WilLaVeist.com

Whether the Pittsburgh Steelers or Arizona Cardinals won Super Bowl XLIII, Hampton Roads was guaranteed the trophy. The 757 was represented on both teams: Levi Brown (Norfolk) and Elton Brown (Hampton) both offensive linemen for the Cardinals and Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin of Newport News.

Several family members and friends of all three made the trip to Tampa Bay.
The Steelers rallied to defeat the Cardinals 27-23 in one of the most exciting games played. It was the second most popular Super Bowl (last year's remains the tops at 97 million) as 95 million people watched.
About 35 members of the Tomlin clan witnessed it with others who paid $800 and up for seats inside Raymond James Stadium.
“It was just so great to be here and experience this with Mike,” said Tomlin's cousin Stacy Whitaker who lives in Yorktown. Whitaker said family members ate meals together with Tomlin each day accept on game day morning, when Tomlin obviously had other commitments. During the game, especially in the fourth quarter when the Steelers marched from behind, they, (including Tomlin’s parents), were all going crazy, she said.

“I was biting my nails. It seemed like it took two hours for them to decide if that was really a touchdown” Whitaker said of the game-winning play when Pittsburgh’s Santonio Holmes caught a touchdown on his tiptoes in the corner of the end zone.
“Mike really deserved it. He works very hard and he’s a class act.”

They partied all night long. "I'm just so tired. We're all tired and spent."

The families were running on adrenaline before the game as they took in the festivities.
“The energy is real high now,” said Levi Brown Sr. “I’m about to explode. I just told him to stay focused and don’t let anybody outthink him.”

Elton Brown’s brother, Scorpio, and their mother Robin Brown Miller also had a good time cherishing the moment (see ESPN Blog).

“I feel we’ve come a long, long, long, long ways, but God is good,” said Robin, with a huge smile. She had been reflecting on all the ups and downs Elton experienced from when he was not allowed to play his senior year Heritage High School in Newport News, to the University of Virginia, where he remained to earn his degree despite temptations to enter the NFL draft early, to being drafted in the  lower rounds when he should have been a first-round pick.
“Going through injuries and missing a whole season in the NFL (two years ago), I believe he deserves to be here. I’m just happy for him,” said Scorpio, who was also happy for himself.

“Yeah, I really enjoyed myself. So many people and celebrities. Partying with people such as Michael Ervin, Warren Sapp, Donavan McNabb, will.i.am., Michael Jordan, and oh man, the legendary Bruce Smith. If it wasn’t for Bruce, I wouldn’t have gotten into all of those parties.

Smith, who is from Norfolk, was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame earlier in the week. Smith, the NFL’s all-time sack leader with 200, played in four Super Bowls for the Buffalo Bills and ended his career with the Washington Redskins.

This is the third consecutive Super Bowl where athletes from Hampton Roads were represented. Last year Plaxico Burress of Virginia Beach made the game-winning catch for the New York Giants. The previous year Antoine Bethea of Newport News won a ring with the Indianapolis Colts.

“It just really says that there’s a lot of talent out here in the 757 and that the area is understated,” Whitaker said. “Other areas promote the talent that comes from them. Maybe this will help people to start realizing we’ve got a lot of talent here that should be appreciated more.”

According to NBC, Hampton Roads was No. 2 behind Pittsburgh of the top 25 markets with the highest Super Bowl viewers. Richmond was No. 5. Believe it or not, Phoenix was No. 9. You'd think Phoenix would've ranked behind or even ahead of Pittsburgh. How about a football team for Hampton Roads? We get behind our players. Below is the full list:

TOP 25 MARKETS FOR SUPER BOWL XLIII:
1. Pittsburgh 53.6/79
2. Norfolk 52.6/72
3. Jacksonville 50.6/71
4. Buffalo 50.4/68
5. Richmond 49.3/67
6. Tampa 49.2/70
7. Ft. Myers 48.1/68
8. Cleveland 47.7/69
9. Phoenix 47.5/80
10. Indianapolis 47.4/65
11. Nashville 47.2/66
12. Washington D.C. 46.7/70
13. Columbus 46.5/67
14. Orlando 46.4/66
15. Memphis 46.3/63
16. Philadelphia 46.2/65
17. New Orleans 45.7/63
18. Knoxville 45.2/58
19. Baltimore 45.0/63
T20. Denver 44.7/76
T20. Las Vegas 44.7/68
T20. Greensboro 44.7/63
T23. Charlotte 44.6/63
T23. Greenville 44.6/60
25. St. Louis 44.5/69