In this era of instant nostalgia and snap judgments, many people will proclaim Pittsburgh's 27-23 victory over Arizona in Super Bowl 43 to be the best ever. It probably doesn't deserve that status.

But, it's definitely in the discussion.

Had the Cardinals prevailed, we'd have had the double-whammy of the greatest comeback/collapse of all-time. Instead, we had late lead changes, spectacular plays and the Steelers winning their sixth Super Bowl championship.

Here are some off-the-cuff observations from the day at Raymond James Stadium:

Catching redemption: Santonio Holmes' game-winning touchdown catch with 35 seconds left will go down as one of the more memorable moments in NFL history. Had the Steelers lost, people would have remembered the pass that sailed through his hands moments earlier.

Close call: We may be overreacting a little bit here, and it probably wouldn't have changed the outcome, but why didn't Kurt Warner's "fumble" on the second-to-last play of the game merit more discussion or review? Was it that obvious that he was not trying to throw the ball?

Not to this observer.

If the play had been ruled incomplete, the Cardinals would have had one more chance for a desperation pass. It probably wouldn't have mattered, but Larry Fitzgerald is a tremendous athlete and Pittsburgh's defensive backs are on the short side....

MVP! MVP! Holmes won the trophy in what had to be a close contest over quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. For us, Holmes touchdown celebration - he pretended that the football was a bottle of talcum powder and clapped a cloud like LeBron James - gave him the edge.

Boss time: If you want to say that Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band put on the best halftime show of all-time, well, we're not going to argue. The highlights: Springsteen telling viewers to "put the chicken fingers down," sliding into a camera man and mugging with Steve Van Zandt.

Hot scoop: Hats off to folks at SportsByBrooks.com, who reported Springsteen's set list before the game started. Silly as it sounds, lots of outlets were vying for that story.

Rough outing: Maybe we've lost the capacity to be impressed by commercials. This year's crop was really weak. Doritos tried to be funny by having a guy hit in the crotch with a snow globe. GoDaddy.com used sex and Danica Patrick, but it wasn't great. E*Trade's talking baby schtick is played. The Cash4Gold spot with Ed McMahon smacked of creepy exploitation.

The only ad that I really enjoyed was the Pepsi spot featuring Bob Dylan and Will I. Am. But, it seemed out of character for Dylan to cash in like that.

Real American Heroes: Thumbs up to the NFL for inviting US Airways pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and the rest of the crew for Flight 1549 to the party. Sullenberger and the crew saved 150 passengers with a water landing last month in the Hudson River.

Turning point: The most bizarre (and important) play of the game came at the end of the first half. With the Cardinals driving for what would have been a tying touchdown in the final seconds, Warner tried to throw a quick pass to Anquan Boldin, but Steelers linebacker James Harrison stepped in front of the ball for the interception and took off the other way.

Harrison rumbled 100 yards for a touchdown, then practically had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. Harrison's play surpassed Packers wide receiver Desmond Howard's 99-yard kickoff return as the Super Bowl record for longest scoring play.

Temper, temper: Harrison could have been in line for MVP honors, but he committed a stupid penalty later in the game. There were plenty of stupid penalties on both sides, which was somewhat surprising given the discipline both sides showed during the week of interviews and hype leading up to the game.

Men of Steel: Even casual fans probably heard that Pittsburgh's defense posted the best statistics in the league during the regular season. Even if you didn't know that, though, you'd put them in the upper echelon because of the way they tackle. Think back to the Packers' season. How many times did you see a ballcarrier break into the Green Bay secondary, break a few tackles and drag a few defenders for a couple yards? When Pittsburgh defensive players hit someone, they go down. Period. It's up to Dom Capers, the new defensive coordinator at 1265 Lombardi Ave., to instill that approach with the Packers.

Strong showing: Yes, there were far too many guys involved with NBC's pregame show. There were the usual cheesy bits, with Al Roker interviewing movie stars and Dan Patrick emceeing a cooking contest. But, it was fast-paced and entertaining. Under tough circumstances, it was as good as it could be. The best moment came during Patrick's anchor desk reunion with former ESPN colleague (and MSNBC muckraker) Keith Olbermann. As they were heading to break, Patrick made reference to Olbermann's Fox News nemesis, Bill O'Reilly, and both guys cracked up. 

Good call: How can it be that the NFC has won the coin toss 12 years in a row? That's downright bizarre.

Bad timing: Warner may have deserved the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Nobody is going to demand a recount. But did they have to give it to him right before the game? That seemed awkward and unnecessary.

Speaking of bad timing... isn't this the second time that Warner's team has lost a Super Bowl in the last minute?

In the spotlight: When Warner played for the Rams, his wife sported a bleach-blonde, spiky haircut that made her look like diet guru Susan Powter. Now that she looks a bit more "normal," she didn't get as much screen time as Larry Fitzgerald's sportswriter father.

On top of their game: You can joke about John Madden's utterances (and Frank Caliendo has turned that into a career), but he and Al Michaels were, as always, spot-on. They are the best at bringing football to the masses.

Bizarre stat of the day: Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin and Arizona's Ken Whisenhunt both were in their second year as head coaches. Tomlin is the fifth second-year coach to win the Super Bowl, joining Baltimore's Brian Billick, Oakland's Tom Flores, Washington's Joe Gibbs and Dallas' Barry Switzer.

New argument: One of the hotter debates leading up to the game centered on Kurt Warner's Hall of Fame credentials. Now that Roethlisberger has won a second ring, people can start talking about a possible trip to Canton for Big Ben.

Playing it safe: Was anyone else surprised when the smash-mouth Steelers settled for a field goal on their opening drive rather than going for broke on 4th and goal at the 1? He's got a great defense, so three points helped. But, it seemed out of character.

Familiar face: Our much better half pointed out early in the game that Tomlin resembles actor Omar Epps. "I'm expecting "House" to walk out," she said, referring to the star of the medical drama of the same name.

Mere footnotes: If the Cardinals had won, Michael Adams' effort to down a punt at the 1-yard-line would have been regarded as one of the greatest special teams plays in history. The holding call on Steelers center Justin Hartwig, who tackled Chike Okeafor while Roethlisberger had the ball in the end zone and gave the Cardinals a safety, would have gotten more ink, too.

Yikes: Former Broncos quarterback John Elway was a stud among stud during his playing days. Man, he's aged.

Order the veggie platter: Super Bowl XLIV is slated for Feb. 7, 2010, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.