Super Bowl XL


Super Bowl XL was an American football game in the National Football League between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the Super Bowl champion for the 2005 season. Played on February 5, 2006, at Ford Field in Detroit, the Steelers beat the Seahawks, 21-10. Steelers receiver Hines Ward, who caught 5 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 18 yards, was named Super Bowl MVP. Pittsburgh finished the regular season with an 11-5 record and became the fourth wild card team, and third in nine years, to win the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh also became the first #6 seed in the NFL playoffs to win a Super Bowl (and the first #6 seed to win a conference title). The Steelers became the second franchise, following the Oakland Raiders, to appear in the Super Bowl in four different decades (1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s), and the first to appear in four consecutive decades. Also, Steelers runningback Jerome Bettis was able win a Super Bowl thanks to this game.

Super Bowl XL
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1 2 3 4 Total
SEA 3 0 7 0 10
PIT 0 7 7 7 21
Date February 5, 2006 (2006-02-05)
Stadium Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan
MVP Hines Ward, wide receiver
Favorite Steelers by 4
Referee Bill Leavy
Attendance 68,206
Ceremonies
National anthem Aaron Neville, Aretha Franklin and Dr. John, ASL performed by Angela LaGuardia
Coin toss Tom Brady representing previous Super Bowl MVPs
Halftime show The Rolling Stones
TV in the United States
Network ABC
Announcers Al Michaels, John Madden, Michele Tafoya and Suzy Kolber
Nielsen ratings 41.6
(est. 90.7 million viewers)[1]
Market share 62
Cost of 30-second commercial US$2.5 million
 < XXXIX Super Bowl XLI > 

However, many have criticized the officiating in that game, as they believe Seattle was cheated during some questionable calls by referee Bill Leavy.

References

  1. "Historical Super Bowl Nielsen TV Ratings, 1967-2009 - Ratings". TVbytheNumbers. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2012.