2009 Super Bowl
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Super Bowl XLIII was an
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
game between the
American Football Conference The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference ...
(AFC) champions
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
and the
National Football Conference The National Football Conference (NFC) is a conference of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference (AFC), each h ...
(NFC) champions
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
to decide the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) champion for the 2008 season. The Steelers defeated the Cardinals by the score of 27–23. The game was played on February 1, 2009, at
Raymond James Stadium Raymond James Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Tampa, Florida, United States. It opened in 1998 and is home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) and the University of South Florida (USF) Bulls college football ...
in
Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...
. With this victory, the Steelers became the first team to win six Super Bowl championships. The win was also Pittsburgh's second Super Bowl victory in four years, after winning
Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2005 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...
at the end of the 2005 season. The Cardinals entered the game seeking their first NFL title since
1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...
, the longest championship drought in the league. The club became an unexpected winner during the regular season, compiling a 9–7 record, and earning a spot in the playoffs with the aid of head coach
Ken Whisenhunt Kenneth Moore Whisenhunt (born February 28, 1962) is an American football coach and former tight end. He played college football at Georgia Tech and was selected in the twelfth round of the 1985 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons, with whom he pla ...
, who was the Steelers' offensive coordinator in Super Bowl XL, and the re-emergence of quarterback
Kurt Warner Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, whi ...
, who was the
Super Bowl MVP The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's (NFL) championship game. The winner is chosen by a panel of 16 football writers and broadcaster ...
in
Super Bowl XXXIV Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...
with his former team, the
St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...
. Pittsburgh jumped to a 17–7 halftime lead, aided by linebacker James Harrison's Super Bowl–record 100-yard interception return for a touchdown. Trailing 20–7 at the start of the fourth quarter, Arizona scored 16 consecutive points, including a safety that led to wide receiver
Larry Fitzgerald Larry Darnell Fitzgerald Jr. (born August 31, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 17 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the ...
's 64-yard touchdown reception, to take their first lead of the game with 2:37 remaining. But the Steelers marched 78 yards to score on wide receiver
Santonio Holmes Santonio Holmes Jr. (born March 3, 1984) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and current wide receivers coach for Central State Marauders and Lady Ma ...
's 6-yard game-winning touchdown catch with 35 seconds left. Holmes, who caught nine passes for 131 yards and a touchdown, including four receptions for 73 yards on that final game-winning drive, was named
Super Bowl MVP The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's (NFL) championship game. The winner is chosen by a panel of 16 football writers and broadcaster ...
. He became the sixth wide receiver to win the award, half of whom at the time were Steelers players (
Lynn Swann Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former professional football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He ...
and
Hines Ward Hines Edward Ward Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American American football, football coach and former player who is the wide receivers coach for Arizona State Sun Devils football, Arizona State. He played as a wide receiver in the National Foo ...
). The
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
television network broadcast attracted an average U.S. audience of 98.7 million viewers, making it the most watched Super Bowl in history at that time and the most watched Super Bowl of the 2000s. Many media outlets consider this one of the best Super Bowls from the 2000s, as well as one of the greatest Super Bowls of all time, due to the performance of both teams as well as its thrilling finale. This game was ranked No. 4 on
NFL Top 10 ''NFL Top 10'' is a documentary program produced by NFL Films for airing on the NFL Network. The host and narrator is Derrin Horton. The program counts down 10 items directly related to the players, coaches, and events of the National Footb ...
on
NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League NTP and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and N ...
for ''Top 10 Greatest Games of All Time'' and ranked No. 1 for ''Top 10 Super Bowls.'' , this is the Steelers' most recent Super Bowl championship, and the last title by a Pennsylvania-based NFL team until their cross-state rival
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
won
Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. As a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX from 13 years earlier, the game was between the National Football Conferen ...
in 2018 and again in 2025 in
Super Bowl LIX Super Bowl LIX was an American football championship game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2024 NFL season, 2024 season. In a rematch of Super Bowl LVII two years prior, the National Football Conf ...
. It was also the last time a Phoenix-based team reached the championship round of the four major North American sports leagues until the
Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...
made the NBA Finals in
2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
. This was the last game to feature famed commentator
John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American professional football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, leading them ...
, who retired two months after the game. This was also the last Super Bowl to air on analog television, as the
Digital television transition in the United States The digital television transition in the United States was the switchover from Analog TV, analog to exclusively Digital television, digital broadcasting of terrestrial television programming. It was originally set for December 31, 2006, but ...
required all full-power stations to convert to digital beginning on June 12, 2009.


Background


Host selection process

Tampa was selected for the game site on May 25, 2005, beating out three other finalists:
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
,
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, and
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
. Super Bowl XLIII was the second Super Bowl at this venue and the fourth overall in that city. In February 2008, the Tampa Bay Super Bowl Host Committee unveiled the Super Bowl XLIII logo, featuring an abstract representation of a football stadium, with blue and green colors representing the regional waterways and landscapes of Tampa Bay. Eight yards of playing field are shown, alluding to the game's status as the championship of the 2008 NFL season. In a tradition starting with the
Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2005 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...
logo, two stars—one red, representing the AFC, and one blue, representing the NFC—are flanked on either side of the Super Bowl XLIII logo. The tagline for Super Bowl XLIII as well as the
2008 NFL season The 2008 NFL season was the 89th regular season of the National Football League (NFL), themed with the slogan "Believe in Now." Super Bowl XLIII, the league's championship game, was at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, on February 1, ...
is "Believe In Now".


Teams

The seeds of Super Bowl XLIII can be traced back to the end of the 2006 season. After winning
Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2005 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...
in 2005, the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
fell to an 8–8 record the following year. At the end of 2006,
Bill Cowher William Laird Cowher (; born May 8, 1957) is an American sports analyst, former professional football player and coach. Following a six-year playing career as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), he served as a head coach in the ...
ended his 15-year tenure as their head coach, leaving with a 149–90–1 regular season record and a 12–9 record in the playoffs. Offensive coordinator
Ken Whisenhunt Kenneth Moore Whisenhunt (born February 28, 1962) is an American football coach and former tight end. He played college football at Georgia Tech and was selected in the twelfth round of the 1985 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons, with whom he pla ...
and assistant head coach
Russ Grimm Russell Scott Grimm (born May 2, 1959) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a Guard (American football), guard for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He has also served as an a ...
were considered most likely to succeed Cowher in Pittsburgh. Without waiting to see if he would be hired by Pittsburgh, Whisenhunt accepted the head coaching job with the Arizona Cardinals, a team that at the time held the second-longest championship drought in U.S. sports (
1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...
, with only the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
having a longer drought, winning their last championship in 1908) and had never advanced to the Super Bowl in their franchise history. In the 60 years since their last national championship, the team had won just one playoff game (20–7 over the Dallas Cowboys in the 1998 NFC Wild Card Game). The Steelers then passed over Grimm and instead hired
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
defensive coordinator
Mike Tomlin Michael Pettaway Tomlin (born March 15, 1972) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the Steelers in 2007, he has led t ...
. Once Tomlin was hired by the Steelers, Grimm joined Whisenhunt in Arizona in the same position as assistant head coach as he had in Pittsburgh, and the two of them began to remodel the perennial losing club into a winner like the Steelers. Of historical note the game matched up two franchises previously merged into a single team, "
Card-Pitt Card-Pitt was the team created by the temporary merger of two National Football League (NFL) teams, the Chicago Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers, during the 1944 season. It was the second such merger for the Steelers, who had combined with ...
", for the 1944 season in response to the depleted rosters during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Pittsburgh was going for its sixth Super Bowl win, which would place it in sole possession of the record for most Super Bowl wins, while the Cardinals were seeking their first league title since
1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...
and only the second undisputed league championship in their history. (In
1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...
, the
Pottsville Maroons The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in the northeastern part of the state. Founded in 1920, they played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1925 to 1928. In 1929 they relocated to Bost ...
(who, like Pittsburgh, were based in Pennsylvania) were fined and suspended for playing a game against the Notre Dame football team in another NFL franchise's territory, which resulted in the NFL naming the Cardinals, then based in Chicago, NFL champions in their place, a decision Pottsville disputed). It was the third Super Bowl in history to feature two pre-expansion-era (pre-1960) teams, joining
Super Bowl XIV Super Bowl XIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1979 Los Angeles Rams season, Los Angeles Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...
(
Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in 1933, the Steeler ...
vs.
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
, the latter of which coincidentally also went 9–7 in the regular season) and
Super Bowl XLI Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2006 Indianapolis Colts season, Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2006 Chicago Bears season, Chicag ...
(
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
vs.
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
). This game also featured the oldest franchise in the NFC playing the oldest franchise in the AFC. The Cardinals were founded in 1898 as an independent amateur team in Chicago. The Steelers, founded in 1933 as the Pittsburgh Pirates, are one of only three AFC teams that pre-date the 1960 NFL season. The Cardinals and Steelers played each other twice per season from 1950 through 1969, first in the American Conference (1950–52), then in the Eastern Conference (1953–66), and finally in the Century Division of the Eastern Conference (1967–69). It also was the first time that two quarterbacks who previously started for a Super Bowl winning team (
Kurt Warner Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, whi ...
and
Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...
) opposed one another since
Jim Plunkett James William Plunkett (born December 5, 1947) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He achieved his greatest success during his final eight seasons with the R ...
's
Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural ...
defeated
Joe Theismann Joseph Robert Theismann (; born September 9, 1949) is an American former professional football player, sports commentator, corporate speaker, and restaurateur. He rose to fame playing quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canad ...
's
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
in
Super Bowl XVIII Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XVII champion 1983 Washington Redskins season, Washington Redskins and t ...
. Warner started for the
St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...
in
Super Bowl XXXIV Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...
and
Super Bowl XXXVI Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
, winning the first (aided by a heads-up defensive play by linebacker Mike Jones on the final play of the game) and losing the second one (the first of
Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...
's seven in ten attempts), while Roethlisberger was the winning quarterback in
Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2005 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...
.


Pittsburgh Steelers

Under Tomlin's first season as head coach, the Steelers improved to a 10–6 record in 2007. Pittsburgh finished the 2008 season with the second best record in the AFC at 12–4, making the playoffs for the sixth time in the last eight seasons, and went on to earn their seventh Super Bowl trip in franchise history, breaking a three-way tie with the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos for second most Super Bowl appearances and most Super Bowl appearances by an AFC team. The Steelers excelled on defense and led the NFL in fewest points (13.9) and yards (237.2) allowed per game, while also ranking second in sacks with 51. Up front, their line was anchored by defensive end Aaron Smith, who recorded 60 tackles and six sacks. Behind him two of the Steelers starting linebackers ranked among the top-ten sack leaders in the NFL,
LaMarr Woodley LaMarr Dewayne Woodley (born November 3, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Michigan, earning unanimous All-Americ ...
(11.5 sacks) and Pro Bowler/NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison (16 sacks). Pro Bowl linebacker
James Farrior James Alfred Farrior (born January 6, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers. He played with th ...
was also a big contributor, recording 3.5 sacks and leading the team with 133 tackles. The Steelers secondary was led by Pro Bowl safety
Troy Polamalu Troy Aumua Polamalu (; born Troy Benjamin Aumua; April 19, 1981) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 12-year career as a safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). An eight-time ...
, who ranked second in the NFL with a career-high seven interceptions. For the fifth year in a row the Steelers offense was led by quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...
, who finished the season with 3,301 passing yards and 17 touchdowns, with 15 interceptions. His top target was the Steelers all-time receiving leader
Hines Ward Hines Edward Ward Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American American football, football coach and former player who is the wide receivers coach for Arizona State Sun Devils football, Arizona State. He played as a wide receiver in the National Foo ...
, who recorded his fifth 1,000-yard season with 81 receptions for 1,043 yards and seven touchdowns. Other reliable receiving options included
Santonio Holmes Santonio Holmes Jr. (born March 3, 1984) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and current wide receivers coach for Central State Marauders and Lady Ma ...
(55 receptions for 821 yards),
Nate Washington Nate Washington (born August 28, 1983) is an American former professional football wide receiver. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2005 and played on two Super Bowl-winning teams during four seasons with the ...
(40 receptions for 631 yards), and tight end
Heath Miller Earl Heath Miller Jr. (born October 22, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons from 2005 to 2015. Miller played college foot ...
(48 receptions for 514 yards). The Steelers ground game was led by two-time Pro Bowl running back
Willie Parker Willie Everett Parker Jr. (born November 11, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for six seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for No ...
, who had rushed for over 1,200 yards in each of his previous three seasons. Injuries in 2008 limited him to 791 yards in 11 games, but running back
Mewelde Moore Mewelde Jaem Cadere Moore (born July 24, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL draft. M ...
proved to be a solid replacement, rushing for 588 yards and catching 40 passes for 320 yards. For their efforts, Tomlin won the 2008
Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...
Coach of the Year Award and Harrison was named the 2008
GMC Sierra The Chevrolet Silverado is a range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1999 model year, the Silverado is the successor to the long-running Chevrolet C/K model line. Taking its name from the t ...
Defensive Player of the Year. The Steelers rolled into the post-season as the AFC's second seed, behind only the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...
, who would finish 13–3 but lose in their divisional playoff game against the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
.


Arizona Cardinals

It had been a long journey for Arizona to get to their first Super Bowl appearance. After winning the NFL championship in 1947, it would take the team half a century (and moves to two different states) before they won another postseason game in the 1998 season. And up to this point, they had not returned to the playoffs since then. Under Whisenhunt's first season as head coach, the Cardinals finished with an 8–8 record in 2007. Arizona then started out the 2008 season strong, winning 7 of their first 10 games. But then things fell apart as the team lost 4 of their last 6, hitting a low point with a brutal 47–7 loss to the
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
in week 16. Arizona's 34–21 win over the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
in the following week was just enough for them to finish with a 9–7 record and earn the #4 seed in the playoffs, where they went on to earn their first trip to the Super Bowl in franchise history, becoming only the second NFL team to do so with nine wins up to that point (the 2011 New York Giants became the third, winning it all). One reason for Arizona's success was the re-emergence of 37-year-old quarterback
Kurt Warner Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, whi ...
. After going undrafted and spending a few years in the
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
, Warner became the
St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...
starting quarterback in
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
due to a pre-season injury of starter
Trent Green Trent Jason Green (born July 9, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Indiana Hoosiers. He was selected by the San ...
. He went on to lead the Rams to two Super Bowls and one Super Bowl win (in which Warner was named MVP), while also winning two NFL MVP Awards. But in
2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
, Warner's production was drastically reduced by injuries and he soon lost his starting job to
Marc Bulger Marc Robert Bulger (; born April 5, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the St. Louis Rams. He played college football for the West ...
. He eventually left the team to join the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
, but once again he lost his starting job (replaced by
Eli Manning Elisha Nelson Manning (born January 3, 1981) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons with the New York Giants. A member of the Manning family, he is the youngest ...
) and signed on with the Cardinals in 2005. For the third time, Warner lost his starting job due to mediocre performances and injuries. After the season, Arizona selected
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...
winning quarterback
Matt Leinart Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans, where he won the Heisman Tro ...
with their first round draft pick. This, combined with another mediocre performance in the 2006 season, appeared to severely limit Warner's chances of ever being a permanent starter on the team. However, early in the 2007 season, Warner was thrust into the starting lineup to replace an injured Leinart, and by the end of the team's season, he had re-emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the league, throwing 27 touchdown passes with a
passer rating Passer rating (also known as passing efficiency in college football) is a measure of the performance of passers, primarily quarterbacks, in gridiron football. There are two formulas currently in use: one used by both the National Football Leagu ...
of 89.8. With his starting job on the team more secure, Warner posted one of his best seasons in 2008, throwing for 4,583 yards and 30 touchdowns, with only 14 interceptions, giving him an NFC-best 96.9 rating. His top targets were receivers
Larry Fitzgerald Larry Darnell Fitzgerald Jr. (born August 31, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 17 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the ...
(96 receptions, 1,431 yards, 12 touchdowns),
Anquan Boldin Anquan Kenmile Boldin Sr. (; born October 3, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles and w ...
(89 receptions, 1,038 yards, 11 touchdowns), and
Steve Breaston Steven William Breaston (born August 20, 1983) is an American former professional football wide receiver. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft. ...
(77 receptions, 1,006 yards, three touchdowns, 904 special teams return yards), who made the Cardinals the fifth team ever to feature three players with over 1,000 receiving yards. The Cardinals ground game was led by veteran running back
Edgerrin James Edgerrin Tyree James (; born August 1, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at the University of Miami for the Miami Hur ...
and rookie
Tim Hightower Timothy Michael Hightower (born May 23, 1986) is an American former professional football running back. He played college football for the Richmond Spiders and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL draft. He was ...
. James led the team with 514 yards, while Hightower rushed for 399 and scored 10 touchdowns. He was also a reliable target out of the backfield, catching 34 passes for another 237 yards. Overall, Arizona's offense ranked fourth in yards per game (365.8) and third in scoring (422 points) in 2008. The Cardinals defense, however, had played inconsistently during the regular season, ranking just 28th in points allowed. Up front their line was anchored by
defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...
man Bertrand Berry, who recorded five sacks and forced two fumbles, along with tackle
Darnell Dockett Darnell Maurice Dockett (born May 27, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for 11 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Cardinals in the thir ...
, known for his ability to blow up running plays.
Linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
Karlos Dansby Karlos Montez Dansby (born November 3, 1981) is an American former professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Auburn Tigers and received All-American recognition. He was sele ...
was also a solid contributor, recording four sacks, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles, while also leading the team with 119 tackles. The Cardinals secondary was led by rookie
cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie Dominique Reshard Rodgers-Cromartie (born April 7, 1986) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a cornerback for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennesse ...
(who led the team with four interceptions) and
Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
Adrian Wilson (fourth on the team in tackles, 75).


Playoffs

The Steelers began their Super Bowl run with a 35–24 win over the fourth-seeded
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...
, gaining 342 yards, avoiding any turnovers, holding the ball for 36:30 (including for 14:43 in the third quarter alone, an NFL record for a single quarter), and scoring a touchdown in every quarter. Also, Parker appeared to be fully recovered from his regular season injuries, as evidenced by his career postseason high 147-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Chargers. The Steelers then went on to beat, for the third time in the season, their
AFC North The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was created after the NFL realign ...
division archrivals, the sixth-seeded
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
23–14 in the
AFC Championship Game The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semifinal NFL playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football lea ...
, holding them to 184 yards and forcing five turnovers. The Cardinals advanced to the Super Bowl by beating the fifth-seeded
Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
30–24, the second-seeded
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
, 33–13, and the sixth-seeded
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
32–25 in the
NFC Championship Game The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semifinal National Football League playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional Ame ...
, winning more playoff games this season than they had in their franchise history previously. Warner played exceptionally well in those games, throwing for a total of 661 yards and eight touchdowns, with only two interceptions, giving him a rating of 112.1. The Cardinals also got a big performance out of
Larry Fitzgerald Larry Darnell Fitzgerald Jr. (born August 31, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 17 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the ...
, who caught 23 passes for a postseason record 419 yards and five touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Cardinals' 28th-ranked defense showed major improvement in the postseason, forcing twelve turnovers in their three games. This included five interceptions and one fumble from the Panthers' Pro Bowl quarterback
Jake Delhomme Jake Christopher Delhomme (; born January 10, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). Delhomme played college football at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, ...
in the divisional round. The Cardinals became the third NFL team to advance to the Super Bowl after winning three playoff games despite winning its division; the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
in
Super Bowl XXXVIII Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2003 Carolina Panthers season, Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2003 New England Patriots season, New E ...
and the
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
in
Super Bowl XLI Super Bowl XLI was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2006 Indianapolis Colts season, Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2006 Chicago Bears season, Chicag ...
were the other two. In addition, they would become the first team to advance to the Super Bowl as both a division winner and a No. 4 seed. The 2000 Baltimore Ravens were the last No. 4 seed to advance to a Super Bowl before this game, as they were the No. 4 seed in the AFC when they went on to win
Super Bowl XXXV Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2000 Baltimore Ravens season, Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2000 New York Giants season, New York Giant ...
, but were a wild-card team before the 2002 realignment gave each conference four divisions.


Super Bowl pre-game notes

The AFC champion Steelers stayed at the
InterContinental InterContinental Hotels & Resorts by IHG is a British-American luxury hotel brand created in 1946 by Pan Am founder Juan Trippe. It has been part of UK-based InterContinental Hotels Group since 1998. As of January 2023, there were 208 InterC ...
Tampa and held their pre-game practices at the training facility of the University of South Florida Bulls. The NFC champion Cardinals were based at the Grand
Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational corporation, multinational hospitality company headquartered in the 150 North Riverside, Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchise ...
Tampa Bay and held their practices at the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
' training facility. Both teams arrived in the Tampa area on Monday, January 26. Also on January 26, the NFL announced that the Super Bowl game would be one of the safest places in the United States during game time. Personnel from over 20 different federal agencies were on site to assist in protecting players and fans. Pittsburgh entered the game as seven-point favorites over Arizona. Major factors for this included the view that the Steelers' defense was better than that of the Cardinals and the feeling that the AFC was an overall better conference than the NFC. The Cardinals were the designated "home team," as was the case for all NFC champions in odd numbered Super Bowls. Arizona wore their red jerseys, which it has done at home since moving into
University of Phoenix Stadium State Farm Stadium is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Glendale, Arizona, United States, west of Phoenix. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) and the annual Fiesta Bowl. It replaced Sun Devi ...
in
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
after predominantly wearing their white jerseys at home for their first 18 years in
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
to combat the intense heat of September and October. As a result, the Steelers wore white jerseys for their second consecutive Super Bowl. Pittsburgh improved to 3–0 lifetime wearing white jerseys in the Super Bowl after the victory in Super Bowl XLIII (Pittsburgh would eventually lose to the
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...
in
Super Bowl XLV Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
while wearing white jerseys). The other two times the team wore white was as the "visiting team" against the
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
in
Super Bowl IX Super Bowl IX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1974 Minnesota Vikings season, Mi ...
(during a time when the designated "home" team was required to wear their team-colored jerseys) and against the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
in
Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2005 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...
despite being the "home team" that season but having road success in the playoffs. In addition, teams wearing white jerseys in the Super Bowl extended their winning streak to five games, dating back to
Super Bowl XXXIX Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NF ...
, currently the longest such streak between white and team colored jerseys in Super Bowl history. Pittsburgh also improved to 3–0 lifetime against
NFC West The National Football Conference – Western Division or NFC West is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Arizona Card ...
teams in the Super Bowl, having previously beaten the
Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...
in
Super Bowl XIV Super Bowl XIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1979 Los Angeles Rams season, Los Angeles Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...
and the Seahawks in XL. Another pre-game storyline involved backup Steelers
tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...
/ fullback
Sean McHugh Sean Thomas McHugh (born May 27, 1982) is an American former professional football tight end. He was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL), winning Super Bowl XLIII. Early life McHugh played running back and ...
. McHugh, who had spent the past three seasons with the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
, made that team's 53-man roster at the end of the preseason, only to be released 24 hours later alongside
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
Anthony Cannon in order for the Lions to make room for linebacker
Ryan Nece Ryan Clint Nece (born February 24, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins and was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as ...
and
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
Marcus Thomas. The Steelers promptly signed McHugh after the team
traded Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of credi ...
center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
Sean Mahan Sean Christopher Mahan (born May 28, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was selected by the Tampa Bay ...
back to the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...
in exchange for a draft pick before the start of the season. The subsequent media attention surrounding McHugh had to do with him being deemed not good enough for the Lions (a team that would finish 0–16, the NFL's first
winless season A winless season is a regular season in which a sports team fails to win any of its games. The antithesis of a perfect season, winless seasons have been suffered twelve times in professional American football, six times in arena football, three tim ...
since the
expansion Expansion may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine * ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004 * ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970 * ''Expansi ...
1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's first season in the National Football League (NFL). The Buccaneers played their home games at Tampa Stadium and their inaugural head coach was John McKay. The Buccaneers gained infamy as ...
), but good enough for a Super Bowl team such as the Steelers and being a valuable blocker for
Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...
and
Willie Parker Willie Everett Parker Jr. (born November 11, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for six seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for No ...
. McHugh himself had mixed feelings about the situation, feeling bad for his former Lions teammates, but also feeling it's a little payback for the Lions for releasing him in the first place. McHugh would play in the Super Bowl as a blocker, much like his regular season role. The Cardinals became the second team to have their city/state location painted in their end zone for a
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
, as their end zone read "
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...
." In
Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2005 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...
, the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
became the first team to have this, as their end zone read "
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
." For all other Super Bowl teams, end zones have just featured the team nickname. This was also the first Super Bowl to have the updated NFL logo painted at midfield.


Economic effects

With all the cutbacks resulting from the severe economic downturn in the United States, the game was dubbed "The Recession Bowl." Restaurants were slow in business and many parties, including parties hosted by ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' and ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'' were canceled. There were also 200 fewer
sports journalist Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...
s covering the game than at
Super Bowl XLII Super Bowl XLII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
the previous year. According to the online broker
StubHub StubHub is an American ticket exchange and resale company. It provides services for buyers and sellers of tickets for sports, concerts, theater, and other live entertainment events. By 2015, it was the world's largest ticket marketplace. While ...
, tickets with a face value of $500 changed hands the week of the Super Bowl for an average $2,500—a 40% drop from
Super Bowl XLII Super Bowl XLII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
in 2008 and 16% lower than
Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2005 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...
in 2006.
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
,
Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
and
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
, the Big Three automobile makers, decided not to purchase television advertisements following the three companies' business struggles in 2008 and early 2009.


Broadcasting


Television


United States

The game was televised live in the United States on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
, the network's first Super Bowl broadcast since
Super Bowl XXXII Super Bowl XXXII was an American football game played between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXI champion Green Bay Packers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide t ...
at the end of the 1997 season.
Play-by-play In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...
announcer
Al Michaels Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television play-by-play sportscaster for '' Thursday Night Football'' on Amazon Prime Video and in an emeritus role for NBC Sports. He has worked on network sports television sin ...
and
color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...
John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American professional football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, leading them ...
were in the booth, with
Andrea Kremer Andrea Kremer (born February 25, 1959) is a multi-Emmy Award-winning American television sports journalist. She previously called ''Thursday Night Football'' games for Amazon Prime Video. Kremer is currently the Chief correspondent for the NFL N ...
and
Alex Flanagan Alex Flanagan (née Wystrach; born on September 23, 1973) is the Vice president of Broadcasting for the Montag group, a Wasserman company and a former American sportscaster. She is a graduate of the University of Arizona. She began her career as ...
serving as sideline reporters. Madden became the first person to have announced a Super Bowl for all of the four major U.S. television networks, having called five Super Bowls for
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
, three for
Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...
, and two for
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
prior to joining NBC in
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
. Meanwhile, Al Michaels was the third man to do play-by-play for a Super Bowl on NBC television (following in the footsteps of
Curt Gowdy Curtis Edward Gowdy (July 31, 1919 – February 20, 2006) was an American sportscaster. He called Boston Red Sox games on radio and TV for 15 years, and then covered many nationally televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports and ABC S ...
and
Dick Enberg Richard Alan Enberg (January 9, 1935 – December 21, 2017) was an American sportscaster. Over the course of an approximately 60-year career, he provided play-by-play of various sports for several radio and television networks, including N ...
). Also, Michaels (who, like Madden, had moved from ABC to NBC in 2006) was the second person to serve as a Super Bowl play-by-play announcer for two major U.S. television networks (following
Pat Summerall George Allen "Pat" Summerall (May 10, 1930 – April 16, 2013) was an American professional American football, football player and television sportscaster who worked for CBS Sports, CBS, Fox Sports (USA), Fox, and ESPN Sunday Night Football, ESP ...
of CBS and Fox). This would prove to be the final game Madden would call, as he announced his retirement from broadcasting on April 16, 2009. The pregame show, a record five hours long at the time, was hosted by the ''
Football Night in America ''Football Night in America'' (''FNIA''), branded for sponsorship purposes as ''Football Night in America served by Applebee's'', is an American pre-game show that is broadcast on NBC, preceding its broadcasts of Sunday night and postseason Na ...
'' team headed by
Bob Costas Robert Quinlan Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an American sportscaster who is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, from 1980 through 2019. He has received 28 Emmy awards for his work and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from ...
, and preceded by a two-hour special edition of ''
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...
'' hosted by the regular weekday team live from Tampa and the
NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces advertisement film, commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentary film, documentaries ...
—produced ''Road to the Super Bowl''.
Matt Millen Matthew George Millen (born March 12, 1958) is an American former professional football player and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Millen played as a linebacker for 12 years for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders, San Franci ...
was part of the coverage as a studio analyst. The'' Today'' contribution included portions of a taped interview with President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
and pictures of troops viewing the proceedings in Iraq. The Super Bowl was one of two major professional sports championship series
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
broadcast in 2009, as they would also broadcast the
Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...
. Both championship series involved teams from Pittsburgh winning championships.
Mike Emrick Michael "Doc" Emrick (born August 1, 1946) is an American former network television play-by-play sportscaster and commentator noted mostly for his work in ice hockey. He was the lead announcer for National Hockey League national telecasts on both ...
,
Eddie Olczyk Edward Walter Olczyk Jr. (; born August 16, 1966) is an American sportscaster and former professional ice hockey player. He spent 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing as a center for the Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Le ...
, and
Pierre McGuire Regis Pierre McGuire (born August 8, 1961) is an American-Canadian ice hockey executive who currently works for Sportsnet; he last served as senior vice-president of player development for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL ...
mentioned this when they called the Stanley Cup Finals. Emrick, Olczyk, and McGuire mentioned about Pittsburgh having two championships in the same year, as the
Penguins Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a sm ...
won the Stanley Cup.
The broadcast was available in
1080i In high-definition television (HDTV) and video display technology, 1080i is a video display format with 1080 lines of vertical resolution and Interlaced video, interlaced scanning method. This format was once a standard in HDTV. It was particular ...
high definition High definition or HD may refer to: Visual technologies *Blu-ray Disc, the universal optical High Definition disc format *HD Photo, former name for the JPEG XR image file format *HDV, format for recording high-definition video onto magnetic tap ...
. Super Bowl XLIII was also the final Super Bowl simulcast in the
analog television Analog television is the original television technology that uses analog signals to transmit video and audio. In an analog television broadcast, the brightness, colors and sound are represented by amplitude, instantaneous phase and frequency, ...
format in the United States before the 2009 completion of nationwide digital television transition. The transition, originally scheduled for February 17 was pushed back to June 12, the same day the Penguins won the Stanley Cup. In
Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...
and surrounding areas, the analog but not digital feed of the cable service from
Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...
was interrupted by an unknown party, when 30 seconds from
Playboy Enterprises PLBY Group, Inc. is an American global media and lifestyle company founded by Hugh Hefner as Playboy Enterprises, Inc. to oversee the ''Playboy'' magazine and related assets. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California. The company is focus ...
-owned adult cable television channel Shorteez was broadcast to homes just after
Larry Fitzgerald Larry Darnell Fitzgerald Jr. (born August 31, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 17 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the ...
scored his fourth-quarter touchdown to give the Cardinals a 23–20 lead. Minutes before this occurred, 10 seconds of an end-credit segment from
ClubJenna Jenna Marie Massoli (born April 9, 1974), known professionally as Jenna Jameson (), is an American businesswoman, writer, television personality, and former pornographic film actress. She has been named the world's most famous adult entertainm ...
, another Playboy-owned channel, was shown. Comcast offered a $10 credit for customers who claimed to have seen the incident, and the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
(FCC) announced that it would investigate the cause of the incident. On February 4, 2011, Tucson Police and the
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
arrested Frank Tanori Gonzalez on suspicion of fraud and computer tampering in connection with the porn incident. Gonzalez eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years of probation. The telecast was also carried to U.S. service personnel stationed around the globe via the
American Forces Network The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the United States Armed Forces provides to soldiers stationed or assigned overseas, and is headquartered at Fort Meade in Maryland. AFN comprises two sub ...
.


=Ratings

= With an average U.S. audience of 98.7 million viewers (and an estimated total viewership of 151.6 million), this was the third most watched Super Bowl in history, and the fourth most watched U.S. television program of any kind, trailing only
Super Bowl XLV Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
in 2011, which drew an average audience of 111 million;
Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) c ...
in 2010, average audience 106.5 million; and the final episode of ''M*A*S*H'' in 1983, average audience 106 million. However, the national
Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
of 42.0 was lower than the 43.3 rating for the previous year's game. The telecast drew a 53.6 rating in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
and a 47.5 rating in Phoenix, first and ninth, respectively, among local markets.


=Advertising

= In addition to featuring the game's first 1-second TV ad (courtesy of Miller High Life), Super Bowl XLIII marked the first time that a 30-second commercial time slot cost up to US$3 million for the airtime alone, excluding production and talent costs. Many traditional advertisers, such as
Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC ( ) is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple ...
and
PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase, New York, Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the f ...
, bought multiple ads at discounted rates. None of the " Big Three" U.S. automakers (
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
,
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
, and
Chrysler FCA US, LLC, Trade name, doing business as Stellantis North America and known historically as Chrysler ( ), is one of the "Big Three (automobile manufacturers), Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn H ...
) ran advertisements during the game; coupled with Cash4Gold.com's third-quarter ad, this was seen as a sign of how deep the recession that began in fall 2008 had become. A short trailer for '' Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' premiered during the Super Bowl, a debut which director
Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget high-concept action films with fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of special eff ...
first revealed would occur in January. A preview of the upcoming ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...
'' film also premiered during the game. However, with the weak economy, NBC was thought to have turned to companies already buying ad time for an additional purchase or two as set by the Los Angeles-based Forza Migliozzi agency, which would have eight advertisers simultaneously in one 30-second ad.
SoBe Sobe may refer to: People * Sobe (sister of Saint Anne) * Sobe Charles Umeh Other * SoBe, American brand of teas * SoBe Entertainment * South Beach South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a Neighborhoods of Miami Beach, Flo ...
and
DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...
aired a 3-D trailer for the upcoming film ''
Monsters vs. Aliens ''Monsters vs. Aliens'' is a 2009 American animated science fiction comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman from a screenplay written by Let ...
'', along with a 3-D ad for Sobe Life Water that featured
Ray Lewis Raymond Anthony Lewis Jr. (born May 15, 1975) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 17-year career as a linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football f ...
and
Matt Light Matthew Charles Light (born June 23, 1978) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire 11-year career as an offensive tackle for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college footb ...
dancing ''
Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...
'' (renamed ''Lizard Lake'' for this ad), as well as the promo for the upcoming episode of ''Chuck'' in 3-D. About 150 million "ColorCode 3-D" glasses were given away at grocery stores across the country for the ad. Hyundai also advertised its new Genesis Coupe in two 30-second commercials. All advertising slots were sold out one day before the game, resulting in sales of $206 million. The top five ads as chosen by the USA Today
Super Bowl Ad Meter The ''USA Today'' Super Bowl Ad Meter is an annual survey taken of television commercials by ''USA Today'' in a live poll during the telecast in the United States of the Super Bowl, the annual professional American football championship game of th ...
were: #
Doritos Doritos () is an American brand of flavored tortilla chips produced by Frito-Lay, a wholly owned subsidiary of PepsiCo. The concept for Doritos originated at Disneyland at a restaurant managed by Frito-Lay. In 1966, Doritos became the first ...
' fan-made ad about "free Doritos" being seen in a "crystal ball", with different results for two co-workers. Joseph and Dave Herbert from
Batesville, Indiana Batesville is a city in Ripley County, Indiana, Ripley and Franklin County, Indiana, Franklin counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 7,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the largest community in both ...
, creators of the ad, won US$1,000,000; #
Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...
's Clydesdale love affair with a dancing horse; # Another Budweiser ad seeing another Clydesdale playing fetch showing off after the beer wagon's Dalmatian fetches a small stick; # A
Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational manufacturing company founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (18891976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of (), meaning ...
ad with Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head driving in a toy car on a twisty road; # Another Doritos ad that shows the power of crunch with a woman being stripped down to her underwear, free money from an ATM and a policeman being turned into a monkey.
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
's top five in "Ad Blitz 2009" also saw the two Doritos ads finish first and fifth. The middle three featured
E-Trade E*TRADE is an investment brokerage and electronic trading platform that operates as a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley. History In 1982, physicist William A. Porter and Bernard A. Newcomb founded TradePlus in Palo Alto, California, with $15,00 ...
's Singing Baby ad,
CareerBuilder CareerBuilder is an American employment website founded in 1995 that operates in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. CareerBuilder provides talent management software and other recruitment related services. The company is majority-owned ...
.com's "The Official 2009 Super Bowl Commercial" and
Pepsi Max Pepsi Max (also known as Pepsi Black in some countries and Pepsi Zero in Poland and Portugal) is a low-calorie, sugar-free cola, marketed by PepsiCo as an alternative to Pepsi and Diet Pepsi, except for Norway, where it is the main Pepsi flavor. ...
's "I'm Good" finish second through fourth respectively. Adbowl results reflected the following ranking: # Bridgestone: Taters # Bridgestone: Hot Item # Doritos: Crystal Ball #
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
: Heist # Pepsi Max: I'm Good


International

* : SuperSport * : NFL Network coverage was simulcasted on
ESPN Australia ESPN Australia is the Australian division of ESPN, part of the ESPN International grouping. It is offered in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. it has been the only Disney-owned network in Oceania along with Ba ...
on
Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...
and
Austar Austar was an Australian telecommunications company founded in 1995 as Community Entertainment Television (CETV). Its main business activity was subscription television. It was also involved with internet access and mobile phones. Austar's tel ...
. NBC commentary and graphics were simulcast free-to-air on
Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...
and Ten HD. The Ten broadcast was anchored by a four-man panel from
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
that included analysis from
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...
punter, Australian
Sav Rocca Saverio Giovanni Rocca (born 20 November 1973) is an Australian former professional sportsman. He played Australian rules football for Collingwood and the Kangaroos in the Australian Football League (AFL), and then switched to playing America ...
. Also shown on SBS starting at 10am
Australian Eastern Standard Time Australia uses three main time zones: Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST; UTC+10:00), Australian Central Standard Time (ACST; UTC+09:30) and Australian Western Standard Time (AWST; UTC+08:00). Time is regulated by the individual states a ...
. * :
ORF1 ORF 1 (''ORF eins'', ''Österreichischer Rundfunk 1'') is an Austrian public television channel owned by ORF (broadcaster), ORF. It was the first television channel in Austria, started in 1955, with regular programming started in 1957 when it now ...
, ORF1 HD (midnight
CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast En ...
) * :
ESPN Brasil ESPN is the Brazilian division of ESPN Inc. Launched in March 1989 as Canal+, it was the first country-specific version of ESPN outside the United States, launched in June 1995. The channel has covered major sporting events, like the 1996 Summer ...
. Paulo Antunes (commentating), Everaldo Marques (play-by-play) and André Kfouri (on field). * :
English-language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
network CTV aired the game live throughout Canada,
simulcasting Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...
the NBC broadcast, with
Canadian law The legal system of Canada is pluralist: its foundations lie in the English common law system (inherited from its period as a colony of the British Empire), the French civil law system (inherited from its French Empire past), and Indigenous ...
requiring cable and satellite providers to replace NBC's broadcast with CTV's feed (which contains Canadian commercials). The
French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...
cable channel RDS (also owned by CTV) carried the game using NBC's video feed and its own announcers. * : CCTV Sports,
China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is the State media, national television broadcaster of China, established in 1958. CCTV is operated by the National Radio and Television Administration which reports directly to the Publicity Department of th ...
and SMG (7am, February 2
Beijing Time The time in China follows a single standard time offset of UTC+08:00, where Beijing is located, even though the country spans five geographical time zones. It is the largest sovereign nation in the world that officially observes only one time ...
). Mainland only. * :
SportKlub Sportklub, formerly rendered as Sport Klub, is a subscription sports television service which is broadcast in Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2006, Croatia from 2007 and North Macedonia from 2011. A different version of the channel al ...
(11:55 pm CET) * and : Nova Sport * :
TV3+ TV3+ is a Denmark, Danish pay television channel owned by Viaplay Group. It has its origins in the youth-oriented channel ZTV and women-focused channel TV6 that were launched in the mid-1990s when Kinnevik invested heavily in new free-to-air chann ...
* :
ESPN America ESPN America was a British-based European sports network, focusing on professional and collegiate sports of the United States and Canada. Originally launched on 5 December 2002 as NASN (the ''North American Sports Network''), ESPN America broadca ...
* :
Viasat Sport 1 V Sport is a group of Swedish sports channels owned by Viaplay Group, broadcasting from the United Kingdom and constituting a part of the pan-Nordic V Sport offering. The Swedish V Sport channels except V Sport Motor and V Sport Extra are also ...
, Viasat Sport HD * :
France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...
* : ARD
Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD (broadcaster), ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the ARD (broadcaster)#Institutions and member org ...
(12:10am CET) * :
ESPN Latin America ESPN Latin America (on-air as ESPN) is the Latin American division of ESPN Inc., and broadcasts sports-related programming for the region in Spanish. It was launched on 31 March 1989. Its programming is adapted to the likes of viewers, who tend ...
* :
Sport1 Sport1 is a German free-to-air television channel centred towards sports programming, as well as teleshopping. It was launched on 1 January 1993 as DSF (''Deutsches Sportfernsehen''), replacing the television channel Tele 5 which had become th ...
(Hungarian) * :
Stöð 2 Sport Stöð 2 Sport is an Icelandic television channel that broadcast a wide variety of different sports in Iceland. Stöð 2 Sport is only broadcast in Iceland and only in Icelandic. Sports shown Stöð 2 Sport offers a wide variety of live sports ...
* :
TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso * Canal 3 Niger, a commercial television channel in Niger * Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala * Can ...
(11 pm GMT) * :
Rai Due Rai 2 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting '' TG2'' news bulletins, ta ...
and Rai Sport Più (midnight
CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast En ...
), with Valerio Iafrate and Roberto Gotta, RAI's NFL hosts, as commentators. The digital transmission was in 16:9 and HD (where available). * :
NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...
,
Nippon Television JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as (NTV) or Nippon TV, is a Japanese television station serving the Kantō region as the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned and operated by the , a sub ...
and Gaora. (8am, February 2 JST) * : The game was broadcast on both
Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...
and
TV Azteca Televisión Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V., commonly known as TV Azteca, is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate owned by Grupo Salinas. It is the second-largest mass media company in Mexico after Televisa. It primarily competes with Televisa as well as so ...
, with both telecasts distributed in
HDTV High-definition television (HDTV) describes a television or video system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since at least 1933; in more recent times, it ref ...
* :
Sport Klub Sportklub, formerly rendered as Sport Klub, is a subscription sports television service which is broadcast in Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2006, Croatia from 2007 and North Macedonia from 2011. A different version of the channel al ...
(cable), Elmag (terrestrial) (11:55pm CET) * :
ESPN Australia ESPN Australia is the Australian division of ESPN, part of the ESPN International grouping. It is offered in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands. it has been the only Disney-owned network in Oceania along with Ba ...
(NFL Network commentators, graphics/NBC simulcast) * :
Viasat Sport V Sport is the common brand of several sports channels targeting the Nordic countries, owned by Viaplay Group. The brand has been introduced in June 2020, replacing the former brands Viasat Sport and Viasport (Norway only). Its main competitors ...
, Viasat Sport HD (midnight CET) * :
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
, Fox Sports Latin America. * : Balls and
Solar Sports Solar Sports is a Philippines, Philippine Digital television, digital free-to-air television network based in Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong, Philippines. It serves as the flagship network of Southern Broadcasting Network, a subsidiary of Solar En ...
(both live using the feed from the NFL Network); C/S 9 (delayed) * : nSport * :
Sport TV Sport TV is a Portuguese sports-oriented premium cable and satellite television network with seven premium channels in Portugal, one sports news channel and one channel in Portuguese-speaking Africa. The first channel, then only known as Sport ...
. Also in high definition (16:9) (11pm WET) * :
7TV Semyorka, or 7TV () was a Russian federal television channel, owned by UTH Russia. The channel was launched on 17 September 2001 as a national television channel. Between 2010/11 season, MegaFon sponsored the channel. Originally, 7TV broadcas ...
, NTV Plus Sport and NTV Plus HD Sport * :
SportKlub Sportklub, formerly rendered as Sport Klub, is a subscription sports television service which is broadcast in Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2006, Croatia from 2007 and North Macedonia from 2011. A different version of the channel al ...
(11:55 pm
CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast En ...
) * with , and : ASN (All Sports Network) * : SBS Sports (8 am, February 2 KST) * :
Digital+ Canal+ was a Spanish satellite broadcasting platform. It was previously known as Digital+ since its launch in 2003, and from 2011 it was known as Canal+, being named after its main premium channel. Formed on 23 July 2003 as a result of the equal ...
in HD (midnight CET) * : TV6,
Viasat Sport V Sport is the common brand of several sports channels targeting the Nordic countries, owned by Viaplay Group. The brand has been introduced in June 2020, replacing the former brands Viasat Sport and Viasport (Norway only). Its main competitors ...
, Viasat Sport HD (midnight CET) * :
Videoland Television Network Videoland Television Network () is a cable television network program provider in Taiwan, founded in 1983 by Koos Group. Videoland is one of Taiwan's major satellite television providers, offering seven channels of programming. Videoland is als ...
aired the game live at 7 am, February 2
UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...
+8. * : Spormax. Also in high definition 6:91 am EET * : The game was broadcast on
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
and on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
with programming starting at 10pm and at 11pm GMT, respectively. This was one of only two NFL games broadcast on the BBC, the other being the international series. Coverage was presented by
Jake Humphrey Jacob John Humphrey (born 7 October 1978) is an English television presenter, best known for formerly hosting Champions League football on BT Sport, CBBC's '' Bamzooki'' and BBC Sport's coverage of Formula 1 Grand Prix. Early life Born i ...
live from the venue, with summarizers
Rod Woodson Roderick Kevin Woodson (born March 10, 1965) is an American former professional football player for 17 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Widely considered one of the greatest cornerbacks of all time, Woodson holds the NFL record fo ...
and
Mike Carlson Michael Carlson (born March 12, 1951) is a pundit of National Football League (NFL) coverage in the United Kingdom. He worked on Channel Five's coverage of the sport from 1998 to 2010 and Channel 4's coverage of the sport from 2010 to 2015. ...
. Sky Sports' NFL host,
Kevin Cadle Kevin Cadle (March 17, 1955 – October 16, 2017) was a British-based American sports presenter and former basketball coach. Cadle was born in Buffalo, New York in 1955. After retiring from coaching in 1997, Cadle presented American football and ...
, was in the studio with guests throughout the event, with co-presenter
Nick Halling Nick Halling is a British sports broadcaster and journalist who studied English & Theology at Leeds University. He was a boxing commentator for Sky Sports and presented their American football, as well as ice hockey, ten-pin bowling and numerous ...
in Tampa providing analysis live from the event. An international feed featured
Bob Papa Robert L. Papa (born September 19, 1964) is an American sportscaster who is currently the radio play-by-play voice for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). Papa also is the lead broadcaster for PGA Tour Champions events o ...
and
Sterling Sharpe Sterling Sharpe (born April 6, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the South Carolina Gamecocks, and p ...
announcing, and was seen in 230 countries (including Antarctica) over 61 networks and 34 languages.
ESPN Latin America ESPN Latin America (on-air as ESPN) is the Latin American division of ESPN Inc., and broadcasts sports-related programming for the region in Spanish. It was launched on 31 March 1989. Its programming is adapted to the likes of viewers, who tend ...
also broadcast across Latin America.


Radio

On radio,
Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...
had the national English-language broadcast rights to the game in the United States and Canada. It was only made available to local affiliates as part of a 57-game package of regular season and post-season games. Stations were not allowed to stream the broadcast on their web sites.
Marv Albert Marv Albert (born Marvin Philip Aufrichtig; June 12, 1941) is an American former sportscaster. Honored for his work by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he was commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball". From 1967 to 2004, he was also know ...
and
Boomer Esiason Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason (; born April 17, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. He played college football for ...
called the game for the network. The teams'
flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyal ...
s also carried the game with their respective local announcers: WDVE-FM and WBGG-AM in Pittsburgh (with
Bill Hillgrove William Thomas Hillgrove (born November 20, 1940) is an American sports broadcaster, radio personality, and sports journalist. Hillgrove is a notable broadcaster in his hometown of Pittsburgh, and has worked exclusively in that market. He served ...
and
Tunch Ilkin Tunch Ilkin (; September 23, 1957 – September 4, 2021) was a Turkish-American professional American football, football player and sports broadcaster. A two-time Pro Bowl selection as an offensive tackle with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was th ...
announcing), and
KTAR-AM KTAR (620 kHz) is an AM commercial radio station licensed to Phoenix, Arizona, United States. Owned and operated by Bonneville International, it features a sports format airing programming from ESPN Radio. The studios are located in north Phoe ...
/ FM in Phoenix (with
Dave Pasch Dave Pasch (born August 11, 1972) is an American ESPN announcer, covering the NBA, college football, and college basketball. He is also the radio play-by-play voice of the Arizona Cardinals. Personal life Pasch grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, t ...
and Ron Wolfley announcing).
Univision Radio Uforia Audio Network () is the radio broadcasting and music events division of TelevisaUnivision (United States), TelevisaUnivision USA. Formerly known as Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation and Univision Radio, it is the eighth-largest radio br ...
/ United Stations carried a Spanish-language feed for Hispanophone American listeners (with Clemson Smith-Muñiz and David Crommett announcing).
Sirius XM Satellite Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merger ...
carried 13 game feeds in ten languages to
Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word (Latin script: ), meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated  Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbr ...
subscribers, as well as to XM subscribers with the "Best of Sirius" package. In addition to the four US feeds mentioned above, Sirius carried the following international feeds: * :
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts mainly news, sport, Talk show, discussion, interviews and phone-ins, and is on air 24 hours a day. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadca ...
(English;
Arlo White Arlo James White (born 2 June 1973) is an English sports presenter and commentator, originally from Leicester. He is the play-by-play commentator for the LIV Golf league. White previously worked for NBC Sports' live coverage of the Premier Leagu ...
announcing) * :
NTV Plus NTV Plus () is the brand name for the Russian digital satellite television provider, transmitted from Eutelsat's W4 satellite at 36.0°E and from Bonum 1 at 56.0°E. Previously a part of Vladimir Gusinsky's MediaMost holding, now it is the ...
(Russian) * :
France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...
(French) * :
NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...
(Japanese) * : ARD (German) * :
Telenet Telenet was an American commercial packet-switched network which went into service in 1975. It was the first FCC-licensed public data network in the United States. Various commercial and government interests paid monthly fees for dedicated lin ...
(Flemish) * : SMG (Mandarin Chinese) * :
RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...
(Italian; Iafrate-Gotta's TV audio) * :
Cadena Ser La Cadena SER (the SER Network) is a Spanish radio network established in 1924, with a regular listenership of 4,139,000 reported in 2018. The acronym SER stands for Sociedad Española de Radiodifusión (Spanish Broadcasting Company). Cadena SE ...
(Spanish)
FieldPass NFL+ is an over-the-top subscription service operated by the National Football League (NFL) in the United States. The service offers live-streaming of the radio broadcasts of all NFL games, streaming of the television broadcasts of in-market gam ...
, the subscription Internet radio service provided by the league at NFL.com, carried most of these feeds, with select international feeds for free. Due to contractual restrictions, only Sirius XM and FieldPass were permitted to carry the local team broadcasts along with WDVE, WBGG, and KTAR, with the teams' other network radio affiliates instead carrying the Westwood One feed.


Entertainment and other ceremonies


Pregame

Journey and the Bethune-Cookman University Marching Wildcats performed during the pre-game show, while
Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, producer, and talk show host. Having received List of awards and nominations received by Jennifer Hudson, numerous accolades for ...
sang "
The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...
" (arranged by
Chris Walden Chris Walden (born 10 October 1966) is a seven-time Grammy nominated German composer, arranger, and conductor living in the U.S. He leads the Chris Walden Big Band, and is the founder and artistic director of the Pacific Jazz Orchestra. He ha ...
) in her first public appearance since the murder of her nephew, brother and mother. Hudson became the second consecutive alumna from the ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
'' television series to perform the national anthem at a Super Bowl (
Jordin Sparks Jordin Sparks (born December 22, 1989) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the American Idol (season 6), sixth season of ''American Idol'' at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in the series' history. He ...
sang the anthem at
Super Bowl XLII Super Bowl XLII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...
). The national anthem was translated into
American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that i ...
by Kristen Santos. Following the anthem, the
United States Air Force Thunderbirds The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron is the air demonstration squadron of the United States Air Force The Thunderbirds, as they are popularly known, are assigned to the 57th Wing, and are based at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. Created in 1953 ...
performed a fly-over.
John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...
performed a short concert several hours before the game, while
Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American Country music, country singer. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold almost 50 million albums worldwide ...
performed "
America the Beautiful "America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Church (Newark), Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New ...
" prior to Hudson's performance of the national anthem. Also, the
crew A crew is a body or a group of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchy, hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the ta ...
of
US Airways Flight 1549 US Airways Flight 1549 was a regularly scheduled US Airways flight from New York City's LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte and Seattle, in the United States. On January 15, 2009, the Airbus A320 serving the flight struck a flock of birds shortl ...
were recognized on field for their actions. The NFL saluted four decades of champions during the coin toss ceremony and the
Vince Lombardi Trophy The Vince Lombardi Trophy, also known simply as the Lombardi Trophy or just the Lombardi, is the trophy awarded each year to the winning team of the National Football League's championship game, the Super Bowl. The trophy is named in honor of N ...
presentation. The coin toss featured Roger Craig (
Super Bowl XXIII Super Bowl XXIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...
, 1989),
John Elway John Albert Elway Jr. (born June 28, 1960) is an American former professional football quarterback who spent his entire 16-year career with the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Following his playing career, he then spent 1 ...
(
Super Bowl XXXIII Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXII champion 1998 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...
, 1999), and
Lynn Swann Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former professional football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers. He ...
(
Super Bowl XIII Super Bowl XIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1978 Dallas Cowboys season, Dallas Cow ...
, 1979). Craig followed the previous year's participants and fellow
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
Craig Walsh (son of
Bill Walsh William Ernest Walsh (November 30, 1931 – July 30, 2007) was an American professional and college football coach. He served as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the Stanford Cardinal, during which time he popularized the West Coast off ...
),
Ronnie Lott Ronald Mandel Lott (born May 8, 1959) is an American former professional football player in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons from 1981 to 1994. Lott played college football for the University of Southern California (USC), and ...
,
Jerry Rice Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for 20 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He won three Super Bowl titles with the San Francisco 49ers before two shorter ...
, and
Steve Young Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Bu ...
. General
David Petraeus David Howell Petraeus (; born 7 November 1952) is a retired United States Army General (United States), general who served as the fourth director of the Central Intelligence Agency from September 2011 until his resignation in November 2012. Pri ...
performed the actual coin toss. The Steelers called tails, but it landed on heads, so the Cardinals won the toss. Arizona deferred their choice to the second half, and the Steelers chose to receive, making it the first time in Super Bowl history that the coin toss winner kicked off to start the game. (The NFL had just changed the rule before the start of the season allowing the team that wins the coin toss to defer the choice to the second half, similar to that in
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
and
Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...
.) By winning the toss, the Arizona Cardinals were the twelfth consecutive coin toss winner from the NFC, dating back to
Super Bowl XXXII Super Bowl XXXII was an American football game played between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXI champion Green Bay Packers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide t ...
.
Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943), nicknamed "Broadway Joe", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seaso ...
(
Super Bowl III Super Bowl III was an American football championship game played on January 12, 1969, at the Miami Orange Bowl, Orange Bowl in Miami, Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the fi ...
, 1969) participated in the
Vince Lombardi Trophy The Vince Lombardi Trophy, also known simply as the Lombardi Trophy or just the Lombardi, is the trophy awarded each year to the winning team of the National Football League's championship game, the Super Bowl. The trophy is named in honor of N ...
presentation and he previously participated in the coin toss in
Super Bowl XXVIII Super Bowl XXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for th ...
. Coincidentally, Namath—a native of
Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania Beaver Falls is a city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 9,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located 31 miles (50 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, the city lies along the Beaver River (Pennsylvan ...
, near Pittsburgh—ultimately handed the trophy to his hometown team.


Halftime

The Super Bowl XLIII halftime show, which was sponsored by Bridgestone for the second consecutive year, featured
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
and the
E Street Band The E Street Band is an American rock band that has been the primary backing band for rock musician Bruce Springsteen since 1972. In 2014, the E Street Band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the bulk of Springsteen's recordin ...
, with
the Miami Horns The Miami Horns are an American horn section best known for touring and recording with Southside Johnny, Bruce Springsteen, Little Steven and The Max Weinberg 7. They have also toured, performed or recorded with, among others, Diana Ross, Gary ...
and a
gospel choir Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compos ...
. Their halftime performance consisted of these songs in the following order: * "
Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, from his 1975 album '' Born to Run''. Content The song tells the story of the formation of the E Street Band. The meaning of the title is unclear. Springste ...
" * "
Born to Run ''Born to Run'' is the third studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on August 25, 1975, by Columbia Records. Co- produced by Springsteen with his manager Mike Appel and the producer Jon Landau, its recordin ...
" * "
Working on a Dream ''Working on a Dream'' is the sixteenth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on January 27, 2009, through Columbia Records.Cohen, Jonathan"Bruce Springsteen 'Dreams' Big on New Album" ''Billboard''. November ...
" * " Glory Days" Each of the numbers had at least one verse removed, in order to fit the overall performance in the intended 12-minute time limit. Springsteen had turned down numerous invitations to play at the Super Bowl before this one, unsure of its legitimacy, but finally accepted after realizing the prestige value.


Home video

The Steelers 2008 season/Super Bowl XLIII championship
home video Home video is recorded media sold or Video rental shop, rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. ...
went on sale on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
on February 24, 2009. One week later on March 3, it was released on
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
, making it the first
NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces advertisement film, commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentary film, documentaries ...
home video release to be on Blu-ray Disc.


Game summary


First quarter

The Steelers took the opening kickoff and moved down the field on a 71-yard scoring drive, with quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...
completing a 38-yard pass to wide receiver
Hines Ward Hines Edward Ward Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American American football, football coach and former player who is the wide receivers coach for Arizona State Sun Devils football, Arizona State. He played as a wide receiver in the National Foo ...
and a 21-yard strike to tight end
Heath Miller Earl Heath Miller Jr. (born October 22, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons from 2005 to 2015. Miller played college foot ...
, putting the ball on the Arizona 1-yard line. The Cardinals' defense kept the Steelers' offense out of the end zone for the first two plays, but on third down, Roethlisberger appeared to score on a 1-yard quarterback draw. However, a replay challenge by Arizona determined that his knee hit the ground as he was being tackled by defensive lineman
Darnell Dockett Darnell Maurice Dockett (born May 27, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for 11 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Cardinals in the thir ...
before he could stretch the ball over the goal line. Rather than take the risk on fourth down, Pittsburgh settled for an 18-yard field goal by kicker Jeff Reed to take a 3–0 lead. The Steelers quickly forced a Cardinals punt and then drove back down the field for what would turn into more points. On the first play of their drive, Roethlisberger completed a 25-yard pass to wide receiver
Santonio Holmes Santonio Holmes Jr. (born March 3, 1984) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and current wide receivers coach for Central State Marauders and Lady Ma ...
and followed it up with two 11-yard completions to Miller, the second of which was a 3rd-and-10 conversion.


Second quarter

On the second play of the second quarter, running back
Gary Russell Gary Russell (born 18 September 1963) is a British freelance writer, producer and former child actor. As a writer, he is best known for his work in connection with the television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs in other media. As an ac ...
went into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown run, increasing the Steelers' lead to 10–0. They became the first team to score on its first two drives since the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
in
Super Bowl XXXII Super Bowl XXXII was an American football game played between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXI champion Green Bay Packers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide t ...
. On defense, Pittsburgh held Arizona to just one drive and one first down in the first quarter, while gaining 135 yards. The Cardinals responded with a nine-play, 83-yard scoring drive. First, quarterback
Kurt Warner Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, whi ...
completed three passes to running back
Edgerrin James Edgerrin Tyree James (; born August 1, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at the University of Miami for the Miami Hur ...
for 26 yards, as well as two passes to wide receiver
Steve Breaston Steven William Breaston (born August 20, 1983) is an American former professional football wide receiver. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft. ...
for 20. Warner then completed a 45-yard strike to wide receiver
Anquan Boldin Anquan Kenmile Boldin Sr. (; born October 3, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 14 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles and w ...
to reach the Pittsburgh 1-yard line. On the next play, Warner nearly fell over after taking the snap, but he quickly regained his balance and threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end
Ben Patrick Ben Patrick (born August 23, 1984) is an American former professional American football, football tight end. He was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL draft. He played college football at Duke and Delaware Fig ...
, cutting Arizona's deficit to 10–7. It was Patrick's only touchdown reception of the season. After an exchange of punts, Roethlisberger threw a pass that was deflected by defensive tackle Bryan Robinson and intercepted by linebacker
Karlos Dansby Karlos Montez Dansby (born November 3, 1981) is an American former professional football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Auburn Tigers and received All-American recognition. He was sele ...
at the Steelers' 34-yard line just before the two-minute warning. Seven plays later, the Cardinals reached the Pittsburgh 1-yard line with a chance to take the lead before halftime. But with 18 seconds left, Warner's pass intended for Boldin was intercepted at the goal line by linebacker James Harrison, who then took off down the sideline for the then-longest play in Super Bowl history (having since been passed by
Jacoby Jones Jacoby Rashi'd Jones (July 11, 1984 – July 14, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). Selected in the third round of the 2007 NFL draft by the H ...
' 108-yard kickoff return in
Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...
), a 100-yard pick-six, increasing the Steelers' lead to 17–7 at halftime. Harrison faked a blitz and quietly moved into coverage to pick off Warner's pass. A booth review was called to verify that Harrison had broken the plane, as he was tackled at the goal line by Breaston and wide receiver
Larry Fitzgerald Larry Darnell Fitzgerald Jr. (born August 31, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 17 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the ...
, and the ruling stood.


Third quarter

After forcing the Cardinals to punt to start the second half, the Steelers put together another long scoring drive. Aided by two 15-yard gains by Holmes and running back
Willie Parker Willie Everett Parker Jr. (born November 11, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for six seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for No ...
, as well as three personal foul penalties against the Arizona defense, including one during a field goal attempt, Pittsburgh moved the ball 79 yards in 15 plays and took 8:39 off the clock. However, despite picking up two first downs inside the Arizona 10, they were unable to get into the end zone, forcing them to settle for Reed's 21-yard field goal to increase their lead to 20–7.


Fourth quarter

After the teams traded punts again going into the fourth quarter, Warner led the Cardinals down the field on an eight-play, 87-yard scoring drive that took 3:57 off the clock, utilizing a no huddle offense. All eight plays of the drive were consecutive short passes by Warner, half of which were caught by Fitzgerald for a total gain of 31 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown in which Warner threw a fade pass to Fitzgerald, who made a leaping catch through tight coverage by cornerback Ike Taylor. The score cut Arizona's deficit to one possession at 20–14 with 7:33 left in the game. On the Cardinals' next possession, they reached the Pittsburgh 26-yard line, but a holding penalty pushed them nearly out of field goal range. Warner then threw three consecutive incompletions, and Arizona elected to punt rather than risk a 53-yard field goal attempt. Ben Graham's 34-yard punt pinned the Steelers back at their own 1-yard line. After being stopped for no gain on the first two plays, Roethlisberger threw a 19-yard pass to Holmes, but Steelers center
Justin Hartwig Justin Hartwig (born November 21, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a center in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Kansas Jayhawks and was selected by the Tennessee Titans in th ...
was flagged for offensive holding in the end zone, which not only nullified the catch, but gave the Cardinals a
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
, cutting the Steelers' lead to 20–16 and forcing them to punt the ball away. Pittsburgh coach
Mike Tomlin Michael Pettaway Tomlin (born March 15, 1972) is an American professional American football, football coach who is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the Steelers in 2007, he has led t ...
later stated that giving up the safety didn't faze him, as it did not change how his team called plays for the rest of the game on either defense or offense. Taking over on their own 36-yard line after the free kick, Arizona took two plays to score, as Warner threw a pass to Fitzgerald on a post route. Fitzgerald caught the ball without breaking stride and took off down the middle of the field past the Steelers' secondary for a 64-yard touchdown reception, giving Arizona their first lead of the game, 23–20. With a chance to mount a game-tying/winning drive, Pittsburgh got the ball back on their own 22-yard line with 2:37 left in the game and two timeouts remaining. On the first play, a holding penalty pushed them back to their own 12. Roethlisberger then completed a pass to Holmes for 14 yards. After an incompletion, Roethlisberger threw it to Holmes again for 13 yards. An 11-yard reception by wide receiver
Nate Washington Nate Washington (born August 28, 1983) is an American former professional football wide receiver. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2005 and played on two Super Bowl-winning teams during four seasons with the ...
followed, and a 4-yard run by Roethlisberger forced the Steelers to burn their second timeout of the half. On the very next play, he completed a pass to Holmes, who took it 40 yards to the Cardinals' 6-yard line after safety Aaron Francisco tripped. Two plays later, Roethlisberger found running back
Mewelde Moore Mewelde Jaem Cadere Moore (born July 24, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL draft. M ...
covered in the flat, then Ward covered. He looked and then threw to Holmes, who ran a flag route in the right corner. Holmes caught the pass in the back corner of the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown reception, managing to keep both feet in bounds while landing on his toes before falling out of bounds. "My feet never left the ground," said Holmes. "All I did was extend my arms and use my toes as an extension to catch up to the ball." After a booth review, the touchdown stood and put the Steelers back in front with a 27–23 lead and 35 seconds remaining. Following the ensuing kickoff, Warner completed a 20-yard pass to Fitzgerald and a 13-yard pass to running back
J. J. Arrington Johnathan Jerone Arrington (born January 23, 1983) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California Golden Bears, ea ...
, moving the ball to the Steelers 44. With 15 seconds left, Warner prepared to attempt a
Hail Mary pass A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in American football, typically made in desperation, with a very small chance of achieving a completion (American football), completion. Due to the difficulty of a completion with this pass, it makes r ...
, but linebacker
LaMarr Woodley LaMarr Dewayne Woodley (born November 3, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Michigan, earning unanimous All-Americ ...
strip-sacked Warner, and defensive end
Brett Keisel Brett Keisel (born September 19, 1978) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a defensive end for 13 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...
recovered the fumble, giving the ball back to Pittsburgh with five seconds left. Many viewers assumed that the play had not been reviewed for a possible incomplete pass, but NFL Head of Officiating
Mike Pereira Mike Pereira (born April 13, 1950) is a former American football official and later vice president of officiating for the National Football League (NFL) and currently the head of officiating for the United Football League (UFL). Since 2010, he h ...
later explained that it actually was reviewed, unnoticed by the public: "We confirmed it was a fumble. The replay assistant in the replay booth saw it was clearly a fumble. The ball got knocked loose and was rolling in his hand before it started forward. He has to have total control." It was the first and only Super Bowl in which Warner was involved not to be decided on the final play of the game. Roethlisberger's ensuing kneeldown secured the Steelers' sixth Super Bowl victory, surpassing the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...
and
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
to set a new NFL record for most Super Bowl wins by a team.


Box score


Statistical overview

In Super Bowl XLIII, Arizona and Pittsburgh combined for the fewest rushing attempts (38) and the fewest rushing yards (91) in Super Bowl history. The Cardinals outgained the Steelers in both passing yards (374 to 234) and total yards (407 to 292), but were flagged for 11 penalties for 106 yards. Arizona's
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
in the fourth quarter was only the sixth one scored in Super Bowl history and the first since
Super Bowl XXV Super Bowl XXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...
. Warner completed 31 of 43 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception. His 377 yards was the second-most in Super Bowl history behind his own record of 414 yards in
Super Bowl XXXIV Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...
. Eight years later at
Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 NFL season, 2016 season. The American Football Confe ...
,
Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...
would break
Kurt Warner Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, whi ...
's record with 466 yards. Warner passed
Joe Montana Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Co ...
for most career yards in Super Bowl history with 1,156 (Montana threw for 1,142 yards in four games). Brady ultimately reached 2,071 yards in seven Super Bowls. Warner became the fifth quarterback in Super Bowl history to throw three touchdown passes in defeat (the others being
Roger Staubach Roger Thomas Staubach (, -; , -; born February 5, 1942), nicknamed "Roger the Dodger", "Captain America", and "Captain Comeback", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 se ...
,
Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 cons ...
,
Jake Delhomme Jake Christopher Delhomme (; born January 10, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). Delhomme played college football at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, ...
, and
Donovan McNabb Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college ...
). He also became the first quarterback in Super Bowl history to have a pass intercepted and returned for a touchdown in two different Super Bowls and is also the second quarterback to throw a fourth-quarter touchdown in three different Super Bowls (
Terry Bradshaw Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Since 1994, he has been a television sports an ...
threw a fourth-quarter touchdown in all four of his Super Bowls). Warner's top target was Fitzgerald, who caught seven passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Fitzgerald set a single-postseason record with seven touchdown receptions, passing
Jerry Rice Jerry Lee Rice (born October 13, 1962) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for 20 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He won three Super Bowl titles with the San Francisco 49ers before two shorter ...
, who had six in the 1988 postseason. Fitzgerald as well as Holmes each had 100 yards receiving, marking the fourth time in Super Bowl history, one player from each team had over 100 yards in a Super Bowl.
Michael Irvin Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is an American sports commentator and former professional football player. He played his entire 12-year career as a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). In 2007, h ...
and
Andre Reed Andre Darnell Reed (born January 29, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Buffalo Bills. He played college football for the Ku ...
were the first in
Super Bowl XXVII Super Bowl XXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...
, followed by
Deion Branch Anthony Deion Branch Jr. (born July 18, 1979) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He is the current Wide Receivers coach at the University of Louisv ...
and
Muhsin Muhammad Muhsin Muhammad II (; born Melvin Darnell Campbell Jr. May 5, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Muhammad played ...
in
Super Bowl XXXVIII Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2003 Carolina Panthers season, Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2003 New England Patriots season, New E ...
and Branch again a year later along with
Terrell Owens Terrell Eldorado Owens (; born December 7, 1973), also known by his initials "T.O.", is an American former professional football wide receiver who played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Regarded as one of the greatest wide rec ...
in
Super Bowl XXXIX Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NF ...
. Roethlisberger completed 21 of 30 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown, with one interception. Woodley had two sacks and a forced fumble, thus he continued setting NFL play-off records for consecutive multiple sack games by a player with 4. Arizona defensive tackle
Darnell Dockett Darnell Maurice Dockett (born May 27, 1981) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for 11 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Cardinals in the thir ...
had all of Arizona's three sacks, tying the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
record set by
Reggie White Reginald Howard White (December 19, 1961 – December 26, 2004) was an American professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. White played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers, ear ...
in
Super Bowl XXXI Super Bowl XXXI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champio ...
. Harrison's 100-yard interception return is still the longest interception return in Super Bowl history. With this victory, the Steelers became the first team to win three Super Bowls in the same state. Their victories in Super Bowls X and XIII were both at the
Miami Orange Bowl The Miami Orange Bowl was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, from 1937 until 2008. The stadium was located in the Little Havana neighborhood west of Greater Downtown Miami, downtown Miami. The venue was considered a landmark and ser ...
.


Final statistics

Sources
NFL.com Super Bowl XLIIISuper Bowl XLIII Play Finder PitSuper Bowl XLIII Play Finder Arz


Statistical comparison


Individual statistics

1Completions/attempts 2Carries 3Long gain 4Receptions 5Times targeted


Starting lineups

Source:


Officials

The
official An official is someone who holds an office (function or Mandate (politics), mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual Office, working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (eithe ...
s for the game were: * Referee:
Terry McAulay Terry McAulay (born December 24, 1959) is a former American football official who worked in the National Football League (NFL) for the 1998 through 2017 seasons. He was the referee for seven conference championship games and three Super Bowls ...
, #77; second Super Bowl, refereed
Super Bowl XXXIX Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NF ...
. * Umpire: Roy Ellison #81; first of two Super Bowls (
Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. As a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX from 13 years earlier, the game was between the National Football Conferen ...
) * Head linesman: Derick Bowers #74; first Super Bowl * Line judge: Mark Perlman #9; second of three Super Bowls (
Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2005 Seattle Seahawks season, Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers season, Pittsburgh S ...
,
XLIX 49 (forty-nine) is the natural number following 48 and preceding 50. In mathematics Forty-nine is the square of the prime number seven and hence the fourth non-unitary square prime of the form ''p''2. Both of its digits are square numbers, 4 be ...
) * Field judge: Greg Gautreaux #80; first Super Bowl * Side judge: Michael Banks #72; first Super Bowl * Back judge: Keith Ferguson #61; first of two Super Bowls (
Super Bowl 50 Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) ...
) * Replay official: Bob McGrath * IR video operator: Clayton Judge * Alternate officials ** Referee:
Ron Winter Ronald J. Winter (born February 6, 1946) is a former American football official who officiated in the National Football League (NFL) from the 1995 through 2013 seasons. Winter previously served as a football official for the National Collegiate ...
, #14 ** Umpire: Darrell Jenkins #76 ** Line judge: Darryll Lewis #130 ** Field judge: Doug Rosenbaum #67 ** Back judge: Billy Smith #2


Post-game riots

In Pittsburgh, mostly in the South Side and Oakland neighborhoods,
riot A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...
s broke out on the streets after the Steelers' victory. Rioters (mostly college students) caused about $150,000 in estimated damages. More than 60 people were arrested during and after the rioting, and at least two students were suspended.


Super Bowl ring

The ring for the Pittsburgh Steelers was designed and made by
Jostens Jostens Inc. is an American manufacturer of memorabilia. The company is primarily known for its production of yearbooks, academic regalia, and class rings for various high schools and colleges as well as championship rings for sports. For over 5 ...
working with
Dan Rooney Daniel Milton Rooney (July 20, 1932 – April 13, 2017) was an American professional American football, football executive and diplomat best known for his association with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL), and son of ...
and
Art Rooney II Arthur Joseph Rooney II (born September 14, 1952) is an American professional football executive and lawyer who is the owner and president of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). A member of the Rooney family, he help ...
. The designs were also shown to
James Farrior James Alfred Farrior (born January 6, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Virginia Cavaliers. He played with th ...
,
Hines Ward Hines Edward Ward Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American American football, football coach and former player who is the wide receivers coach for Arizona State Sun Devils football, Arizona State. He played as a wide receiver in the National Foo ...
,
Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...
and James Harrison before a final decision was made.


References


External links

*
Tampa Bay Super Bowl Host Committee
– Official web site *

at
Pro Football Reference Pro Football Reference (PFR) is an online statistics database for professional American football maintained by Sports Reference. The site provides career statistics for players, teams, and games, as well as records and NFL draft history. PFR was ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Super Bowl 043 2008 NFL season 2009 in American football 2009 in American television 2009 in sports in Florida 21st century in Tampa, Florida Arizona Cardinals postseason Pittsburgh Steelers postseason American football competitions in Tampa, Florida Super Bowl 043 February 2009 sports events in the United States