SalemNews.com : Blogs : Brian St. Pierre at Super Bowl XLIII

Former St. John’s Prep and BC quarterback Brian St. Pierre is a member of the NFC champion Arizona Cardinals. He reports in this blog from Tampa Bay, where the Cardinals played the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday in Super Bowl XLIII:

When you play football as long as I have, you learn to deal with tough losses.

But this one is an especially bitter loss.

There really isn’t much you can say when you lose a tough game — especially one of this magnitude. We fought back the entire game to finally take the lead (23-20) with 2:37 left in the 4th quarter, but it wasn’t enough.

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) celebrates his touchdown with teammate Brian St. Pierre during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIII. (AP Photo)

I give the Steelers all the credit for winning the game. There were so many critical moments in that game, none moreso than the last play of the first half. That interception return was a 14-point swing in Pittsburgh’s favor (giving them a 17-7 halftime edge).

To our credit we kept coming back. It simply wasn’t enough.

I thought both QBs performed unbelieveably. Kurt (Warner) played huge down the stretch, leading us to the go-ahead TD. And (wide receiver) Larry Fitzgerald was … well, Larry Fitzgerald: amazing. Ben Roethlisberger won the game for Pittsburgh with an incredible drive.

The game had a little bit of everything, and it was an exciting event to be a part of win or lose.

With all that said, it’s an empty feeling to be on the losing end of this game. We practiced for 28 weeks — only for it to come down to 35 seconds, and we came up short. Like I said, it’s tough.

We had a great season, overcame long odds, and had the opportunity to be World Champs. We have a good nucleus in place going forward, but there will be many big decisions in the very near future. Free agency starts in a month. The combine is in two weeks. No rest for the weary in the NFL; you have to be able to forget and move on. That may sound cold, but it is the cruel reality of this business.

I’m eager to get home this week and just relax, see some friends and get to a few Bruins and Celtics games. After that I will start my offseason training. The NFL is a year-round job for sure, but I love it.

The best part of this offseason for my wife and I will be the birth of our first child. We are so excited! Lots to be thankful for — and I am.

Hope you enjoyed reading about my experiences at Super Bowl XLIII.

All the best,

Brian

Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, site of Super Bowl XLIII.

Yesterday (Friday) was our last practice of Super Bowl week. It also was the last practice we will ever have as a group.

In the NFL, things change very quickly. We have a number of free agents on our team, and guys that will be somewhere else next year. That is just the way it is; you accept that as part of the deal. This team will be different next year, just like everyone else’s team.

It was, predictably, a good practice capping off a very good week of preparation. We seem ready to go, but now comes the hardest part: waiting. Everyone I’ve talked to says that from Friday to Sunday will seem like forever. I hope it is not too bad.

Today we have a walk-thru in the morning, then we will be off until 7 p.m., when we report to a new hotel for our night before meetings. The “mystery hotel” is a secret to everyone — including us. We have no idea where we are going, which will be interesting.

Since we have some free time tonight, I am going to go out to eat with my wife and her parents and nephew, as well as my parents. My parents fly in tonight at 7:30, so it will be good to see them. Tomorrow my brothers and sister fly in with their significant others, whcih will be good because I haven’t seen them in a while.

Other than that, nothing else going on. I will touch base later today.

– Brian

Today was “media day” here in Tampa, and as promised its was a circus! The hoards of media that descended upon us was overwhelming. Hundreds — and I mean hundreds — of media members were present from all over the world. I thought I did a lot of interviews the day after the NFC Championship game, but this dwarfed that experience.

Brian St. Pierre throws a pink football during Media Day.

I talked with a wide range of people. Everyone from Chris Berman of ESPN to a Spanish woman from the news program Telemundo to Ross the intern from the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

I got asked many of the normal types of questions, like how do you feel playing against your old team, the Steelers?’ and how difficult is it to focus on the game with so many distractions that come with this game?’.

But I also got asked some very weird questions, like ‘What did you think about the inauguration?’ and ‘Who would be your dream date?’. Fortunately, I was smart enough to answer that one by stating “My wife, of course”. It was a crazy day — and a long one.

After the two hours of interviews, we gathered for our team Super Bowl picture. That was neat because it served as a reminder that we were here as a team, and here to try and win a championship.

Sometimes when you are getting interviewed and asked all kinds of crazy questions you can lose sight of the fact that the reason we are here is to play — and win. The picture helped refocus guys a little because it was just us.

After the picture, we boarded the buses to return to the hotel and had the rest of the day off, thankfully. I’m tired and really just looking forward to laying down for awhile.

Tomorrow we begin our practice preparation, and that will be a good thing for me. The media stuff is fun, but playing football is what I love.

Hope all is well.

– Brian

Brian St. Pierre of Danvers is a quarterback for the Super Bowl-bound Arizona Cardinals and a former member of their opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The former St. John’s Prep and Boston College standout has agreed to share his thoughts and experiences with Salem News readers in the run up to Super Bowl XLIII:

Well, it’s now a full week since we clinched our spot in Super Bowl XLIII by beating the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC championship game at home. It was a surreal feeling then — and it still is now.

This past week has been busy, to say the least. After the game I had about 50 text messages and voicemails, so I spent most of the beginning of the week just trying to catch up on those. Then it was on to figuring out the ticket situation and who was going to actually go to the game. Needless to say, my Super Bowl tickets went quickly.

The day after the win vs. Philly, we had about 85-100 members of the media descend on our practice facility here in Tempe, Ariz. A “normal” week during the NFL season probably sees 10-15 media members present; I guess that gives you a bit of an idea as to the enormity of the event.

I did numerous interviews throughout the week: everybody from ESPN to WEEI to The Salem News. Many of the interviews centered on my experiences as a Pittsburgh Steeler, where I played for 4 seasons. By the end of the week I was sick of hearing myself talk. Then it dawned on me that we weren’t even in Tampa yet. That media circus is going to be something else all together.

In between all the interview requests and logistical meetings we had to attend, there were practices. Oh yeah; there is actually a game to be played, and we kind of need to be prepared for it.

On the pracice field it was business as usual. You would be hard pressed to believe we were practicing for a game any bigger than any other game during the season. We didn’t put our whole game plan together because we have two weeks, but we put a good amount of it in. Two weeks to prepare for a game is a long time and the coaches know they have to be careful not to over do it.

Fortunately we have a head coach, (Ken Whisenhunt) who has coached in the Super Bowl before (with Pittsburgh three years ago) and coaches who have played in them as well. They recognize how long these two weeks are and the need for moderation. This first week went somewhat fast, but we know its going to be along week this week.

We leave for Tampa tomorrow at 9 a.m. Once we arrive, we will check into our hotel and get our itineraries for the week.

Once I get settled in, I will write another blog entry and give you an update on Super Bowl week. Until then, take care.

– Brian