The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t won a Super Bowl since the 2008 season, but that was a game to remember. It’s arguably one of the best Super Bowls ever, with the Steelers and Arizona Cardinals going back and forth. The game featured several iconic moments, but in the end, the Steelers came out on top. While Bryant McFadden was with Pittsburgh for that win, he left to play for Arizona the following season, and he recently described how odd his initial time there was.
“Very weird,” McFadden said on Trials to Triumph’s YouTube channel. “For the first month-and-a-half being out there with those guys, training and getting ready for the season, that’s all I heard. ‘Y’all wasn’t good. Y’all wasn’t supposed to win. We was supposed to have that championship.’
“I’m like, ‘I’m a Cardinal now, I ain’t a Steeler. I’m with y’all right now. I know I was with them when we won, but I ain’t a part of that right now.’ That’s all I heard.”
The Cardinals’ saltiness over the game isn’t too surprising, especially considering how it ended. There was a lot of controversy surrounding whether or not Santonio Holmes got both his feet down for the game-winning touchdown catch. Even years later, many people still disputed that Holmes actually scored, although there’s proof that says otherwise.
However, the Steelers were the better team that day, no matter what anyone says. Yes, the Cardinals made a lot of plays, and they almost completed a great second-half comeback. The Steelers did more to win, though.
Despite how strange his Cardinals tenure began, McFadden ultimately helped them have another successful season. He started all 16 games for them in 2009 and while he didn’t have an interception, he still recorded 15 passes defensed. The Cardinals went 10-6, winning their division. However, they didn’t repeat their playoff success from the previous season, losing in the divisional round.
That ended up being McFadden’s only year with the Cardinals. While they signed him to a two-year deal, they traded him to the Steelers following the 2009 season. Pittsburgh also received Arizona’s 2010 sixth-round pick along with McFadden, sending one of its two 2010 fifth-round picks to the Cardinals in return.
Funny enough, that trade ended up being far more significant than it initially seemed. The sixth-round pick the Steelers received in that deal ended up turning into Antonio Brown.
Not only did the Cardinals lose against the Steelers in their only Super Bowl appearance to this point, but they also helped them acquire a multi-time All-Pro receiver. That might throw a little more salt in the wound.
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