They say everything is bigger in Texas and this Sunday’s Super Bowl clash between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers in Cowboy Stadium, Arlington, Texas could be the biggest of them all.
The matchup between two of the NFL’s traditional powerhouses, both of whom enjoy fanatical fan bases in Pittsburgh’s “Steelers Nation” and Green Bay’s “Cheese Heads”, is expected to attract over one hundred thousand people to the game more than the entire population of the city of Green Bay and become the highest rated show in American television history.
The Super Bowl is a sporting event unlike any other, a spectacle in which the commercials and halftime show are as much as part of the viewing experience as the game itself. How much will said commercial cost those companies who wish to peddle their latest products? $5 million per minute or because we are in the midst of a global recession they may prefer the cheaper option of $.2.5-3 million for thirty seconds. Super Bowl Sunday sees an estimated fifty million dollars spent on food and 325 million gallons of beer to wash it all down. It is no surprise then that after all that gluten and excess that 6% of Americans will call in sick the next day and with the growing popularity of the sport here in Ireland I am sure there is a few people reading this are planning on doing the same thing.
The Steelers and Packers are both steeped in a rich history of success. Since the introduction of the playoff system the Packers and Steelers rank number one and two respectively in terms of best winning percentage in the playoffs.
Pittsburgh, owned by American ambassador to Ireland, Dan Rooney, comes into the contest as the most succesful team in Super Bowl history with a record six titles. The Steelers rose to prominence n the seventies lead by head coach, Chuck Noll, flamboyant Quarterback, Terry Bradshaw and one of the most dominant defences in NFL history. Dubbed the steel curtain the unit was fronted by the legendary quartet of Mean Joe Greene, L.C Greenwood, Ernie Holmes and Dwight White. They won four Super Bowls in six years during that time period and remain the only team to have achieved such a feat, their last title coming in 1979.The Steelers would have to wait a further twenty seven years to lift the trophy again when they bested the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl Forty in 2005 They captured title number six under the tutelage of current Head Coach, Mike Tomlin, who became the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl in 2007.
The Green Bay Packers themselves are three time Super Bowl winners. Although they may be based in a small city, when it comes to winning the Packers are anything but small time. Before the Super Bowl was invented they had twelve NFL championships on their resume. The team won their first two Super Bowls with back to back wins in Super Bowls One and Two in 1966 and 1967.It was a team filled with NFL icons such as Quarterback Bart Starr, Halfback Paul Hornung and ferocious linebacker Ray Nitschke with charismatic Head Coach, Vince Lombardi, at the helm. Lombardi had led the Packers to five championships in his seven seasons as head coach and was just as adept at conjuring up a inspirational quote as a winning game plan. When Coach Lombardi passed away at the age of fifty seven due to cancer the NFL decided to honour his immense contribution to the game by renaming the Super Bowl trophy after him. The Packers faded in to mediocrity after Lombardi departed following their second Super Bowl win. It would not be until 1992 when the Packers hired Coach Mike Holmgren, and traded for Quarterback, Brett Favre that they would start to become relevant again. Favre was like an old- fashioned wild west gun slinger, a brilliant yet flawed player who zipped the ball up and down the field with sometimes reckless abandon. Indeed Favre holds the NFL record for most touchdown passes thrown and interceptions thrown. With the addition in 1993 of Defensive Lineman, Reggie White, nicknamed the Minister for Defence as he was an Evangelical minister, the Packers became a more complete team and in 1996 captured their third super bowl with a 35-21 victory over the New England Patriots.
While the championship pedigree of the two clubs may favour the Steelers the momentum going into the game is most definitely with the Packers. They come into the game as the slight favourites with bookmakers. Green Bay, plagued by injury in the early part of their campaign, saw some of their key players lost for the season. The Packers scraped into the Playoffs as the sixth and last seed in the NFC with a record of 10-6. They were aided by a stingy defence that has allowed an average of just twelve points against in its last twelve games headed by dynamic Linebacker, Clay Matthews, who leads the NFL in sacks and with Quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, whose outstanding play both with his arm and legs has led his team to the big dance, pulling the strings for an explosive offense. Green Bay looked like it had put all the pieces together just in time for a run at the Super Bowl as they saw off the Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears to reach the final.
The Steelers faced some adversity of their own at the start of the season when Quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the bathroom of a nightclub during the offseason. He was not charged but the NFL suspended him for the first four games of the season as this was the second time in his career that he was accused of such behaviour. Despite that the emergence of wide receivers, Mike Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders, complimented by a mean defence headlined by defensive player of the year, Troy Polamalu and hard hitting Linebacker, James Harrison, whose aggressive style has earned him 100,000 dollars in fines during the season, helped the Steelers finish the season with a 12-4 record. This was good enough for second seed in the AFC and overcame bitter rivals, the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets, to reach this Sunday’s championship showdown.
Pittsburgh go into the game with centre Maurkice Pouncey a doubt. Pouncey broke a bone in his ankle against the Jets but lists himself as having a 75% chance of playing. If Pouncey is unable to play that would leave the Steelers with a make- shift offensive line charged with protecting their Quarterback from the oncoming rush of a very dangerous Packers defence. .This could see Rotheilsberger getting acquainted with the cowboy stadium turf for most of the game. The mobility of Ben Roethlisberger and his almost Houdini- like ability to escape the grasp of oncoming defenders and make plays when it looks like all hope is gone could well be vital to the Steelers’ chances of success.
The fact that the game will be played indoors plays well to the strength of the Packers team speed. The Packers’ offense averages 31 points in games played indoors. The Steelers this season have struggled against offenses like the Packers who can spread the field and open up the big play opportunity and Green Bay will be hoping to turn the game into a track meet with their Wide Receivers running down the field at will . However despite all their offensive weapons the Packers inability to knock opponents out when they are on the ropes could hurt them. Pittsburgh are a tough team and come into the game with recent championship experience. For the Steelers to be successful on Sunday night they must hope running back, Rashard Mendenhall, is successful running the ball. They must dominate time of possession and do everything they can to keep the ball away from Rodgers and Co. If they fail to achieve any of those things then the Lombardi Trophy will be making its way home to Green Bay for a fourth time.
