Super Bowl XL

Super Bowl XL

File:Sb40x300.jpg
Visiting Team	Seattle Seahawks
Home Team	Pittsburgh Steelers
Date	February 5, 2006
Stadium	Ford Field
City	Detroit, Michigan
Favorite	Pittsburgh by 4
Pre-Game	Stevie Wonder, Joss Stone and John Legend
National Anthem	Aaron Neville, Aretha Franklin and Dr. John
Halftime show	The Rolling Stones
U.S. TV
Network	ABC
Announcers	Al Michaels and John Madden
Cost of 30-sec Commercial	$2,500,000 USD
International TV
Australien	SBS and ESPN
Österreich	ORF and TW1
Brasilien	SporTV/FX
Kanada	Global and RDS
Dänemark	TV 2
Finnland	MTV3
Frankreich	France 2
Deutschland	ARD
Island	SÝN
Israel	ESPN and METV
Japan	NHK BS-1
Neuseeland	ESPN
Spanien	Canal +
Schweden	ZTV
Vereinigtes Königreich	ITV/Sky Sports
Mexiko	TV Azteca

Super Bowl XL will be the 40th Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), the major professional league of American football. The game is scheduled to be played at 6:30 p.m. EST (2330 UTC) on Sunday, February 5, 2006, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, home of the Detroit Lions, following the 2005 regular season.

The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers will compete against the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

As the AFC champion, Pittsburgh is designated as the home team and has elected to wear its white jerseys, which the team has worn on the road during its entire playoff run this season ^{[1] [2]}; consequently, Seattle will wear its blue jerseys, which the team normally wears at home.

Background

Ford Field was selected to host Super Bowl XL on November 1, 2000, two years before the stadium opened in 2002. ^[3] This will be the second Super Bowl played in the Detroit area; Super Bowl XVI was played at the Pontiac Silverdome in the suburb of Pontiac, Michigan, on January 24, 1982, when the San Francisco 49ers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, 26-21. It will also be the first Super Bowl to be played on the FieldTurf surface; each of the previous Super Bowls has been played either on natural grass or on AstroTurf.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers entered Super Bowl XL, the sixth Super Bowl in team history, after finishing the regular season with a 11-5 record and becoming the first team ever to defeat the first-, second-, and third- seeded teams on the road in the playoffs. In addition, the team became the first sixth-seeded team to reach both a conference championship game and the Super Bowl since the NFL expanded to a 12-team playoff format in 1990.

Under Bill Cowher's reign as Steelers head coach since 1992, the team has been one of the top teams in the NFL, making the playoffs in 10 out of his 14 seasons, advancing to the AFC Championship Game six times, and making an appearance in Super Bowl XXX. After having finished the 2003 season with a 6-10 record and after splitting its first two games to open 2004, Pittsburgh lost starting quarterback Tommy Maddox to injury. Maddox was replaced by little-known rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, whom the Steelers had not expected to play during his first season. Nevertheless, Roethlisberger led the Steelers to victory in all of the team's 14 remaining regular season games, giving Pittsburgh a 15-1 record and making the Steelers the first AFC team ever to win 15 games. Although the Steelers failed to qualify for Super Bowl XXXIX, losing to eventual champion New England in the AFC Championship Game, it seemed evident that the Steelers had re-established themselves as among the NFL's top teams.

Pittsburgh began the 2005 season by winning seven of its first nine games, but suffered a major setback when both Roethlisberger and his backup, Charlie Batch, went down with injuries; with Maddox back as the starter, the team lost its next two games. The Steelers would drop two more games after Roethlisberger's return, falling to division rival Cincinnati and the then-undefeated Indianapolis. The postseason hopes of the Steelers were in peril, but the team recovered to win its final four regular season games and to claim the sixth—and final—seed in the AFC playoffs.

Roethlisberger was efficient in his 13 regular season games, throwing for 2,385 yards and 17 touchdowns with only 9 interceptions, while adding 3 rushing touchdowns. The Steelers' main deep threat was wide receiver Hines Ward, who led the team with 69 receptions for 975 yards and 11 touchdowns. His 69 catches gave him a career total of 574, surpassing the previous club record for receptions held by Hall of Fame wide receiver John Stallworth. On the other side of the field, speedy wide receiver Antwaan Randle El was a constant breakaway threat, catching 35 passes for 558 yards, while gaining 448 yards and 2 touchdowns on punt returns. Rookie tight end Heath Miller also recorded 39 receptions for 459 yards and 6 touchdowns.

Pittsburgh's main strength on offense, however, was its running game. Running back Willie Parker was the team's leading rusher with 1,202 yards; Parker added 18 catches for 218 yards and 5 touchdowns. In short-yardage situations, the team relied most prominently on 255-pound running back Jerome Bettis, who rushed for 368 yards and scored 9 touchdowns. The 33-year old Bettis finished his 13th NFL season as the league's fifth all-time leading rusher (13,662 yards and 91 touchdowns) but never having appeared in a Super Bowl; Super Bowl XL was especially enticing to Bettis in view of his having grown up in Detroit. The Steelers rushing attack was powered by an offensive line led by Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca and Pro Bowl reserve center Jeff Hartings.

The Steelers defense ranked fourth in the NFL, giving up only 284.0 total yards per game. The Pittsburgh defense was led by its linebacking core: Joey Porter, James Farrior, and Clark Haggans. Pro Bowler Porter led all NFL linebackers with 10.5 quarterback sacks and also recorded 2 interceptions and a fumble recovery. Haggans tallied 9 sacks and 40 tackles, while Farrior added a team-high 119 tackles to go with his 2 sacks and one fumble recovery. In the secondary, free safety Chris Hope led the team with 3 interceptions, while Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu, the team's top threat in the defensive backfield, notched 91 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and 2 interceptions.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks entered Super Bowl XL, the first Super Bowl in team history, having finished the regular season with an NFC-best and club record 13-3 record.

Seattle had been a mediocre team for much of the 1990s, recording eight consecutive seasons without a winning record from 1991 through 1998. The team's fortunes began to look up after the hiring of Mike Holmgren to be head coach in 1999; in his seven (1992-1998) seasons with the Green Bay Packers, Holmgren had never registered a losing campaign and had coached the Packers to Super Bowls XXXI and XXXII.

In 2001, the Seahawks acquired another important component, adding quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who had seen only limited playing time in his first two NFL seasons, behind Packers quarterback Brett Favre on the Green Bay depth chart. The offense's emergence was aided also by the development of running back Shaun Alexander, who rushed for 1,318 yards and 13 touchdowns in just his second NFL season.

Behind Hasselbeck, Seattle finished the 2005 season as the league's top offense, scoring 452 points. The quarterback completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 3,455 yards and 24 touchdowns (against just 9 interceptions); Hasselbeck added 124 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Alexander, who had scored at least 16 touchdowns in each of the previous four seasons, had the best campaign of his career, leading the league with 1,880 rushing yards and scoring an NFL-record 28 touchdowns, for which he was rewarded with the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. Although the Seahawks suffered injuries to starting wide receivers Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram throughout the season, the passing game nevertheless proved potent, as Engram managed 67 receptions for 778 yards and as Joe Jurevicius, a backup when the season began, started 11 games and made 55 catches for 694 yards and 10 touchdowns; tight end Jerramy Stevens also emerged as a Hasselbeck traget, catching 45 passes for 554 yards and scoring 5 touchdowns. Hasselbeck was protected and Alexander was given time to run by a stout offensive line, led by Pro Bowl offensive tackle Walter Jones, guard Steve Hutchinson, and center Robbie Tobeck, and by bruising Pro Bowl fullback Mack Strong, the longest-tenured Seahawk, having played 12 seasons with the team.

Though unheralded—the unit had no players elected to the Pro Bowl—the Seahawks defense recorded 50 quarterback sacks, leading the NFL in that category; defensive end Bryce Fisher, in his first year with the team, led the Seahawks with 9 sacks, while defensive tackle Rocky Bernard added 8.5 and veteran defensive end Grant Wistrom recorded 4. Though for most of the year the Seahawks started two rookies at linebacker, the Seattle linebacking core played well, led by rookie middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu, who topped the team with 104 tackles and added 4 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 1 fumble recovery; Tatupu would later be rewarded with a selection to the Pro Bowl as an injury replacement. From his strong safety position, Michael Boulware paced the team in interceptions with 4 and also tallied 2 sacks and 1 fumble recovery, as the Seattle secondary suffered sundry injuries throughout the year, notably to free safety Ken Hamlin; second-year cornerback Jordan Babineaux played well as he appeared in all 16 games for Seattle, intercepting 3 passes and making 61 tackles. For the year, the defense surrendered just 271 points, 181 fewer than the Seahawks offense scored.

Statistical comparison

The chart infra enumerates for comparison regular season averages in key statistical categories for each team.

Statistic	Pittsburgh Steelers	Seattle Seahawks
Points scored per game	24.3	28.3
Points allowed per game	16.1	16.9
Rushing yards gained per game	138.9	153.6
Rushing yards allowed per game	86.0	94.4
Passing yards gained per game	182.9	216.1
Passing yards allowed per game	198.0	222.4
Yards gained per play	5.4	5.8
Yards allowed per play	4.6	4.9
Time of possession per game	31:16	29:17
Third-down conversion percentage	35.4	39.6

Playoffs

Further information: NFL playoffs, 2005-06

The Steelers became the second Super Bowl team to have won three road playoff games (joining the 1985 Patriots). Pittsburgh defeated the third-seeded Bengals, 31-17; the top-seeded Colts, 21-18; and the second-seeded Denver Broncos, 34-17, in the AFC Championship Game. The Steelers also became the ninth wild-card team to go to the Super Bowl and the fourth in nine seasons.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks became the first team to advance to the Super Bowl without having played against any single division champion in the playoffs. Off a first-round bye, Seattle defeated the sixth-seeded Washington Redskins, 20-10, before eliminating the fifth-seeded Carolina Panthers, 34-14, in the NFC Championship Game.

Television and entertainment

The game will be televised in the United States by ABC with play-by-play announcer Al Michaels, color commentator John Madden, and sideline reporters Michelle Tafoya and Suzy Kolber. This will be the first time Tafoya and Kolber will both report on the sidelines, which they will do when ESPN takes over Monday Night Football coverage during the next season. This will also be Madden's tenth overall Super Bowl broadcast as color commentator.

Chris Berman from Disney-owned corporate sibling ESPN will return to host ABC's pregame show, which he previously did for the network's coverage of Super Bowls XXXIV and XXXVII. Berman will be joined by his fellow analysts from ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown pregame show: Michael Irvin, Tom Jackson, and Steve Young. ^[4]

With the expiration of the current television contracts among ABC, CBS, ESPN and FOX following the 2005 season, this game will serve as the final telecast for ABC after 36 seasons with the NFL, at least for the foreseeable future and thus the second (after Super Bowl XXXVII) and final Super Bowl telecast with the broadcast team of Al Michaels and John Madden. ^[5] In addition, since the game is being played close to the US-Canada border, Canadian television rights holders Global will have a pre-game show telecast live from the NFL-sponsored "Passport To The Super Bowl" event in nearby Windsor, Ontario, featuring a perfomance by the newly-revived 1980's rock group INXS with Canadian native lead singer J.D. Fortune.

The game will also be televised in Austria (ORF and TW1), Brazil (SporTV/FX), Denmark (TV 2), Finland (MTV3), France (France 2), Germany (ARD), Iceland (SÝN), Japan (NHK BS-1), Spain (Canal +), Sweden (ZTV), Mexico (TV Azteca), and UK (ITV/Sky Sports).

The Rolling Stones will perform during the halftime show, which will be sponsored this year by the American telecommunications company Sprint. ^[6] However, the choice of The Rolling Stones has sparked controversy in the Detroit community because the band does not represent Motown Sound or any other artist or style from the area's musical history. ^[7] The pregame ceremonies, though, will feature a performance from Stevie Wonder, performing, along with Joss Stone and John Legend, a medley of his hits. ^[8] Singers Aretha Franklin and Aaron Neville along with pianist Dr. John and a 150-member choir are scheduled to perform the national anthem as part of a pregame tribute to New Orleans, a nine-time Super Bowl host city that continues rebuilding efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. ^[9]

Throughout the 2005 season, the National Football League heavily advertised the game with its "The Road to Forty" promotion, featuring 14 past and present players in six different movie trailer-style television commercials. ^[10] During the playoffs, actor Don Cheadle returned to participate in ads.^[11]

Commercials

As usual, the American television broadcast of the Super Bowl is expected to showcase top commericals and will command a top price, expected to be $2.5 million US for a 30-second spot. [12] According to Advertising Age, Anheuser-Busch will be the top advertiser during the game, having purchased 10 30-second spots. The magazine reported that other companies having purchased multiple commerical segments include Ameriquest (two), CareerBuilder.com (two), Pepsi-Cola (four), Pizza Hut (ten, though most are scheduled to run prior to kickoff), Sprint (three), Procter & Gamble (four, three for Gillette razors) and Warner Brothers (three). Three companies will air 60-second advertisements: General Motors (for the Cadillac brand), Burger King, and ESPN. Agency BBDO was scheduled to be the biggest single producer of commericals, creating 19. [13]

Gambling

• According to Las Vegas oddsmakers, the Steelers opened betting as a four-point favorite.
• The over-under, or expected total point total, for the game, opened at 47.[14]
• The money line is set at roughly +160 for the Seahawks and -180 for the Steelers.

This will be just the fifth time in Super Bowl history when a lower-seeded team opened as the favorite to win; the previous occurrences were before Super Bowls XXXIX (AFC second-seeded New England Patriots were favored by seven points over NFC top-seed Philadelphia Eagles), XXXV (AFC fourth-seeded Baltimore Ravens were favored by three points over NFC top-seed New York Giants), XXIII (NFC second-seeded San Francisco 49ers were favored by seven points over AFC first-seed Cincinnati Bengals), and XVII (AFC second-seeded Miami Dolphins were favored by three points over Washington Redskins). In each but the last iteration, the lower-seeded and favored team won.

Trivia

• The game is frequently referred to as "Extra Large" in view of its Roman numeral designation, XL.
• Mike Holmgren is the fifth coach to have taken two different franchises to the Super Bowl; none has won the championship game with his second team.
• With this appearance, the Steelers join the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos as the only franchises to have qualified for six Super Bowls; the Broncos also have six appearances, while the Cowboys have eight.
• The Steelers will be only the third franchise to wear white jerseys despite being the "home" team; the Cowboys (Super Bowls XIII and XXVII) and the Redskins (Super Bowl XVII), who traditionally wear white at home, are the other two.
• The game will be the first Super Bowl played by the Steelers to be broadcast on ABC or to be played indoors; previous Steelers Super Bowls were broadcast on NBC or CBS. NFC teams have a perfect 6-0 record in Super Bowls broadcast on ABC.
• Ben Roethlisberger will be the second youngest quarterback to start in a Super Bowl, behind only Dan Marino, who led the Dolphins to Super Bowl XIX at age 23.
• Franco Harris is a notable alumnus of both teams; after starring on the Super Bowl Steelers teams of the 1970s, he joined the Seahawks in 1984, the last year prior to 2005 in which Seattle had won a playoff game.
• The two teams that entered the league in 1976, the Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the only two franchises to have switched conferences since the league's merger and subsequently to have made the Super Bowl. In 1976, the Buccaneers played in the AFC West and the Seahawks in the NFC West. The teams switched divisions the following season and remained in their new conferences until divisional realignment in 2002, which sent the Seahawks back to the NFC.
• Members of the winning team will each receive a payment of $73,000 for playing in the game, while players on the losing team will be paid $38,000. The Green Bay Packers received $15,000 each for winning Super Bowl I in 1967; adjusted for inflation in 2006 dollars, that sum is roughly $86,000. [15].
• After having held constant at $600 for three years, the price of the costliest Super Bowl seat ticket will rise to $700 for the game.

Footnotes

1. ^ Super Bowl XL Information from superbowl.com
2. ^ The black and gold - and white? Steelers' Super Bowl uniform choice bucks tradition January 24, 2006
3. ^ Ford Field at DetroitLions.com (Last Accessed January 19, 2006)
4. ^ ABC/ESPN's press release announcing its Super Bowl XL coverage. (Last accessed January 19, 2006)
5. ^ NFL announces new prime-time TV packages, NFL.com, April 18, 2005 (Last accessed December 11, 2005)
6. ^ The Rolling Stones to perform during Sprint Super Bowl XL Halftime Show on ABC, superbowl.com, November 29, 2005 (Last accessed December 11, 2005)
7. ^ No R-E-S-P-E-C-T for Motown halftime by Bill McGraw, Detroit Free Press, December 1, 2005 (Last accessed December 11, 2005)
8. ^ Stevie Wonder lined up for Super Bowl pregame, superbowl.com, December 5, 2005 (Last accessed December 11, 2005)
9. ^ Aretha Franklin, Aaron Neville to sing national anthem at Super Bowl, superbowl.com, January 18, 2006
10. ^ "Road to Forty" showcases past, present stars, superbowl.com (Last accessed December 11, 2005)
11. ^ Cheadle joins "Road to Forty" campaign, superbowl.com, January 4, 2005.

See also

• 2005 NFL season
• NFL playoffs, 2005-06

References

• Official NFL web site, includes recaps, scores and statistics of the games and teams throughout the season.
• Official Super Bowl web site
• Super Bowl XL Host Committee web site
• Preferred Map of Super Bowl XL