The 2011 Super Bowl features the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. This NFL classic, Super Bowl XLV, will be played in Cowboys Stadium, Arlington Texas on Sunday, February 6, 2011. Kickoff is set for 6:25 pm est.  Here are some interesting facts about the 2011 Super Bowl XLV matchup.

Fox Sports will televise the 2011 Super Bowl with a broadcast team that includes Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color analyst), Mike Pereira (instant replay review), Pam Oliver (sideline reporter) and Chris Myers (sideline reporter).

The Green Bay Packers are 2 ½ point favorite over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Over/Under is currently 45 ½.

This will be the 8th Super Bowl appearance for the AFC Champion Steelers. They hold the NFL record of Super Bowl wins with 6. The game also marks the 5th Super Bowl appearance for the NFC champion Packers. Green Bay holds 12 NFL titles, 3 Super Bowl wins and 9 NFL league titles prior to the Super Bow-era.

The Steelers and Packers did not play each other during the regular season. The last matchup between the two teams was on 12/20/09 in Pittsburgh’s Heinz field. The Steelers won 37-36. The game was decided on a Ben Roethlisberger touchdown pass to receiver Mike Wallace as time expired.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS FACTS
The Steelers finished the regular season with a 12-4 record.
They got to the Super Bowl with a first round bye in the AFC playoffs, defeated the Baltimore Ravens 31-24 in the AFC Division championship and then beat the New York Jets 24-19 in the AFC Championship game.
This is their 3rd Super Bowl appearance with Roethlisberger as the team’s starting QB.

The Steelers offense is lead by QB Ben Roethlisberger (3200 yards, 17 TDs, 5 INTs, 176 yards rushing, 2 rushing TDs, 97 passing rating).

The Steelers top receiver is Mike Wallace (60 receptions, 1257 yards, 10 TDs, 21 yards per reception average). Other receivers include Hines Ward (59 receptions, 755 yards, 5 tds) and Heath Miller (42 receptions, 512 yards).

Rashard Mendenhall is their leading rusher (1273 yards, 13 tds, 23 receptions).

The Steelers defense lead the NFL in sacks (48), fewest points (14.5) and rushing yards (62.8) allowed per game, while ranking second in fewest total yards (276.8).

Defensive standouts include tackle Brett Keisel, safety Troy Polamalu (7 ints, returning one for a TD) and linebackers LaMarr Woodley (10 sacks, 3 forced fumbles), James Harrison (10 sacks, 6 forced fumbles) and James Farrior (6 sacks, 109 tackles).

Coach Mike Tomlin, already the youngest coach to ever win a Super Bowl, became the youngest coach ever to make it to the Super Bowl twice (age 38).

GREEN BAY PACKERS FACTS
The Green Bay Packers finished the season with a 10–6 record. To get the Super Bowl they beat the Philadelphia Eagles 21-16 in the first round of the NFC playoffs, next they beat the Atlanta Falcons 48-21 and then beat the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game 21-14. They are the first 6th seed to reach the Super Bowl and only the second team (2005 Steelers) to defeat the top 3 seeds on the road in the playoffs.

The Packers offense is led by QB Aaron Rodgers (3912 yards, 28 TDs, 10 INTs, 356 yards rushing, 4 rushing TDs, 101.2 passing rating).

Top receivers include Greg Jennings (76 receptions, 1265 yards, 12 TDs, 16.6 yards per catch average). Other targets included receivers James Jones (50 receptions, 676 yards, 5 TDs), Donald Driver (51 receptions, 565 yards, 4 TDs), and Jordy Nelson (45 receptions, 582 yards, 496 kick return yards).

The Packers ground game suffered because of injuries, especially to Ryan Grant, who had rushed for over 1,200 yards in each of the last two years. The team relied on prominently on Brandon Jackson (703 yards rushing, 43 pass receptions for 342 yards), and fan favorite, fullback John Kuhn (281 yards on the ground).

The Packers defensive ranked second in the league in fewest points allowed per game (15). Defensive stalwarts include Cullen Jenkins (7 sacks), tackle B.J. Raji (6.5 sacks), and linebackers Clay Matthews (13.5 sacks) and A.J. Hawk (111 tackles, 3 INTs).

The Packer secondary was led by Tramon Williams (6 INTs and 326 punt return yards), Nick Collins (4 INTs, 70 tackles) and Charles Woodson (2 INTs, 92 tackles, 5 forced fumbles).

THE NFL THIS WEEK Super Bowl XLV prediction

PACKERS 24 STEELERS 21

Everyone knows that the Superbowl is the biggest day of the year in America.  It definitely beats out all other professional sports championships, and may even be as popular as the Fourth of July.  But do you really know how big the game is?

Here are some tidbits to think about when your enjoying the Superbow XLIII on Sunday, February 1, 2009 between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers:

Superbowl Broadcast Facts

• The NFC lead the Superbowl series 22-20 all time against the NFC
• Superbowl XLIII will be broadcast in 232 countries and territories
• The Superbowl is broadcast in 34 languages
• The top ten network primetime telecasts since 2000 are Superbowls
• 1.5 million TV sets will be sold during the week of the Superbowl
• A 30 second commercial during the Superbowl will cost advertisers up to $3 million

Superbowl Social Facts

• The average number of people attending a Super Bowl party is 17%, over 20 million Americans
• Half of all Americans would rather go to a Super Bowl party than a New Year’s Eve party
• An estimated 68 percent who attend the game have never been to a Super Bowl
• An estimated 50 million American women will watch the Super Bowl
• Two out of five Super Bowl watchers are not even football fans. Even people who will never watch another game all year will tune in to be part of this one national event
• Research shows that about 25% of women actually enjoy watching the game during the Super Bowl, but that leaves 3 out of every 4 who don’t. It is true that those 3 watch it because they enjoy the commercials, the food, the drink, the friends and the overall atmosphere
• Super Bowl weekend is the slowest weekend for weddings
• On average, Super Bowl plans are made 41 days in advance, our research shows (By comparison, New Year’s plans are made 35 days in advance; anniversary plans are made 30 days in advance; birthday plans are made 25 days in advance.)

Superbowl Food Facts

• Nearly one in eight or 13% of Americans order takeout/delivery food from a restaurant for a Super Bowl gathering
• Most popular choices of takeout/delivery items on Super Bowl Sunday are pizza at 58 percent, chicken wings at 50 percent and subs or sandwiches at 20 percent
• Approximately one in 20 (4 percent) Americans watch the big game at a restaurant or a bar, over 9 million Americans
• On Super Bowl Sunday, Americans will eat an estimated 20 million pounds of potato and tortilla chips and eight million pounds of avocados
• Sales for antacid increase by 20% on Super Bowl weekend

Superbowl Media Facts

• The Super Bowl will always reach the magic line in the Neilson ratings of 40-plus [household] rating
• Each of the past three Super Bowls earned household ratings (percentage of the 108 million homes with a TV) just above a 40, and in 2000 the broadcast averaged a 43 rating
• The game will have an audience estimated at close to a billion people
• The Food Network will have aired at least a dozen shows with Super Bowl themes by Super Bowl week’s end
• Every Super Bowl since 1991 has had a rating of at least 40.2, with 1996′s game earning a 46.1
• The second-most watched Super Bowl in history was in 2003 with 137.65 million American viewers
• ESPN airs more than 160 hours of Super Bowl programming during Super Bowl week
• The Super Bowl has become advertising’s big contest as well. It is believed that close to 58% of people would rather take their bathroom breaks during the game than miss the commercials.

Superbowl Economic Facts

• It is believed that an estimated 300-400 million dollars will be pumped in to the local economy of the host city
• Consumers will spend an average of $49.27 (or $5.6 billion total) on Super Bowl-related items from food and drink to new TV sets, lounge chairs and entertainment centers
• The median annual income of a Super Bowl ticket holder is $70,000, with 33 percent making over $100,000
• About 35 percent of those who attend the game write it off as a corporate expense

source: wikipedia.com encyclopedia.com superbowlmonday.com