By Teresa Varley
Steelers.com
Mewelde Moore remembers watching the Super Bowl as a kid and thinking how much fun it would be to celebrate on the field with your teammates after winning the game, with confetti flying and the excitement at a fever pitch.
He dreamt about it as football became a reality for him, always hoping for the opportunity.
And when he came to Pittsburgh as a free agent last offseason from the Minnesota Vikings, the running back got a feel for what could come with it right off the bat.
"I was introduced to the five Super Bowl trophies and when I saw those, it definitely sealed the deal," said Moore.
And now, the dream has become a reality, living out his childhood dream when the Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in Super Bowl XLIIII.
"Disney couldn't have made it more magical," said Moore. "What I thought and imagined it to be, I didn't really understand how big it was going to be. Just from being a child imagining it and now being an adult, I feel like a kid all over again.
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"You see it on TV and you are like 'man that's awesome and I can't wait to actually be that person, be a part of it.' Then when you are actually a part of it, it's awesome. It's a pausing in your life. Just the moment, it seems that even though it may be happening in real time, everything slows down. Everything is in a pause and everything is just something that you take in. You really embrace that moment and you just can't forget that moment. "
While there were plenty of memorable moments in Super Bowl XLIII, there were some anxious ones as well, especially near the end of the game when the Steelers found themselves down following a Larry Fitzgerald touchdown reception with just 2:37 left on the clock.
But this team had been there before, coming back late in the game, and Moore felt confident that they could get the job done.
"We'd been doing two minute drives all season long and stringing it together," said Moore. "It was basically us repeating and doing the same thing that we had been doing consistently over the course of the season. It was all about us going out there and playing our game. We did that and I'm just so happy that we executed and came out with the win."
Moore was lined up in the backfield on when Ben Roethlisberger threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes.
"The moment that Santonio caught that ball, I had the best seat in the house," said Moore. "I was right on the line and I watched him slide his feet in the end zone and to see that happen, I can't really explain how great of a feeling that was because I was so overwhelmed with so many different emotions. At that moment you think about a lot of stuff. In that flash of a moment you think about all the hard work, all the dedication, all the dreaming, all the hoping and everything about that. You see that come to pass and it is just something that is awesome.
"I paused for a moment and I waited on Tone and I waited on that touchdown signal. Then I went over there and I told Santonio 'I love you man, I appreciate it.' That's when Hines (Ward) came and jumped on top of us."
And not long after, the confetti began to fly and the celebration that he had waited so long for was underway. * *
"I had never won a championship before, whether it was junior ball or high school ball, even college ball," said Moore. "I am just so happy about it. I'm just so happy to be a part of the team and part of this organization.
"To be the person on top, who gets to scream at the mountain tops, at the top of your lungs, and come out with the final victory, it was awesome. It chills your body when you think about it even now. I've got chill bumps going through my body right now."
