the game and threw for over 300 yards. The Steelers were down by 7 after a Packers touchdown with just over 4 minutes left in the first quarter and the pressure was on for the Steelers to score. Feeling the intensity of the game and the moment, Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers threw the ball right to Nick Collins, who took it back for a touchdown for the Packers. This really sucked the emotion out of the Steelers fans, but what made most fans silent was a statistic on the scoreboard. It read that teams with an interception returned for a touchdown were undefeated in the Super Bowl. This did not bode well for the Steelers who were able to answer with only a field goal on their next drive.
After being down 21-3, Pittsburgh was able to rally back by outscoring the Packers 22-7 until there was only a couple of minutes left in the game, which was when a Mason Crosby field goal gave the Packers a 6 point lead. The Packers were able to play a tough and find major holes in Dick Lebeau’s famous defense. The Steelers were able to adjust, but the deficit was too great to overcome. As the game wore on it became more apparent how the Steelers would need a miracle to pull out a win, and unlike a game winning pass to Santonio Holmes in Super Bowl 43 against Arizona, there were no last second heroics. On a last minute drive Green Bay successfully held off the Steelers final push and was able to close out the game.
The Steelers lost the game, which was one of the most disappointing times in my life. As I looked around, though, and realized where I was, I wasn’t upset at all. I started to realize that I was one of the luckiest people in the world. I was sitting in Cowboys Stadium after the Super Bowl. At that moment it really struck me that I wasn’t just witnessing a loss of the Steelers, but the most watched, most important football game of all. The opportunity and the experience of going to this amazing event was enough to make me at peace with what happened at the game and whatever happens from here on out in my life, because I wasn’t given the chance of one lifetime, but the chance of many.