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Date | February 1, 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Stadium | Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Santonio Holmes, wide receiver | ||||||||||||||||||
Favorite | Steelers by 7[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||||
Referee | Terry McAulay | ||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 70,774[3][4] | ||||||||||||||||||
Hall of Famers | |||||||||||||||||||
Steelers: Dan Rooney (owner/administrator), Bill Nunn (scouting assistant), Troy Polamalu Cardinals: Edgerrin James, Kurt Warner | |||||||||||||||||||
Ceremonies | |||||||||||||||||||
National anthem | Jennifer Hudson | ||||||||||||||||||
Coin toss | Gen. David Petraeus | ||||||||||||||||||
Halftime show | Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band | ||||||||||||||||||
TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Al Michaels, John Madden, Andrea Kremer and Alex Flanagan | ||||||||||||||||||
Nielsen ratings | 42.0 (national)[5] 53.6 (Pittsburgh) 47.5 (Phoenix) US viewership: 98.7 million est. avg., 151.6 million est. total | ||||||||||||||||||
Market share | 65 (national) 79 (Pittsburgh) 80 (Arizona)[6] | ||||||||||||||||||
Cost of 30-second commercial | $3 million[7] | ||||||||||||||||||
Radio in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
Network | Westwood One | ||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Marv Albert, Boomer Esiason, John Dockery and Mark Malone | ||||||||||||||||||
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champions Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2008 season. The Steelers defeated the Cardinals by the score of 27–23. The game was played on February 1, 2009,[8] at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
With this victory, the Steelers became the first team to win six Super Bowl championships. The win was also Pittsburgh's second Super Bowl victory in four years, after winning Super Bowl XL at the end of the 2005 season. The Cardinals entered the game seeking their first NFL title since 1947, the longest championship drought in the league. The club became an unexpected winner during the regular season, compiling a 9–7 record, and earning a spot in the playoffs with the aid of head coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers' offensive coordinator in Super Bowl XL, and the re-emergence of quarterback Kurt Warner, who was the Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl XXXIV with his former team, the St. Louis Rams.
Pittsburgh jumped to a 17–7 halftime lead, aided by linebacker James Harrison's Super Bowl-record 100-yard interception return for a touchdown. Trailing 20–7 at the start of the fourth quarter, Arizona scored 16 consecutive points, including a safety that led to wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald's 64-yard touchdown reception, to take their first lead of the game with 2:37 remaining. But the Steelers marched 78 yards to score on wide receiver Santonio Holmes' 6-yard game-winning touchdown catch with 35 seconds left. Holmes, who caught nine passes for 131 yards and a touchdown, including four receptions for 73 yards on that final game-winning drive, was named Super Bowl MVP. He became the sixth wide receiver to win the award, half of whom at the time were Steelers players (Lynn Swann and Hines Ward).
The NBC television network broadcast attracted an average U.S. audience of 98.7 million viewers, making it the most watched Super Bowl in history at that time and the most watched Super Bowl of the 2000s.[9][10] Many media outlets consider this one of the best Super Bowls from the 2000s, as well as one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time, due to the performance of both teams as well as its thrilling finale.[11][12] This game was ranked No. 4 on NFL Top 10 on NFL Network for Top 10 Greatest Games of All Time and ranked No. 1 for Top 10 Super Bowls.[13][14][15] As of 2022[update], this is the Steelers' most recent Super Bowl championship, and the last title by a Pennsylvania-based NFL team until their cross-state rival Philadelphia Eagles won Super Bowl LII in 2018. It was also the last time a Phoenix-based team reached the championship round of the four major North American sports leagues until the Phoenix Suns made the NBA Finals in 2021.
This was the last game to feature famed commentator John Madden, who retired two months after the game.[16][17]
Attendance
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).