Game 40: Ronald Reagan vs. Super Bowl XL

Super Bowl XL in 2005 was blanketed in feel-good symbolism but on the field was an error-plagued dud. Ronald Reagan came in with a similar approach as the 40th U.S. President -- but he made it work.

The Steelers were back in the Super Bowl after a ten-year absence, trying again to win their fifth Super Bowl ring -- or "One for the Thumb," as the braggy rallying cry went. This game would be the final stop for "The Bus," 13-year-veteran running back Jerome Bettis, who'd never won a Super Bowl.  It would be another chance to win one for Steelers head coach Bill Cowher, who'd been at the helm since 1992 but lost in his only previous trip to the big game, 27-17 to the Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX. The Steelers began the season poorly and were seeded 6th in the AFC playoffs, then they made a storybook surge to reach the Super Bowl. The Seahawks, led by QB Matt Hasselbeck and RB Shaun Alexander, had an NFC-leading 13-3 record but still came in as underdogs.

Pittsburgh's 21-10 win was messy and controversial. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, in becoming the youngest QB to win a Super Bowl, threw for just 123 yards, no touchdowns, and 2 interceptions -- for a rating of 22.6.  Really?  Besides his 75-yard TD scamper, Steelers RB Willie Parker racked up 18 yards. Bettis, the team's goal-line pile-driver, didn't see the end zone. The Seahawks were plagued by dropped passes and so many drive-killing penalties that coach Mike Holmgren probably still has nightmares.

Reagan rode in promising a hopeful new "morning in America." For the most part, he delivered. The economy and the national mood lifted during his two terms from 1981 to 1988.  Some wondered whether the former actor -- at age 69 the oldest man ever elected President -- was up to the task. He sure did like to simplify stuff.  He said: "All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk." His idea for a space-based "Star Wars" defense against Soviet missiles seemed outlandish. But it may have helped negotiations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that led to a scaling back of nuclear arms. Ultimately, unable to hold together, the USSR dissolved.  Reagan also ran up a huge deficit and let corporations run wild in a "greed is good" era of leveraged buyouts, big-hair bands and shoulder pads. He let underlings carry out the illegal shenanigans of the Iran-Contra scandal.

But Reagan remains an icon of American swagger and self-sufficiency. And so The Gipper wins one for the Presidents, who end a four-game losing streak and even the score as America Bowl's clock ticks down.

Score after this match: Super Bowls 20, Presidents 20.

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