For Brits, the NFL is very much the ‘Marmite’ of sport, you either love it or hate it. Some hate it because of the constant disruption for commercials and the fact a game that takes an hour to play usually lasts for a hour. Others love the sport because they see the sheer explosions of energy the players exhume on every down, and the passion the fans and players alike show for even the most basic of plays. Personally, I love it for two reasons. The first being my uncle used to play the sport over here for the Manchester Allstars and he first introduced me to the game; the other being the legend of the sport that is Joe Montana and his San Francisco 49ers who stole a piece of my heart from the first time I saw their red and gold uniforms. There is one thing that no-one can deny, whether you love it or hate it, and that’s that they put on one hell of a show!
Onto this years game. The AFC Champs, the Pittsburgh Steelers, six-time champions and the bookies favourites, were taking on the NFC Champs, the Green Bay Packers, themselves three times champions. 103,000 fans crammed into Cowboy Stadium to see the epic battle. The razzmatazz was in full effect as one of the stars of ‘Glee’ took to the stage to sing ‘America the Brave’. She was swiftly followed by pop-star Christina Aguilera, who’s rendition of the National Anthem can only be described as being similar to the noise a pig makes as its about it learn how bacon is made. Finally, after the usual dramatised coin toss, kick off loomed and 103,000 fans nearly tore the retractable roof right off.
As the game began, both teams showed a mixture of nerves and caginess as both teams punted their first possessions. This continued until 11.16 of the first quarter as Green Bay Quarterback Aaron Rodgers found Wide Receiver Jordy Nelson in the End Zone for a Touchdown. The extra point was good and it was 7-0 to the Packers. Before the Steelers got time to recover from the TD, Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger threw a pass short of its intended target and it was intercepted and returned 37 yards for a touchdown by Green Bay Safety Nick Collins. Within the space of a couple of minutes, Green Bay had taken control of the game and lead 14-0 going into the second quarter.
At the start of the second, the Steelers fought back, driving the ball all the way to the Red-Zone before they were held by the Green Bay defence and had to settle for a field goal. 14-3. On the Steelers next possession, Roethlisberger threw his second interception of the game, this time to Garratt Bush. This lead to yet another Green Bay TD, this time by Greg Jennings to make the score 21-3. Pittsburgh managed to pull a vital touchdown back before half time with ‘Big’ Ben finding Hines Ward in the End Zone for a TD to make it 21-10 at the half. WOW! What a game it’s been so far, which leads us on to half time.
For anyone who knows American Football, they will know that the half time show during the Superbowl is held with similar esteem as the host of the Oscars or headlines the Royal Variety show. During the Superbowl, halftime is extended from 15 minutes to 25 minutes. This is to accommodate the extremely grandness of the show that takes place for 15 minutes. This years performers were the Black Eyed Peas and a couple of guest performers. Now the BEP (as the cool kids call them) are not everyone’s cup of tea, but they sure put on one spectacular performance. Huge stages, fireworks, dancers, suits covered in LED’s, people with boxes for heads, they had it all. If only they could sing or their songs had any kind of meaning and I might have actually enjoyed it. The halftime show epitomises the essence of the Superbowl, with all its Hollywood Pazazz and over-the-top performances, its become as big a part of the spectacle as the game itself.
After recovering from the torturous warbling of the Black Eyed Pea’s, the second half kicked off. The Steelers touchdown before halftime looked like it had taken the steam out of the Packers engine as their first drive of the second half ended with a punt. This left the momentum with the Steelers who capitalised through a Rashard Mendenhall TD to make it 21-17. Pittsburgh continued to press as Green Bay’s next drive ended with a James Harrisonsack on Aaron Rodgers and subsequently a punt by the Packers. Roethlisberger managed to drive the Steelers into a decent position before Green Bay’s Frank Zombo got his hands on him on third down for the sack. The Steelers couldn’t convert the 52 yard field goal which gave the Packers some extra grit. The offence continued to stall and through a series of stupid penalties, the third quarter came to an end with the Steelers in good field position on the Green Bay 32 yard line.
At this stage it looked like the Steelers were going to walk it, until on the first play of the fourth quarter, Mendenhall fumbled the ball and Green Bay recovered. This stirred the slumbering Packers and after Greg Jennings second touchdown of the evening, they extended their lead to 28-17. Desperate times for the Steelers now as they a down 11 points with only 12 minutes remaining. But they have been here before, and ‘Big’ Ben rallied the troops and Mike Wallace responded with a TD. A two point conversion later and the score was 28-25. Could the Superbowl be heading towards its first ever overtime? Green Bay responded perfectly by kicking a FG to make it 31-25. The biggest drive of the season started with less than two minutes remaining. The season came down to this, only a touchdown would do for the Steelers. It was one drive to far for Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers as they failed with a 4th down conversion. The Green Bay Packers had won Superbowl XLV.
So there you go. It had come down to the final two minutes of the game and what a game it was. I don’t support either team so watching it as a neutral definitely had its pluses, although I was routing for Green Bay as they have always been my mums team. It was gone 3.30am and the NFL season had ended for another year. ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ had not disappointed and I couldn’t help but be a little sad that I had to wait until September for it all to start again.
Highlights of the game:
Aaron Rodgers first half performance. The Steelers never-say-die attitude. The extremely impressive beard being sported by the Steelers #99 Brett Keisel.
Lowlights of the game:
The countless injuries on the seeming destructive surface at Cowboy Stadium. The BEP and Aguilera sets. The BBC Coverage.