Same movie, different ending. Only…if…could
The scariest movie I ever saw was the original Alien. I went fetal for four days after I saw that flick. Especially the part – all together now – where the alien bursts out of John Hurt’s stomach. I’ve seen that movie a hundred times since. Of course I know what’s coming, but that belly bursting scene is never easy to watch and never ceases to cause a squirm or two.
Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers have the ball. Two minutes or so on the clock. Trailing in the fourth quarter of a Super Bowl. You know what’s coming. Instant Classic. Indelible History. Pure Torture. Are you going to watch it?
But then something interesting happened. Nothing happened. Big Ben completed a 15 yard pass, followed by another five yarder to Hines Ward and then….three straight incompletions. Good night and thanks for playing.
Larry Fitzgerald was watching. The Cardinals wide receiver served as a de facto spokesperson for all Cardinals fans watching the Packers fend off the Steelers:
@LarryFitzgerald—Only if this could have happened two years ago….
Only…..if…..could.
Yeah Larry, you ain’t lyin’.
When it was all over, I wondered what Cardinal fans were thinking. Relief that you didn’t have to sit through another Big-Ben-Miracle-Comeback? Or regret? Regret that the Packers were able to do what your team was not. Or, and here’s a radical thought, did you want Big Ben to complete the comeback so the Cardinals had company in their misery?
As for this year’s Super Bowl, it felt like a bit of a microcosm of the Packers season. Losing Charles Woodson to injury? In a season filled with seemingly impossible setbacks, the Packers just found a way. No one will question Aaron Rodgers’ resume any longer. Rodgers threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns and finally the Favre divorce seems to have been put to rest. Both now have the same number of Super Bowl championships.
If there were demons for Aaron Rodgers to exorcise – draft day demons, Favre demons – they’re gone now.
If only we could say the same about the Cardinals demons of two years ago.
Right @LarryFitzgerald? Only…..if…..could.
