Super Moments: Highlights and disappointments of XL

Jimmy McCumber Guest Writer

It was definitely a new experience, preparing to watch the Super Bowl without my New England Patriots playing. Still, I’m not going to be bitter and insult this year’s match-up between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks. Since I didn’t want to surround myself with Steelers fans, I went to watch the game with a diehard Seahawks fan. To protect his identity, we shall merely refer to him as “Kevin.”

This year’s Super Bowl match-up was a surprise to many, with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were once the lowest seed in the American Football Conference, playing National Football Conference representative Seattle. While many were unhappy with the competing teams, including the large legions of Giants and Patriots fans here at Vassar, it still turned out to be a decent game, and felt closer than the 21-10 final score in favor of Pittsburgh. Several key plays, including record Steeler plays, Seattle mistakes, and questionable officiating, were highlights of the night.

15:00 1st Quarter: Brady does the official coin flip. If this was supposed to make me feel better, it didn’t.

0:22 1st Quarter: A questionable pass interference call on Darrell Jackson in the end zone negates a Seattle touchdown, and almost knocks them out of field goal range. Jackson is called for pushing off a Seattle defender, but replays show very little contact. Seattle does manage to get the field goal, however, and the 3-0 lead. Kevin’s cursing can be heard at the Mid-Hudson Bridge.

1:55 2nd Quarter: Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger scores the first touchdown of the game, on a play where he appeared to never cross the goal line. Regardless, the touchdown stands and Pittsburgh goes up 7-3, a lead they carry through halftime.

Halftime: The ten combined points is less than the empty beer cans at Kevin’s feet, a total that has reached 15. We head downstairs to watch the Rolling Stones perform and to procure some pizza. When we get back to the room, Kevin has gone into three different rooms in the suite and put on Jimi Hendrix, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana at full blast, all at the same time, only because each of these artists is from Seattle.

14:38 3rd Quarter: At the beginning of the half, the Steelers score another touchdown off a record 75-yard Willie Parker run and take a 14-3 lead. The play sets a record for longest run in Super Bowl history. Kevin, who has gone into his room to turn off the Nirvana song, throws his chair across the suite.

7:52 3rd Quarter: Kevin is sitting on the floor, eating a whole jar of jam and smearing it all over his face. Thankfully, we have run out of beer. At this point, my favorite commercial of the night comes on. Godzilla and a giant robot start making sweet love to each other. Then Godzilla gets pregnant. I’m still not sure what the point of the commercial was, but it involved a Hummer.

7:38 3rd Quarter: A Seahawks interception by Kelly Herndon is returned 76 yards. A few plays later, Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck cuts the Steelers lead to 14-10 with a touchdown pass to Jerramy Stevens.
“Hasselbeck is so good…and bald!” boasts Kevin.

10:46 4th Quarter: Seattle gets the ball back and drives into Steeler territory, looking for a 17-14 lead. But Pittsburgh’s defense appears to get away with two consecutive offside infractions, and on the second one, Hasselbeck’s toss is intercepted. A 15-yard penalty is charged to Hasselbeck for an illegal block, even though replays showed he was tackling the ball carrier. The officiating in this year’s NFL playoffs has probably been the worst in league history.

8:56 4th Quarter: A trick play by Pittsburgh leads to a touchdown pass from wide receiver Antwaan Randle-El to Hines Ward. The score puts the Steelers up by 11.

8:26 4th Quarter: Hasselbeck fumbles after running for a first down, but the call goes to instant replay review. There is finally a ruling in favor of Seattle, as the referee overturns the play. It soon becomes meaningless, as the Seahawks are forced to punt. They do not get the ball back until the two-minute warning, and the clock runs out on a 21-10 Pittsburgh victory.

0:00 4th Quarter: The game is over, the Steelers win 21-10.
A dark cloud gathers over Kevin, who has locked himself in his room. We try to get him to come out by convincing him that next year will be different, but he refuses to be comforted.