Super Bowl XL

• 1. Host Selection And Detroit Bid

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  On the 1st of November 2000, NFL owners gathered in Atlanta to vote on the host city for Super Bowl XL. The decision was largely a formality because Detroit had already been tentatively selected as a reward for building a new stadium. This marked the second Super Bowl held in the Detroit area, following Super Bowl XVI at the Pontiac Silverdome. Three Super Bowls were awarded during that meeting: XXXVIII, XXXIX, and XL. Only XXXIX involved a competitive voting process. Detroit faced significant hurdles before securing the bid. The city needed to secure enough hotel rooms and book venues for ancillary events. They also planned to install temporary seating at Ford Field while it was still under construction. The NFL required new stadiums to wait until their second year of operation before hosting a Super Bowl. Detroit set its sights on February 2006 to satisfy this rule. Auto racing legend Roger Penske led the host committee with an aggressive push over the summer of 2000. He met with key members of the committee and mayor Dennis Archer to pitch the bid again on September 27. The league set a deadline of October 11 for the final bid package submission. A last-minute effort resolved all remaining issues. Jerry Jones called the presentation outstanding. Wayne Huizenga described it as a slam dunk. Bud Adams stated that Detroit deserved a Super Bowl.

• 2. Seahawks Historic Run To The Title

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  The Seattle Seahawks entered Super Bowl XL after finishing the regular season with an NFC-best 13, 3 record. They started the season with a rocky 2, 2 start but won eleven consecutive games before losing to the Green Bay Packers. This 13-game winning streak set new team records. It was the Seahawks' first Super Bowl appearance in the team's thirty-year history. The franchise had been mediocre throughout much of the 1990s, recording eight consecutive non-winning seasons from 1991 through 1998. Team owner Ken Behring announced his intention to move the team to Los Angeles in 1996. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen bought the team in 1997 and brokered a deal to build Qwest Field. Mike Holmgren became head coach in 1999. He led the Green Bay Packers to Super Bowls XXXI and XXXII before joining Seattle. Running back Shaun Alexander finished the 2005 season as the league's top offense with 452 points scored. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 3,455 yards and twenty-four touchdowns. Alexander led the league with 1,880 rushing yards and scored an NFL-record twenty-eight touchdowns. He received the NFL Most Valuable Player Award that year. The defense recorded fifty quarterback sacks, leading the NFL in that category. Rookie middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu was the only defensive Pro Bowl selection for the team.

• 3. Steelers Underdog Championship Quest

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  The Pittsburgh Steelers qualified for the playoffs with an 11, 5 record after winning their final four games. They became the first sixth-seeded team to reach both a conference championship game and the Super Bowl since the NFL expanded to a twelve-team playoff format in 1990. Head coach Bill Cowher had led the team to ten playoff appearances in fourteen seasons. Starting quarterback Tommy Maddox suffered an injury early in the 2004 season. Rookie Ben Roethlisberger replaced him and led the team to victory in all remaining regular season games. This gave the Steelers a fifteen-win record. They lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. In the 2005 season, Roethlisberger and backup Charlie Batch went down with injuries. Quarterback Tommy Maddox returned as starter but the team dropped two more games. The postseason hopes were in peril until they recovered to win their final four regular season games. They claimed the sixth seed in the AFC playoffs. Roethlisberger threw for 2,385 yards and seventeen touchdowns during the regular season. Wide receiver Hines Ward led the team with 975 receiving yards and eleven touchdowns. Running back Willie Parker was the team's leading rusher with 1,202 yards. Jerome Bettis finished his thirteenth NFL season as the league's fifth all-time leading rusher. The defense ranked fourth in the NFL, giving up 284.0 total yards per game. Free safety Chris Hope led the team with three interceptions.

• 4. Game Day Key Plays And Statistics

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  The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks by the score of 21, 10 on the 5th of February 2006. The game took place at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. Willie Parker broke through for a seventy-five-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter. This set a record for the longest run in Super Bowl history. It beat Marcus Allen's mark from Super Bowl XVIII by one yard. Kelly Herndon intercepted a pass from Ben Roethlisberger and returned it seventy-six yards to the Steelers' twenty-yard line. This remains the longest non-scoring play in Super Bowl history as of 2024. Matt Hasselbeck threw a sixteen-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jerramy Stevens to cut the lead to fourteen, ten. Antwaan Randle El threw a forty-three-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward in the fourth quarter. This marked the first time a wide receiver threw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl. Ward caught five passes for 123 yards and scored a touchdown. He also rushed for eighteen yards and was named Super Bowl MVP. Roethlisberger completed just nine of twenty-one passes for 123 yards with two interceptions. His quarterback rating was 22.6, the lowest ever by a Super Bowl winning quarterback. He became the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl at twenty-three years and eleven months.

• 5. Broadcasting Evolution And Commercial Impact

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  Super Bowl XL was televised by ABC, marking their final NFL telecast before merging with ESPN in September 2006. The game was the first where all aspects were aired in high definition. Prior broadcasts had largely been presented in HD since Super Bowl XXXIV, but commercials themselves were broadcast in standard definition during typical HDTV broadcasts. This game broke that pattern. A thirty-second commercial spot cost an estimated $2.6 million. Anheuser-Busch purchased ten spots, making them the top advertiser. Other companies including Pepsi-Cola, Pizza Hut, and Sprint bought multiple segments. General Motors aired a sixty-second advertisement for the Cadillac brand. The Halftime show featured The Rolling Stones performing three songs: Start Me Up, Rough Justice, and Satisfaction. The show reached 89.9 million viewers. Chris Berman hosted ABC's pregame show alongside analysts Michael Irvin, Tom Jackson, and Steve Young. Play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and color commentator John Madden called the game. This was the tenth Super Bowl broadcast for Madden. They would go on to call one more Super Bowl together, Super Bowl XLIII, after which Madden retired from broadcasting altogether.

• 6. Officiating Controversies And Criticism

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  The officiating in Super Bowl XL received criticism from media members soon after the game ended. One disputed call involved offensive pass interference on Seahawks wide receiver Darrell Jackson. The penalty nullified his sixteen-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. Another complaint concerned a holding penalty against Sean Locklear that nullified a deep pass. Many Steelers fans were outraged by an incomplete pass call early in the game from Hasselbeck to Jerramy Stevens. Officials ruled he never had complete possession despite appearing to have it. A February 7 online ESPN poll found that 61.7 percent of 103,167 votes cast believed officiating mistakes affected the outcome. Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren took issue with the officiating at a rally on February 6. He stated they knew it would be tough against the Steelers but did not expect to play the officials as well. High-profile referee Ed Hochuli said big calls went against Seattle and that was bad fortuitous for them. The controversy was later listed as number eight on the NFL's list of top ten controversial calls of all time. The league released a statement defending the officials' performance two days after the game.