Blogcritics on Super Bowl XL

After a remarkably mild winter, up to 7 inches of snow is arriving just in time to give Detroit a festive coating and complicate the movement of tens of thousands of fans converging on steel-roofed Ford Field for the 6:30 kickoff of Super Bowl XL between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks.

The Steelers will be rocking their sixth Super Bowl (’75, ’76, ’79, ’80), but first in ten years, while the Seahawks are making their Big Show debut. Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren is no stranger, though, having been to four finales, racking up two wins as an assistant with San Francisco, and one as head coach in Green Bay. He’s trying to become the first head coach to win with different franchises

The Steelers (14-5), though seeded sixth entering the playoffs, are four-point favorites. They’ve won seven in a row, including road victories in the playoffs over division winners Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Denver. The Seahawks (15-3) have won 13 of their last 14 games and smoked Carolina for the conference championship. Their Shaun Alexander was the league MVP, setting an NFL single-season record with 28 touchdowns and leading the league with 1,880 yards rushing; and their defense led the NFL in sacks.

Ben Roethlisberger, 23, hopes to become the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl and Steelers teammate Jerome Bettis strives for what could be a perfect end to a Hall of Fame career, playing in his hometown of Detroit in what might be his final season.

Key Stats:

Seahawks – Offense — Hasselbeck, 3,459 passing yards and 24 passing TDs; Alexander, 1,880 rushing yards and 28 rushing TDs; Bobby Engram, 67 receptions and 778 receiving yards; Joe Jurevicius, 10 receiving TDs. Defense — Bryce Fisher, 9 sacks; Michael Boulware, 4 INTs.

Steelers – Offense — Roethlisberger, 2,385 passing yards and 17 passing TDs; Parker, 1,202 rushing yards; Bettis, 9 rushing TDs; Ward, 69 receptions, 975 receiving yards and 11 receiving TDs. Defense — Porter, 10½ sacks; Chris Hope, 3 INTs.

Everyone and their mother will be watching on TV, the commercials are almost as hyped as the game, and the Rolling Stones are stars of the halftime show. After the Janet Jackson Nipplegate scandalof two years ago, halftime producers have settled on broad-based “veteran” rockers — Paul McCartney last year — to ensure a wrinkly but safe amusement. An egregious affront to polite society in the era of the first Super Bowl in the ’60s, age and fortune have turned the Stones “family friendly”; Brian Jones is weeping in his grave.

So then, here is Blogcritics on the Big Game and attendant hoopla (follow our football coverage over the entire season here):

Hey Seahawks Fans: Shut Up
Hi, all of you Seahawk fans and apologists. Please stop your whining. Seattle played poorly, Pittsburgh played poorly, and the refs made some bad calls. This isn’t the first time in the history of pro football –…
Posted to Sports by Sal Marinello on February 7, 2006 06:09 PM

The Rolling Stones Know How to Play Ball
For some reason, it’s considered news that the Rolling Stones allowed the NFL producers to elide a couple of naughty words from the broadcast of their by-the-numbers performance at the Super Bowl halftime show. What’s the surprise? This is,…
Posted to Music by Steven Hart on February 7, 2006 12:44 PM

Super Bowl XS
As the sun rises on the Pacific Northwest, so does the first day of healing begin.
Posted to Sports by Brian Schleper on February 7, 2006 11:47 AM

Refs Continue to Disappoint in Steelers’ Super Bowl Win
Instead of the teams on the field, the officiating was the standout in Super Bowl XL.
Posted to Sports by Chris Inkpen on February 7, 2006 09:12 AM

Super Bowl XL-ame Ads
I’m finally weighing in with my Super Bowl ad thoughts and favorites. Why are cavemen so funny and girls in lettuce suits so not?
Posted to Video by Chip Ross on February 7, 2006 07:53 AM

Nobody Ever Blogged About Scrabble And The NFL
It’s every blogger’s dream to be read. Seen. E-mailed. Tracked back. Watch your Technorati rank rise up. And maybe — if you can dream big enough — see all that in print. Last month I was combing through all 32 NFL…
Posted to Sci/Tech by Matthew T. Sussman on February 7, 2006

Favorite Super Bowl Commercials: “Caveman,” “Baby Clydesdale”
The FedEx “Caveman” and the Anheuser-Busch “Baby Clydesdale” commercials were the two Super Bowl Commercials that I considered the best. Spending 2.5 million dollars per 30-second spot advertisers vie to capture…
Posted to Culture by Kevin Surbaugh on February 6, 2006 08:36 PM

Stones Censored In Super Bowl Halftime Show
I have to admit that as ridiculous as it was to ignore home-grown Motor City talent, and as byzantine as all the logistics must have been to get the Rolling Stones and their massive trademark…
Posted to Music by Eric Olsen on February 6, 2006 04:25 PM

The Super What?
How much do I not give a damn about the Super Bowl? So much that after pausing to watch the Rolling Stones cash their paycheck and fluff their catalogue for the umpteenth time — “Start Me Up” still sounds as…
Posted to Culture by Steven Hart on February 6, 2006 06:51 AM

Dan Nied’s 100 Days: Days 32 and 33
It was a Subway Super Bowl.
Posted to Culture by Dan Nied on February 6, 2006 06:15 AM

Roethlisburgh Slew Seattle for Fifth Shiny Trophy
Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10 It wasn’t the greatest game ever. It wasn’t even a great game. It was just a good game. But since it was kind of an important game, let’s talk about it. Ben Roethlisberger shook…
Posted to Sports by Matthew T. Sussman on February 6, 2006 05:12 AM

Super Bowl XL Is Over – Did You Get Enough Hype?
Here’s some random ramblings created from watching this year’s Super Bowl. Let’s start at the beginning. Aretha Franklin. The NFL could pick no better person to personify the image of the Super Bowl, and what it’s become, than Aretha…
Posted to Sports by Sal Marinello on February 5, 2006 11:42 PM

Super Bowl Ads: Halftime Thoughts
I think only a couple commercials really stood out at half-time in Superbowl XL. The problem is that the commercials which are really effective (that sell products) usually aren’t that memorable, or roll-on-the-floor funny. The GMC Yukon commercial…
Posted to Sports by Warren Kelly on February 5, 2006 08:54 PM

The Not-Quite-Sunday Funnies Comic Page: This Week: Sock Puppets, Super Bowl Sunday, and Censorship
Super Bowl XL Commercials–Streamed on TV.com! **In the News: Danish Comics Ignite…
Posted to Culture by Annie on February 5, 2006 04:44 PM

Pittsburgh Steelers, Winners? Maybe in Pee-wee
It’s now game day. It’s SuperBowl XL. Extra Large. All week I’ve been listening to and reading people saying the Steelers are going to win. It’s about a 3-1 ratio of those who lay it on the line and explain the…
Posted to Sports by Temple Stark on February 5, 2006 06:09 AM

Big Money To Advertise During Super Bowl
Millions of people watching the Super Bowl this Sunday, with many of them paying more attention to the commercials rather then the game itself. For many, the big-win will go to the best commercial. Among advertisers shelling out $2.5…
Posted to Sports by Kevin Surbaugh on February 4, 2006 02:07 PM (Relevance: 4)

Browns Fans: ‘Don’t Do It’
On the eve of the Super Bowl, some Browns fans are feeling that urge. It’s easy to understand why. The Browns have been dreadful since their return in 1999, have not won a playoff game since 1994, and haven’t even…
Posted to Sports by Zach Baker on February 4, 2006 01:52 PM

This Year, Super Bowl Ads Are Strictly Monkey Business
Are you ready for some commercials? OK, it doesn’t have quite the same ring as Hank Jr.’s musical query to Monday Night Football fans, but on Sunday the question is as important as which team you’re rooting for. Even non-football fans…
Posted to Sports by Kay Bell on February 3, 2006 10:57 PM

Super Bowl XL: Are You Ready For Commercials?
It’s that time of year again. The two best teams in the NFL are getting ready to meet in the championship game, and all over the nation there are people who are asking one question: “What are the commercials going…
Posted to Sports by Warren Kelly on February 2, 2006 10:39 PM

NFL Picks of a Thoughtful Fool, Super Bowl Edition
Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks. You labored long and hard, suffered and overcame setbacks, and found within yourselves the strength of spirit and will to earn a chance at football immortality. For your reward, you are…
Posted to Sports by David Mazzotta on February 2, 2006 10:20 PM

Super Bored: The Week Before the Game
In a strange way, I pity the writers and broadcasters that have been given the Super Bowl beat. It’s weird to write that as a struggling journalist, but still, I feel for the men and women who are covering the…
Posted to Sports by Zach Baker on January 29, 2006 03:45 AM

Some More NFL Playoff Ramblings
Impending Dread. Or Is It Pending Dread…Whatever. As early as the middle of the second quarter of the Seahawk/Panther “contest” I stared to get the feeling of impending/pending dread as I realized that the football season is coming…
Posted to Sports by Sal Marinello on January 24, 2006 05:21 AM

Bittersweet Triumph: Seahawks in the Super Bowl
I grew up in Southern California, near the desert. It was hot and dry and brown in my home town. I hated it. I liked cold and wet and green. My dream home was Seattle. I loved visiting the city…
Posted to Sports by Michael Heumann on January 23, 2006 09:14 AM

Truths About Super Bowl XL, In Advance (So You Know They’re Wrong)
We knew the AFC championship would be Colts-Patriots. We knew the NFC Championship was going to be Seahawks-Bears. We thought we did, at least. [ADBLOCKHERE]Three of the four teams lost at home, leaving us with a set of Broncos-Steelers and Seahawks-Panthers …
Posted to Sports by Matthew T. Sussman on January 21, 2006 01:00 PM