It’s here! Superbowl Sunday is here! Now it’s time to get yourself ready with the Superbowl festivities.  Get that 6 foot sub, keg of beer, get your Superbowl pool squares and pull the pool numbers. 

Then it’s time to talk football. Here are some things to look for in today’s Superbowl matchup between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers:

When The Steelers Run The Ball
Watch for running back Willie Parker to have a big game.  Over the last two games he has run for over 100 yards, including a 146 yard performance against the San Diego Chargers in the divisional playoffs.  And for you betting types, the Steelers are 6-0 in postseason play when Willie is a starter.

When The Steelers Throw The Ball
Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers starting quarterback, won a Superbowl ring in Super Bowl XL, but was not a factor in that game. In fact, he threw 2 interceptions and had a passing rating of 22.6.  This time around, expect Ben to be a big factor, even with his favorite receiver, Hines Ward, wearing a brace and playing with a sprained knee.

When The Cardinals Run The Ball
Do you remember Edgerin James?  He was benched in November in favor of Tim Hightower but regained the starting spot in the playoffs.  He ran for 203 yards on 52 carries and added a new dimension to the Cardinals offense.  But the Cardinals will need to spread the running game around with Hightower and J.J. Arlington to keep the Steelers number one rated defense honest.

When the Cardinals Throw The Ball
Kurt Warner, the starting quarterback, lead the Arizona passing game to the second most prolific in the league this year.  Warner has the luxury of a trio of 1,000 yard receivers to throw to, including larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston.

Special Teams
Nobody has ever returned a punt for a touchdown in the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh’s Santonio Holmes has already returned a punt for a touchdown this season.  Arizona’s Steve Breaston has the ability to deliver breakaway returns.  He did it in his first pro game, a 73-yard punt return last Fall.

X-Factor
Steelers: Troy Polamalu is a super strong aggressive strong safety who has the hands to intercept passes and the running ability to bring it back for a touchdown.

Cardinals: The coach, Ken Whisenhunt’s trick plays.  The Cardinals used a trick play against the Philadelpha Eagles in the conference championship game that went for a touchdown. It seemed to deflat the Eagles momentum and make the defense think about that play for the rest of the game.

Super Bowl Prediction
Pittsburgh Steelers 17   Arizona Cardinals 14
The defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers will be too much for the Cardinals.

The much anticipated SuperBowl is arguably the biggest holiday in America.  People will travel and huddle around their high-def TVs and basically tailgame in the home.  The 2009 Superbowl will be played on Sunday, February 1, 2009. Game time is set for 6:20 pm Eastern Time.  NBC will televise the forty-third Superbowl live from Raymond James Stadium, in Tampa, Florida.

Superbowl XLIII will feature the NFC Conference Champions, the Arizona Cardinals and the AFC Champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers. It will be a contest between the number one defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers versus the high flying offense of the Arizona Cardinals led by quarterback Kurt Warner.  Expect it be an exciting, hard hitting game.

NBC looks to score big with a day full of Super Bowl coverage, and the hope that the ratings will turn out to be huge not only for the big game, but the commercial breaks that tend to also draw large audiences. Joining the game will be pop-singer Jennifer Hudson, who will perform The Star-Spangled Banner before the first kick-off, in what will be here first public performance since the tragic death of her family members. For the halftime show sponsored by Bridgestone, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform live at a Super Bowl for the very first time.

Due to the economic times, NBC has been forced to drop pregame ad rates for advertisers.  Sales of ads for next Sunday’s Super Bowl are holding up fairly well though, even at $3 million (U.S.) for 30 seconds. But commercial spots that will run in the pregame hours? That’s a different ball game.

Depending on the number of ads bought or the hour of the day, pregame ads can cost about half the price of an in-game commercial, ad buyers said. That would mean some of this year’s pregame ads could cost more than $1 million for 30 seconds.

The NBC television listing for Superbowl Sunday is:

12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
“THE ROAD TO THE SUPER BOWL”

1 p.m. – 6 p.m.
SUPER BOWL XLIII PRE-GAME SHOW
Commentators:  Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth, Keith Olbermann, Dan Patrick, Jerome Bettis, Tiki Barber, Peter King, Matt Millen

6 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
SUPERBOWL XLIII
Commentators:  Al Michaels, John Madden, Andrea Kremer, Alex Flanagan