As he stood on a makeshift stage in the middle of Ford Field, hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy amid a rain of confetti, Bill Cowher was having a difficult time containing his satisfaction, much less his excitement.

After 14 years as head coach, after four failed opportunities in the AFC championship game and one Super Bowl disappointment, Cowher stood there beaming, soaking in the moment, knowing that at last he had finally brought a Super Bowl title back to a franchise that had gone 26 years without one.

In one shining moment after a 21-10 victory against the Seattle Seahawks, the pain of all those past disappointments -- the horrid loss to the underdog San Diego Chargers in the 1994 AFC championship, two conference championship losses to the New England Patriots at Heinz Field -- was suddenly gone. Free to enjoy, Cowher's smile told a tale of satisfaction, but also of relief.

"Our effort made history," he said. "That's what made it special to me:"

Indeed, it is always a good thing when a franchise is asked to measure the level of Super Bowl victories or compare the qualitative value of one championship against another. And no other NFL franchise has more Super Bowl titles to measure or compare than the Steelers, who have six.

Chuck Noll delivered four in six years during the 1970s, a period of dominance unequaled in the Super Bowl era. Cowher delivered the fifth in 2005, and it, too, was unprecedented -- the Steelers became the first team in NFL history to win three road playoff games and the first No. 6 seed to win the Super Bowl. Finally, after more than a quarter-century, one for the thumb.

Four years later, Mike Tomlin delivered another, and he did it in stunning fashion -- with one of the greatest finishes in Super Bowl history. At age 36, Tomlin became the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl title.

What Super Bowl XL meant to historical significance, Super Bowl XLIII provided with dramatic flair and suspenseful conclusions. Willie Parker's 75-yard touchdown run in Super Bowl XL -- the longest in Super Bowl history -- was upstaged by James Harrison's 100-yard interception return for a touchdown at the end of the first half in Super Bowl XLIII.

And while Hines Ward secured his MVP award with a 43-yard touchdown catch to cement the victory against the Seahawks, the magnitude of the moment could not to compare to the dramatic disbelief of Santonio Holmes' remarkable touchdown grab with 35 seconds remaining against the Arizona Cardinals -- maybe the greatest catch in Super Bowl history.

"We're going down in history with one of the greatest games ever played in the Super Bowl," Holmes said.

Nobody is going to argue.

Ed Bouchette's blog on the Steelers and Gerry Dulac's Steelers chats are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.