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"Better Than Super!" That's how the St. Petersburg Times summarized the NFL's latest Super Bowl spectacular the morning after yet another rollicking, stunning super show.

The Super Bowl keeps topping itself.

Last year, it was Super Bowl XLII it was the New York Giants as Eli Manning escaped a horde of Patriots rushers to connect with David Tyree on that unreal "helmet catch."

Last Sunday in Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa Bay, it was Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger flinging a pass "I thought was going to be picked," as he described it, to Santonio Holmes, who, straining on his tiptoes, made only the latest "greatest Super Bowl catch ever" (left, Sports Illustrated cover) to give Pittsburgh a 27-23 victory over Arizona.

It secured for Holmes the game's MVP award and for the Steelers a record sixth Super Bowl title.

Super Ball XLIII had it all . . .

The Game

Who knew that JAMES HARRISON's 100-yard interception return to end the first half – the longest play in Super Bowl history – would be just the appetizer? But it was indeed just the lead-in to the heart of the menu.

Down 20-7, Arizona QB KURT WARNER started slinging it in the second half, throwing for 242 of his 377 total yards to become the only passer in Super Bowl history with three 300-yard games.

Warner started to go to his game-changer LARRY FITZGERALD (No. 11, right), who had only a 12-yard catch in the first half but added six in the second for a game total of 127 yards (he would wind up with NFL postseason records in catches, 30; receiving yards, 546; and touchdowns, 7).

With 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Warner proceeded to complete eight consecutive passes, four to Fitzgerald, including a one-yard TD toss to bring the Cards to within 20-14.

Then with 2:47 left in the game, Warner hit Fitzgerald with a short pass over the middle that the speedster took all the way for a 64-yard touchdown to shockingly lift Arizona into a 23-20 lead.

There was only 2:37 left. "I knew it wasn't over," said Warner.

The Drive

Kurt Warner was right. Big Ben still had his thing to do.

Starting at his own 22, Roethlisberger (below) completed five of his next seven passes, with three going to Holmes for 67 yards.

Then, with 42 seconds left, came the "greatest catch in Super Bowl history" -- as some are saying.

In the shotgun, Roethlisberger first looked to RB MEWELDE MOORE, who was covered. Next he spotted WR HINES WARD, but a defender was closing fast.

Finally, Roethlisberger spotted Holmes in the back corner of the end zone, with three defenders closing. "Gotta go for it." Ben did, Santonio stood on the absolute tips of his toes inbounds, took in the pass, twisted with his back to the defenders, brought the ball to his chest and fell.

The replay assistant called for a review.

The play was upheld and the Pittsburgh Steelers would soon hold up their record sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy.

"That was the most fulfilling drive I've ever been associated with," said Steelers offensive coordinator BRUCE ARIANS.

The Viewers

Super XLIII attracted the largest audience in television history.

A total audience of 151.6 million viewers watched Super Bowl XLIII on NBC. The last two Super Bowls have pulled the most viewers ever for a TV program, with Super Bowl XLII on FOX garnering 148.3 million viewers last year.

"The Super Bowl is the most-watched show of the year, no matter what teams are involved, because the day becomes a party for many built around a TV show," said the New York Daily News.

The Impact

As usual, the power of Super Bowl is all-encompassing.

The game was watched by an average of 38.3 million women – the most for a TV show since 38.6 million women watched the 1994 Winter Olympic figure-skating finals featuring NANCY KERRIGAN on February 25, 1994

The Boss scores!

The new CD ("Working on a Dream") of SB XLIII halftime performers BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND (right) opened this week at No. 1 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums list thanks to its exposure during the game. The CD has already sold 224,000 copies.

PAUL MC CARTNEY, the ROLLING STONES and TOM PETTY are three other recent Super Bowl halftime performers who enjoyed considerable record sales spikes after their Super shows. McCartney's album jumped 246% after SB XXXIX, the Stones by 34% after SB XL, and Petty last year after SB XLII by 196%

Usually, advertisers like to stay away from placing their commercials late in the game for fear it could already be decided at that point. But that was the place to be on Sunday! According to TiVo, eight of the 10 most-watched commercials came in the second half. "Nail-biter Super Bowls might rewrite the rules for advertisers," said the New York Times

A record 1.5 million fans voted for the game's MVP on NFL.com, doubling the previous high in Super Bowl XL.

The President

Everybody knows President BARACK OBAMA was rooting for the Steelers.

Pittsburgh Chairman DAN ROONEY campaigned for Obama during the election, and in a pregame interview on NBC, the President predicted that the Steelers would "eke it out in the end" – which, of course, they did. He also called the Super Bowl "one of the finest American traditions."

That rooting interest, though, did not prevent the president from calling Cardinals head coach KEN WHISENHUNT Monday afternoon to salute him on the club's season.

"He congratulated our team on the success we had and was very impressed with the way our men had played," said Whisenhunt. "That was very special."

The Celebration

The mayor temporarily renamed Pittsburgh "Sixburgh" and almost the whole city showed up on Tuesday to celebrate the Steelers' championship.

Mayor LUKE RAVENSTAHL, calling the city "Sixburgh," accompanied Roethlisberger along the parade route packed by an estimated 300,000 people.

The entire population of Pittsburgh is about 311,000, so just about everybody was there, including the six high school bands representing the club's six titles that performed.

"Steeler nation, you leave us all speechless," yelled MIKE TOMLIN (left), at 36, the youngest head coach in Super Bowl history.

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SUPER BOWL XLIII RELATED

Steelers Defeat Cardinals 27-23, Holmes MVP
Super Bowl XLIII: Steelers 27 Cardinals 23

Santonio Holmes extended his arms, kept his feet on the ground and held on to Ben Roethlisberger's perfectly placed pass deep in the right corner of the end zone.

The amazing touchdown catch -- against three Cardinal defenders -- capped an 8-play 78 yard drive with 35 seconds remaining.

Thus, giving the Pittsburgh Steelers a 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.

Arizona Cardinals Relaxed Atmosphere in Final Prep
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Summing up the week, Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin said: "It's been good. Ultimately, though, it will be judged by how we perform tomorrow. We understand that."

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Starting quarterback Kurt Warner may have had his best throwing day of the week on Friday, misfiring on only three passes during the two hour and 20-minute practice. "Kurt looked like he's been looking," Whisenhunt said. "He was consistent and made some good throws. He looked sharp."

Cardinals Anquan Boldin Looking Good

Wide receiver Anquan Boldin participated fully and showed no effects of a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the Divisional Playoff game against Carolina. "He looked good today and he also looked good late last week," Whisenhunt said of Boldin. "We took a little easier on him early last week just to be safe."

Steelers Hines Ward Not 100% But Ready to Go

Other than Ward, the 32-year old inspirational lead of the Pittsburgh offense, the Steelers have no health issues on either side of the ball, Tomlin said. But the coach was dismissive when asked if he was concerned about Ward's status for Sunday's game. "Hines is playing," Tomlin said. "I'm not worried about him."

Cards Focus on Steelers' Big 3-D

For the two major practices in Tampa, the Cardinals have had scout defensive players wear the jersey numbers for Pittsburgh's Big 3-D, linebackers James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley and safety Troy Polamalu. "It helps our receivers and Kurt (Warner) in order to identify defenses," Whisenhunt said of the common practice method.

Big Ben's Health Often Subject of Inaccurate Reports

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Larry Fitzgerald, Simply Amazing
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Kurt Warner, Renaissance Man
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Steelers Game-By-Game Playoff Statistics

Cardinals Game-By-Game Playoff Statistics

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The Pittsburgh Steelers advanced to their 7th Super Bowl appearance overall and second in four seasons by defeating the Baltimore Ravens 23-14 in the AFC Championship Game at Heinz Field.

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The Cardinals jumped out to a 24-6 halftime lead, but the Eagles stormed back with 19 unanswered points in the second half to take a 25-24 lead with 10:56 left in the game. The Cardinals responded with a 14-play, 72-yard drive capped off by Kurt Warner’s 4th touchdown pass, an eight-yard shuffle pass to Cardinals running back Tim Hightower.