A few years back, I attended a luncheon to honor some big names in sports. Standing next to me in the mingling room was a tall, lanky, older gentleman in a finely tailored suit with his wife by his side. We struck up a conversation as I stared out at a room that featured the likes of Walt Frazier, Sparky Lyle, Tom Glavine, David Tyree — trust me, for this piece it works — and others. The couple and I talked for several minutes before I finally, and formally, introduced myself.
The man extended out his hand: “Bob McElwee.”
I’ll admit, I didn’t know much about McElwee other than he was an NFL official. But I prodded him for more info. He told me he worked three Super Bowls, the most recent being the 2000 matchup between the Tennessee Titans and St. Louis Rams. McElwee talked of being on the field for a game of that magnitude, and how the Titans fell one yard short of tying it up before time expired.
It’s not often you get to pick the brain of an NFL referee. But, this was no interview. It was a conversation like any you’d strike up at a dinner party. Only this conversation was with someone who’s seen the sights of the Big Game from the perspective of only a select few.
Kurt Warner was also in the stadium for Super Bowl XXXIV, McElwee’s last. He was the gun-slinging quarterback in charge of a high-powered Rams offense — the “Greatest Show on Turf.” Warner didn’t disappoint the Georgia Dome crowd of 76,625 — and 43 million watching at home — as he threw for 414 yards and two touchdowns, a performance that led his club to a 23-16 victory.
Nine years later, Warner is back playing in the Super Bowl, and the Arizona Cardinals offense he’s in charge of today is nearly as dangerous as the one he had with the Rams. Larry Fitzgerald is his Isaac Bruce, talented deep threats; Anquan Boldin his Torry Holt; game-changing speedsters playing opposite of the star receiver; Edgerrin James his Marshall Faulk — don’t question that one; Faulk only had 17 yards in that Super Bowl.
Warner will guide those three, and dozens of others, against Pittsburgh’s brick-wall defense on Sunday evening in Tampa. The Cardinals face off against the Steelers in Super Bowl 43, only this time his club is playing as underdogs.
Pittsburgh is a well-rounded squad with most of those props going to their No. 2 ranked defense. They can take the running game away from opponents quickly and have corners and safeties that attack with the ball and receivers with viciousness. It’s not fun — or safe — to play against the Steelers.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, like Warner, is back for his second trip to the Super Bowl. Roethlisberger, again like Warner, won a ring in his first trip there. Both men wouldn’t mind adding another.
You can throw the big names out there one after another in this game: Fitzgerald, Boldin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Willie Parker, James Harrison, Troy Polamalu, the list goes on. But it’s often the lesser-knowns who make a legacy for themselves and help propel their team to victory, as was the case with Tyree last year.
No one expects Warner to be able to throw all over the Steelers like he’s done to most teams this season. This is, after all, a matchup of offense verse defense. That’s long been the question: Which side of the ball wins football games? We’ll have that answer Sunday.
"The Cheap Seats: Notebook" 