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Oh, What Might Have Been For The Cardinals

The Associated Press

Kurt Warner said doubt still lingers over his final play when his arm was hit by LaMarr Woodley.

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By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 2, 2009

TAMPA - On the morning after - or was it the mourning after? - Arizona Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill was not in a reflective mood.

Bidwill, coffee cup in hand, slowly passed around the lobby of the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, practically unnoticed, even stopping by the Super Bowl XLIII souvenir stand to check out T-shirt prices. He awoke Monday morning without much sleep, but he wasn't willing to second-guess the 27-23 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"I'm tired," Bidwill said. "Ready to go home. We came close, but it does no good to worry about it now.

"How do I want this team to be remembered? I want it to be remembered as the one that dusted itself off, then got back to the Super Bowl the next year."

A noble goal.

But only a few hours after having victory dramatically snatched away - the toe-tapping 6-yard touchdown reception by Steelers receiver Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds remaining crushed Arizona's hopes - some Cardinals were still in what-might-have-been mode.

Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, before slipping into Petey Brown's hotel restaurant for a quick breakfast, said doubt lingers over his final play. From the Steelers' 44-yard line, Warner's arm was hit by LaMarr Woodley. The ball popped loose, it was ruled a fumble and Pittsburgh's Brett Keisel recovered with five seconds remaining.

"I thought I was moving my arm forward to throw the ball and it should've been ruled an incompletion," Warner said. "I wondered why there was no booth review. There probably should've been.

"I would've loved another shot at the end zone. But I can't be torn up about the way our team performed. I'm proud of our team."

The Cardinals' defense will forever wish for one additional stop, something, anything, that could have derailed Pittsburgh's game-winning eight-play, 78-yard drive.

"I thought we were going to be world champs," Cardinals linebacker Karlos Dansby said. "I could taste it. But you have to finish. We didn't finish."

"It's still hard to believe we lost," Cardinals cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie said. "We deserved to win. I think it's going to take some time to get over it. But I know, in time, this whole week is going to be one of the greatest experiences of my life."

That was true for everyone in the Cardinals' traveling party.

Nikkie Hightower, the mother of Cardinals rookie running back Tim Hightower, said her initial game-watching experience wasn't so pleasant. Seated directly behind her - Paris Hilton.

"People from two and three sections over were piling around to get a view of Hilton, and it was a problem," Hightower's mother said. "Then Paris won us all over. She put on a Cardinals shirt. We all cheered when that happened.

"I think we won a lot of fans this week. In my eyes - and I believe, in a lot of people's eyes - the Cardinals were the real Super Bowl champs. We're not the underdogs any more. We will be back."

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353.

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