February 6, 2011: Cowboys Stadium, now named AT&T Stadium, in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas hosts Super Bowl XLV. The Dallas Cowboys had been in 8 Super Bowls, and had claimed for themselves the title of "America's Team." The 2010 season would be the 1st one in which they would host the Super Bowl, and they full expected to be in it.
They weren't. The two teams that did play each other in it had the best claims to actually be "America's Team."
Television helped to make the Green Bay Packers a national team in the 1960s, and did it for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s. Fans whose teams weren't any good latched onto them. The Packers, from the NFL's smallest market, a team only still possible due to the NFL's revenue sharing deal, came to represent small-town values; the Steelers, hard-working people whose cities and industries had been left behind by places like New York, Washington, Los Angeles and... Dallas.
The Packers had won the most NFL Championships, 12; the Steelers, the most since they began to be called the Super Bowl, 6. But this was the 1st time they had ever played each other in the title game. Mike McCarthy's Packers went 10-6, and, in the Playoffs, they beat the Philadelphia Eagles, the Atlanta Falcons, and their arch-rivals, the Chicago Bears, in the NFC Championship Game. Mike Tomlin, who had led the Steelers to victory in Super Bowl XLIII, led them to a 12-4 record. They beat the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional round, and the New York Jets in the AFC Championship Game.
The Packers were favored by 3 points. The crowd at the Cowboys' stadium was 103,219, the largest at a Super Bowl since 1983.
The Packers scored late in the 1st quarter, when Aaron Rodgers threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson. On the Steelers' next play from scrimmage, Nick Collins intercepted a pass from Ben Roethlisberger, and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown. The Packers led, 14-0 after 1 quarter.
Shaun Suisham got the Steelers on the scoreboard with a 33-yard field goal, and Roethlisberger threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward. But, in between, Rodgers threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Greg Jennings, so it was 21-10 Pack at the half.
The only score of the 3rd quarter was an 8-yard touchdown run by Rashard Mendenhall. Rodgers connected with Jennings again earlier in the 4th quarter, to make it 28-17. With 7:34 to go, Roethlisberger threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace (not to be confused with the legendary CBS newscaster), and a 2-point conversion got the Steelers to within 28-25. But the Packers ate the clock, and with 2:07 to go, a 23-yard field goal by Mason Crosby made it 31-25. The Steelers could not get back down the field, and the Packers were World Champions for a record 13th time.
Two years earlier, with the Steelers winning the Super Bowl and the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup, Pittsburgh revived the "City of Champions" slogan they had in 1979-80, when the Steelers won back-to-back Super Bowls, bracketing a Pirates World Series win. This time, though, Green Bay was once again "Titletown."
UPDATE: The Packers have the largest team Hall of Fame in North American sports. Through the 2025 NFL season, the inductees from the Super Bowl XLV team are:
* Offense: Receivers Donald Driver, Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson; guard Josh Sitton, and tackles Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton. Presumably, after he retires as a player, quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be inducted.
* Defense: linebacker Clay Matthews III; cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris; and safety Nick Collins.
* Management: Team CEO Bob Harlan, team president Mark Murphy, executive Ted Thompson, team historian Lee Remmel, and longtime journalist Art Daley. Presumably, after he retires from coaching, Mike McCarthy will also be inducted.
Driver, Woodson and Harlan have also been inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.
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February 6, 2011 was, like all Super Bowl days, a Sunday. Baseball was out of season. There were 4 games in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 117-103 at Madison Square Garden. Amar'e Stoudemire scored 41 points.
* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Indiana Pacers, 105-86 at the Prudential Center.
* The Boston Celtics beat the Orlando Magic, 91-80 at the TD Garden in Boston.
* And the Miami Heat beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 97-79 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.
And there were 3 games in the NHL:
* The New Jersey Devils beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
* The Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-0 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington.
* And the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-3 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa. Vincent Lecavalier scored the winning goal with 7 seconds left in oertime.
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