In the biggest night of American Football, Australian-born Ben Graham stood up for the Arizona Cardinals in what looked to everyone like the winning play of the match. Pittsburgh had something else to say, however, in a match full of records
Born in Australia, and playing for Geelong in the AFL for eleven seasons, the New York Jets signed him as a punter for their 2005 season at the tender age of 31 (a record now held by another Australian ex-AFL star, Saverio Rocca), becoming the oldest rookie to appear in the NFL.
He signed with New Orleans after a short 2008 season with his previous team.
Not having a lot of luck with New Orleans, he found hope in the Arizona Cardinals – an unlikely candidate for the XLIII Superbowl – in December of last year, only two months ago.
Since then, the Cardinals have proven critics wrong, and had their most successful playoff season to date.
This saw them into the Superbowl, and gave Ben Graham something that can never be taken from him: he is the first Australian to play in the Superbowl.
Coming in as the underdogs to the powerhouse known as the Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona looked beat throughout most of the game. Ben Graham and Larry Fitzgerald looked as if they were going to single-handedly win the championship with Fitzgerald scoring a touchdown that is worthy of an AFL sign-up to take the lead for the Cardinals, and Graham producing a powerful kick that took the ball to the two yard line.
The kick, holding the Steelers with a 23-20 lead with only two and a half minutes left, looked to be the winning formula needed by the Cardinals to hold of the year’s giants of the NFL.
The Steelers, however, produced an incredible victory with only 36 seconds left on the clock, ending the game 27-23, and taking home their sixth Superbowl championship; the most any team has ever won.
On top of these feats, Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison broke another record by making a 100-yard run after intercepting at one end and breaking through the Cardinals’ entire offence-defence to score a touchdown that will have everyone talking for a long time.
I am proud of Ben Graham today. With more AFL stars being scouted for the NFL, hopefully we will someday see an Australian holding the trophy. It might even be Graham, with a bit of luck.
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