A GREEN SUPER BOWL!

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
The best way to describe Super Bowl XLV is by the numbers and believe me, they tell the story.

• There were 111 million viewers that watched the Green Bay Packers defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25, the largest watched program in USA Television, surpassing last years Super Bowl total of 106.5 by the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts in Miami.
• The Packers won their 13th Championship, the most in NFL history and fourth Super Bowl against a franchise that has won six Super Bowls of it's own. Green Bay did it by scoring 21 points off of three Pittsburgh turnovers and the Steelers committed costly penalties on kickoff returns. This is Green Bay's first title since 1996. The Packers became the second sixth seed to win a Championship and they had to win three road and one neutral site game to capture this title.
• Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers will no longer have to worry about Brett Favre comparisons as he was 24-39, 304 yards and three touchdowns. His numbers would have been even better if six other passes were not dropped for over 100 yards. He is the first Packer to win the MVP since Bart Starr.
• The biggest fumble occurred before the game started as Christina Aguilera sang her own version of the National Anthem. Unfortunately, her version has now become the laughingstock all over the media and the world. She is probably the most unpopular person on YouTube for all the wrong reasons. I know an amateur named Jacque' Palmer, stage name NeoPopsicle, who would have done much better!
• The Packers were able to win the Super Bowl despite having 16 players on injured reserve. Star players Charles Woodson and Donald Driver were knocked out in the first half of the Super Bowl. Woodson suffered a broken collarbone and was in a sling while Driver sustained an ankle injury and was wearing a protective boot on the sideline.
• Coach Mike McCarthy gave the boldest pre-game motivation speech by having his team sized for their Super Bowl Rings the night before. Now that's confidence!
  
  As I watched the contest at Hooters in Boca Raton, it was neat to get a unique perspective from the fans.

Travis Kidwell, 34, Boca Raton "I was pulling for the Packers because I wanted to see Rodgers win the Super Bowl and make a name for himself by pulling out of Favre's shadow in an excellent game. He did it in convincing fashion as the Steelers will have to wait for their seventh Super Bowl win and the Vince Lombardi trophy is returning home to "Titletown" back in Wisconsin."
Katie Strassburg, 18, Tampa, FAU Cheerleader "I am rooting for the Green Bay Packers because I am a Denver Broncos fan and the Steelers are in the AFC with the Broncos, therefore, they need to lose. I also wanted to support the Black Eyed Peas along with Usher's Comeback during the half-time show."
Mike Deson, 19, Tampa, FAU Student "I'm just here for the Super Bowl. I'm not rooting for either team and just came to join in on the spirit of a Great American Tradition."
Gladys Echevarria, 46, Pembroke Pines "It seems things were going right for the Green Bay Packers from the coin toss. Since I am a history buff, I loved the presentation of the Hall of Famers. That was a proud moment not only for myself but for anyone who appreciates great accomplishments."
Finally, my good friend Bob Schultz, whom I've known for 28 years, was naturally disappointed when his Chicago Bears lost to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game 21-14 two weeks ago in The Windy City.
Schultz, 48, resides in the Dallas suburb of Hurst, Texas and his hatred towards the Packers was quite evident as he pulled for the Steelers.
"I HATE THE PACKERS and think by far are one of the most overrated teams to perform in the game," Schultz said. "If it wasn't for lucky calls by the refs getting the bounces of the ball their way, I guess you need some luck from time to time. What the PECKERS got this year was unbelievable! The condition of the field at the so called DEATH STAR (Cowboys Stadium) to me it looks like a cockroach because it was so poor, very slippery and many seams and just plain poor."
Schultz thought that Steelers signal caller Ben Roethlisberger's off the field legal troubles with women caught up with him in this contest.
"After a game like this, I think that the NFL is rigged. No matter if you think Roethlisberger was guilty or not, I think the fix was in for him not to win."
If the NFL doesn't reach a new labor agreement soon, it looks like this Super Bowl will last longer than most, much to the dismay of next year's host, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at http://www.scottsports33.com/.