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. It was played on February 5, 2006. It features 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.
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| Date | February 5, 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | $2.5 million | ||||||||||||||||||
However, many have criticized the officiating in that game, as they believe Seattle was cheated during some questionable calls by referee Bill Leavy.
