The Cardinals should be proud of what they accomplished this season, but at the same time they have reason to be upset at how it ended. The Super Bowl last night was one of the most exciting ever, but it was also not without controversy. I think anyone who watched it, including Steelers fans, noticed the calls from the officials seemed to be going the Steelers way time and again.

In a key play that ended the first half, an interception returned for a touchdown by the Steelers included some of the most obvious holds I’ve ever seen. I’m talking about Cardinals players being brought down with behind-the-back-headlocks right in front of the official.

The end of the game also had some controversy. Kurt Warner was hit as he threw, but his arm appeared to be going forward with the ball (not an “empty” hand, as the rulebook requires for a fumble). As there were less than 2 minutes left in the game, there should have been an automatic booth review and the call on the field, which was a fumble, should have been overturned. This seemed obvious. Even John Madden and Al Michaels acknowledged that the play was going to be reviewed and likely overturned. Instead, less than a minute after the play, the Steelers offense lined up on the field and downed the ball for the final play. Michaels noted just before the snap that the previous play had been reviewed and the ruling on the field would stand, but how? They literally would have had less than a minute to review the play, and what would they have seen that the other 200 million people watching the game didn’t?

To add more salt on the Cardinals wounds, there was a personal foul penalty on the Steelers after the controversial fumble when a player took off his helmet to celebrate. That would have advanced the Cardinals attempted comeback drive by 15 yards and given them a first down, so they would have had time for 3 or 4 plays from the Steelers 29 yard line, which would hardly make it a hail mary situation.

The way this game managed to end with Madden and Michaels both ignoring the controversy makes me wonder if something was going on that the rest of us didn’t know about. The previous Steelers Super Bowl victory, over the Seahawks 3 years ago, was at the time recognized as the most controversial Super Bowl in history.

Tags: arizona, cardinals, controversial, football, officiating, pittsburgh, refs, steelers, super bowl