Super Thoughts

Some post-Super Bowl thoughts:

1. Being a Northeasterner, the thought of Steelers-Seahawks Super Bowl was a bit - oh - boring. (Okay, Pittsburgh did strike my interest and gave a team to cheer on.) But I found myself watching until the last seconds. It was a fun Super Bowl. I did not really have a dog in this fight, notwithstanding my promise to root for Mrs. Thew's Steelers, so it was fun to watch. I was always hoping the losing team would come back.

2. The "better" team lost. The general sense of the two dozen sports fans at the party where I was, was that Seattle outplayed Pittsburgh. I think Hasselback outplayed Roethlisberger (67.8 rating v. 22.6!!) though I thought both quarterbacks showed real touchness. But there was also a general sense that Seattle did not go in for the kill. (Imagine if Jerramy Stevens could actually catch a pass.) Pittsburgh had Seattle's lunch on one play and one play only. But...who cares? What matters is the score at the end.

3. The Zebras determined the game...again. I do not think the Roethlisberger touchdown was the determining factor, but the holding call bring back the pass to Stevens and the personal foul on Hasselback really swung the momentum the other way.

4. Al Michaels and John Madden were good. Madden, especially, showed a glimpse of his former self and is made for the Super Bowl. Simply put, the Super Bowl is often a coaches duel and insight into coaching is what Madden does best. Most importantly, they did not distract from the game.

5. Finally, what the heck happened at the end of the game? Madden's advice was dead on. Get the points, onside kick and then shoot for the endzone. It was the only time I felt Hasselback was losing his composure and it was a bad time to do so.