Super Bowl XLIII is full of fond memories for fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their matchup against the Arizona Cardinals has gone down as one of the closest games in the Super Bowl in recent memory, and it featured a variety of iconic plays.
None of those plays are more memorable than Ben Roethlisberger throwing a championship-winning touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with less than a minute left in the first quarter. The play has been one of the most iconic in recent memory, and it’s one of the most legendary moments in the history of the Steelers franchise.
For Holmes, as he explained on the All Things Covered podcast, that moment signified a chance for him to make an impact in a way he hadn’t been able to yet during his career.
“The only thing going through my mind at that time was, dude, you haven’t made a play all game,” Holmes said. “All of that was driven back to my childhood moments, my state championship game that I played in that I didn’t score any touchdowns in the national championship game that I was a part of that I didn’t score a touchdown in.”
Holmes had a very successful NFL career, to say the least. He totaled 6,030 receiving yards, 36 touchdowns, and an impressive 15.5 yards per reception over the course of his career. However, Holmes claims that in his mind, he hadn’t shown up in the way he wanted to during the biggest games of his career.
“You know, I’m saying at that moment was like, dude, you’ve been playing in big games,” Holmes said. “You’ve been a part of these moments, but what you did? You ain’t did nothing.”
Holmes went to Glades Central High School, and although his school was very successful when Holmes was there, he mentions that he never scored a touchdown during their biggest game, the state championship.
The National Championship game Holmes is referring to is back in 2002 when Holmes attended Ohio State. Holmes had a great career as a Buckeye, but again, he feels he didn’t make the impact he could have during their biggest moment of the season, as he was a redshirt that season.
So, the Super Bowl presented Holmes with a chance to finally have the type of moment he always dreamed of having, and boy did he ever. Although Holmes claims Arizona kept him from making any big plays, he still had an incredible performance.
Holmes ended his Super Bowl performance with nine receptions for 131 yards, and of course his iconic touchdown. He ended up making one of the greatest plays in Super Bowl history, as well as the Steelers’ history.
Fortunately, it all worked out for Holmes. Roethlisberger threw him a beautiful pass, and Holmes made an excellent catch in the corner of the end zone, cementing his legacy in the NFL forever. He made a few iconic plays over the course of his Steelers career, but none more iconic than this one.
