There are plenty of hackneyed cliches in sports, but there are some great chiches too.  Super Bowl XLIII was truly a game of inches.

Santonio Holmes dragged his feet excruciatingly close to the sideline, as he hauled in the game winning touchdown reception.  With three Cardinals in the area, if Big Ben's throw is a foot or two off the mark, it's an interception and game over --  Arizona thwarting the uncannily clutch Roethlisberger to earn their first Super Bowl victory.

James Harrison's game changing 100-yard pick-six was a few inches from a pick-zero.  With no time left on the clock as Harrison stumbled toward paydirt, those 99 yards could have been all for not. 

But those weren't the only plays to be determined by the tiniest of measures.  Kurt Warner's first TD pass was an impossibly accurate throw to tight end Ben Patrick, who used his height advantage and athleticism to overtake linebacker Larry Foote.  If the ball was a few inches lower, it's an incompletion.  A few more than that, and it might have been a pick.  But Patrick secured possession, making it a game at 10-7.

The first TD hookup between Warner and Fitzgerald was strikingly similar.  Larry outjumped Ike Taylor, who had executed near-perfect coverage on the big receiver.  By the smallest of margins, number 11 got to the ball first and pulled it down for the score.

And don't overlook the plays that were not made.  On the opening possession of the game, Roethlisberger bootlegged to right and plunged just inches short of the TD stripe, as replay officials witnessed.  They overturned what was initially called a score, and the Steelers settled for 3 points.  See the video of Big Ben's close call. 

Lost in the shuffle of great plays and a frantic 4th quarter, it is also easy to forget about an early near pick from Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.  As Steeler deep threat Nate Washington sprinted past the last line of Arizona defense, DRC closed on the ball and nearly came away with the pick.  Instead, the Steelers went on to score a rushing touchdown for a commanding 10 point lead.  See the video of DRC's near pick.

Super Bowl XLIII was ultimately won by the better team -- the more experienced and balanced Pittsburgh Steelers.  But it was won in the closest of margins.