Payoff

My NFL fandom is conflicted.

Part of this is because my team has never won in my lifetime, but I like to think that it's more about the fact that there's something just a little bit disconcerting by being attracted to this much violence. Baseball and basketball rarely, if ever, have the same moments of red meat, and there's something wrong with a sport where guys are crippled in their '40s. It also, of course, doesn't help that the overwhelming majority of NFL commentary is breathtakingly stupid, and that way too many NFL fans are people you wouldn't want in your home.

And then there's a game like tonight's... where the Steelers nearly gave up the biggest comeback in NFL history, only to come back with a game-winning drive of their own, and a catch for the ages from game MVP Santonio Holmes.

What started out as an old-school stomp, with the game only close because of the Steelers settling for two chip-shot field goals... well, hold on for a second. If you're a Red fan, you're seeing a 14 point swing on the ultimate disaster TAInt by James Harrison on Kurt Warner in the final play of the first half, with the added torture of how close Harrison was to going down or out of bounds to limit the damage to just the assumed score.

Both teams had huge beef with the refs, too. A borderline holding call cost the Steelers a safety late. Red had triple figures in flags, with holding penalties on offense stopping them more than the Steeler defense. Both teams also had huge goats, with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie getting owned by Holmes all night, and the Steeler secondary, especially Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu, playing poorly late.

Congratulations go to the Steelers, of course, and I suspect that Cardinals Fan really isn't that bent out of shape, given the scope of the comeback (and the fact that they covered). In an era of fantastic Super Bowls, it might have been the best, at least in terms of a finish.

And, really, congratulations go out to anyone who watches football, because you won tonight. Big.