It seems there was a narrative developing through these playoffs and, once again, I missed it. It won't be the Road Warriors Super Bowl I predicted. Pittsburgh did their part but Carolina collapsed.
No, the story this year is seniority. Super Bowl 40 is the Stability Bowl, The Greybeards Bowl, The Continuity Bowl, take your pick.
What we have is a match of the two coaches with the longest serving tenures in their respective conferences. Holmgren is tied with his good buddy and former assistant Andy Reid for the NFC lead, having served in Seattle for seven years. Cowher is the dean of NFL coaches, serving fourteen years with the Steelers. (Coincidentally, the man he beat for the job was Dave Wannstedt, fresh off coaching the Dallas defense to a win in Super Bowl 27.)
It will be the first Super Bowl for Holmgren in eight years. He will try to diminish the memory of his Packers' loss to Denver in Super Bowl 32. Cowher is a full decade removed from his lone title game appearance. Cowboys fans know it well. It helped them deaden the sting of those two '70s losses to Pittsburgh.
How time flies.