Congratulating the Pittsburgh Steelers for winning Super Bowl XLIII.

WHEREAS, On February 1, 2009, the Pitttsburgh Steelers captured their sixth World Championship by defeating the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in one of the most thrilling finishes in Super Bowl history; and

WHEREAS, The Steelers, with their sixth Super Bowl win, passed the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys (5 wins each), as the first franchise to be victorious in 6 Super Bowl games. The Steelers only loss was to Dallas in 1996; and

WHEREAS, After Pittsburgh forged ahead 10-0 early in the second quarter, Arizona suddenly came to life and scored a touchdown midway through the 2nd quarter and was threatening to go ahead or at least tie the game with a first and goal inside the five with 18 seconds remaining in the first half; and

WHEREAS, What transpired next resulted in the longest play of any kind in the history of the Super Bowl as James Harrison stepped in front of a Kurt Warner toss and returned the interception 100 yards for a touchdown on the last play of the first half; and

WHEREAS, Third quarter was much like the first as the only scoring came on a short field goal by Pittsburgh which increased the Steelers lead to 13 points; and

WHEREAS, Arizona staged a comeback in the 4th quarter as the Cardinals scored a touchdown and then were awarded a safety which made the score 20-16. Seconds later, after a Pittsburgh punt, Larry Fitzgerald, who played his college football at Pitt, caught a quick slant pass and then exploded 64 yards for a touchdown which gave the Cards a 23-20 lead; and

WHEREAS, Following a penalty, Ben Roethlisberger led Pittsburgh on an 88 yard drive. Roethlisberger was magnificent as he connected time after time with his splendid receiver, Santonio Holmes. The winning touchdown pass from Roethlisberger was a perfectly thrown ball which was snared by the fully-extended Holmes who made a marvelous catch, somehow keeping both feet in bounds; and

WHEREAS, Head Coach Mike Tomlin became the youngest coach in league history to win the Super Bowl in only his third season at the helm; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we congratulate the Pittsburgh Steelers, their head coach, Mike Tomlin, Owner Dan Rooney and all Steeler fans on the occasion of their sixth Super Bowl triumph.

End