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Super Bowl XL would be the sixth time the Pittsburgh Steelers appeared in a Super Bowl since the championship games began in 1967. It would also be their opportunity to seize a 5th super bowl ring and trophy, matching the record of the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers.

nfl super bowl xl

Pittsburgh’s regualar season was off with their 11 win and 5 loss record, and going into the playoffs as a wildcard, yet they went on to win the conference and eventually Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks (13-3 season). The final score of 21-10 gave Pittsburgh the ‘one for the thumb’ they had waited nearly 25 years for. This also would be the first super bowl win for Bill Cowher since taking over as head coach for the Steelers in 1992, although he did take Pittsburgh to 10 playoffs in his 14 year career.

Super Bowl XL was played at Detroit’s Ford Field, and the official logo chosen by the NFL was ‘The Road to Forty’. The three year old stadium was chosen in 2001, making Detroit a two time host of the Super Bowl (the other one was Super Bowl XVI).

super bowl xl champions

The first quarter proved to be a struggle as Pittsburgh was unable gain a lot of ground. The first quarter ended with 3-0 Seattle, and with less than 5 minutes left in the second quarter, the Steelers found themselves on the third down with 28 yards for a first down. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw to Hines Ward, receiver, gaining 37 yards. The subsequent two plays resulted in the ball being on the 1 yard line, thanks to a Jerome Bettis play. When the two minute warning came on the Steelers third down, Ben Roethlisberger made a fake handoff play and dove into the end zone, bringing the score to 7-3 Steelers .

Willie Parker was determined to seal the Steelers Super Bowl XL victory with an NFL record 75 yard touchdown run, making the score 14-3 in the third quarter. The next play Seattle closed the gap with a Hasselback-Stevens 16 yard pass putting the score to 14-10 Steelers. However, the fourth quarter would prove difficult for the Seahawks as Randle El passed a 43 yard touchdown to Ward, and Reed making the field goal would widen the score to 21-10. The Seahawks next drive went 49 yards, however they could not keep possession for a turnover. The Steelers took possession of the ball and held it for almost 4 1/2 minutes, when Seattle regained the ball, there was less than 2 minutes on the clock.

super bowl xl

The Seahawks gained 48 yards in 2 receptions then made a few pass attempts resulting in incompletions. Only 11 seconds remained in the game and Seattle’s 4th down incomplete pass gave Pittsburgh possession. Only three seconds remained in the game, when Roethlisberger’s kneel-down ended Super Bowl XL.

Super Bowl predictions are as much an annual event as Christmas and Thanksgiving Day, as a profound number of fans, celebs, politicans and sportswriters make their guess on the winner of the annual Super Bowl. Some of these super bowl predictions start out as early as the day after the most recent super bowl. The odds on whether a team will make it to the super bowl the following year are usually available immediately following the current super bowl.

nfl super bowl predictions

Avid gamblers are the most likely perpetrators of serious super bowl predictions, as even Las Vegas will set the odds for anyone wanting to gamble on who will win the next championship. However, there are plenty of people who make their super bowl predictions and bets out of pure fun and admiration for the game. These include politicians from competing states, cities, and local governments.

In the 2008 regular season, prognosticators were making super bowl predictions on the Indianapolis Colts making it to the 2009 Super Bowl XLIII. Nearly half of the super bowl expert predictors were sure the Colts would see their 2nd super bowl in 3 years, a fact they based on the Colt’s excellent regular seasons for the last several years. Yet, that super bowl prediction never came true, even thought their 2008 season was an excellent 13-3 finish.

super bowl prediction

Just prior to Super Bowl XLIII, held on February 1, 2009, super bowl predictions were prevalent all over the country, placing Kurt Warner as a threat to the Steelers chance of making a record sixth super bowl win. However, Las Vegas odds made the steelers a 61/2-point favorite over the Cardinals. In the last ten years, the favorite has won seven times, which would indicate choosing the favorite is the most likely super bowl prediction to actually come true.

In addition to the more serious super bowl predictions by the sports aficionados, there are always a few comical ones laid out by celebrities and entertainers. Howie Mandel, host of “Deal or No Deal” and “Howie Do It” predicted the score at Pittsburgh, 21-14. Mandel said, “Because, and I won’t mention who, I have gotten some notes from two players on the Steelers that they are fans of my show ‘Howie Do It’.”

super bowl predictions

Although to some, the super bowl predictions are a matter of fun, it is not taken as lightly for the avid gambler who wants to make a profit. It is estimated that more than $10 billion will be wagered by more than 200 million people worldwide on what is called the biggest sports betting event of the year.

The super bowl is one of the greatest American pastimes, and recently has captured audiences of over 95 million viewers. The super Bowl is more than just a game, it is an economic boom to cities, retailers and bookmakers all across the USA.

super bowl champions

Originally started as a world championship event in 1967, to pit the American Football League (AFL) against the National Football League (NFL), the super bowl was known as the ‘First AFL-NFL World Championship Game’. Legend has it that the media was behind the term Super Bowl, even though the NFL originally called the games the AFL-NFL Championship.

When the AFL and NFL merged, the teams remained in their divisions and respective leagues. The AFL became known as the American Football Conference (AFC) and the NFL teams became the National Football Conference (NFC). The champion team from each conference would then play in the annual super bowl held the following year.

Traditionally the super bowl was held the last Sunday in January, however in recent years the date has moved into February. The NFL, who owns the Super Bowl, decides the date as much as a year in advance and the location as many as 3 years in advance of the Super Bowl. Deciding on the location is achieved by a vote of all MFL team owners, once cities have placed bids to be chosen.

nfl super bowl

The NFL takes many factors into consideration when choosing the stadium and host city for an upcoming Super Bowl. This process is done several years in advance of the games to allow host cities to prepare. The Future super bowl hosts will be Dolphin Stadium in 2010, Dallas Cowboys in 2011, and Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in 2012.

For those not fortunate enough to acquire a super bowl ticket and attend the game, a major network is selected each year to broadcast the super bowl. This a major economic boost for TV networks since more than 95 million people watched the most recent super bowl on TV. Live attendance has been over seventy thousand every year for the last decade

The large number of viewers of the super bowl has created an enormous expense for commercials aired during the super bowl. In the latest super bowl, a 30-second commercial was nearly $3 million dollars, while total gross revenue from all commercials aired during the super bowl was in excess of $200 million. It also has been reported that the super bowl is the second largest ‘food’ holiday in American, only behind Thanksgiving. That may well explain why 2 of the top 5 commercials were snack food advertisers..

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Generating tens of millions of dollars and pumping nearly 1 billion dollars into the immediate economy has proved that the Super Bowl is one of the largest annual economic events in Anerica. The super bowl has accomplished a great feat in being a game that is admired not only by football fans, but businesses and retailers as well.