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Getting nervous yet Larry?!?!?
Not long to go now.
Here's a local version of the coverage they are giving in Australian webland.
Super Bowl win to bring recognition
Sunday Feb 5 14:44 AEDT
When the Seattle Seahawks clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XL on Sunday their fight will be for recognition as much as a first NFL title.
The Seahawks have been a solid football team, with good players for a while but they are tucked away in the rainy Pacific northwest with few NFL fans from beyond the city limits paying much attention to the team in the teal green uniforms.
A 13-3 season and a trip to the their first Super Bowl has forced people to take notice, yet the Seahawks are as well known in Tokyo and London as they are in some parts of the United States.
Despite a season that included an 11-game unbeaten streak that helped earn them the NFC's number one seed, Seattle is a four-point underdog against the sixth-seeded Steelers.
"Not many people know about us to be honest," Seattle coach Mike Holmgren, a Super Bowl winner with the Green Bay Packers, told a news conference.
"Unless you're on the west coast or specifically in the state of Washington, you'd probably be hard pressed to name a bunch of our defensive players.
"In Seattle because of geography and (lack of) appearances on Monday Night Football and national TV games, your exposure is limited to everyone else.
"I think the Super Bowl, certainly if you win the game, brings those things your way."
In contrast, the Steelers are one of the NFL's most recognisable brands, the franchise covered in glory and respect forged from a long and successful history that includes four Super Bowl titles.
The Steelers, however, do not lack motivation.
While it has taken the Seahawks 30 years to reach their first championship game, Steelers fans have also endured a long, dry spell, having gone 26 seasons without a title.
A victory on Sunday at Ford Field would give Pittsburgh five Vince Lombardi trophies, matching the record shared by the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers.
More importantly to the Steelers, a fifth championship would give running back Jerome "The Bus" Bettis a winning sendoff in what is expected to be his final game after 13 seasons of punishing duty that has made him the NFL's fifth all-time leading rusher.
A native of Detroit, Bettis asked his team mates to "get me home" and the Steelers have used 'The Bus' as a rallying point through an unprecedented playoff run.
The Steelers went on the road to dispose the top three seeds, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals.
"Traveling the path we traveled, having to go on the road to beat the three top seeds, it is gratifying," said Pittsburgh wide receiver Hines Ward. "I think Jerome has inspired each individual on this team in some form or way.
"He kind of inspires us to go out there and play hard so we can get him that Super Bowl ring and end on a great note.
"There are a number of reasons we want to win this game.
"We want to win for coach (Bill) Cowher to silence all those critics who say that he can't win the big one."
The longest tenured active coach in the NFL with 14 seasons at the Steelers helm, the square-jawed Cowher has taken Pittsburgh to the semi-finals five times and the Super Bowl once before in 1996 but has never hoisted the championship trophy.
He is reminded of that every day.
"We have the four trophies in our building and I pass them every day," explained Cowher. "I'm just proud to have been with the Steelers this long and nothing would be more gratifying to end this with this trophy.
"That's what they brought me here to do in 1992 and until that gets done there will always be a void."
Whether Cowher finally gets to celebrate a Super Bowl victory on Sunday will largely depend on the play of his brilliant sophomore quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Big Ben, as Roethlisberger is known in Pittsburgh, is an amazing 26-4 as a starter and will try to become the second-youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl.
On defense the Steelers are led by defensive back Troy Polamalu.
The most visible player on the field with long curly black hair spilling out from under his helmet in recognition of his Samoan heritage, the soft-spoken Polamalu is a ferocious hitter and game breaker.
It will be the job of Polamalu and the Steelers defense to slow down the Seahawks' high-powered offense that led the league in scoring this season with more than 28 points per game.
Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will be at the controls of the attack which revolves around running back Shaun Alexander, who led the NFL in rushing with 1,880 yards and has a nose for the end zone setting an NFL single-season record with 28 touchdowns.
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The teams are evenly matched and the game could go either way. The nice thing about sports is watching who will step up in the big games. The true money players. Let's hope the Steelers have a few more than the Seahawaks. 
Originally Posted by Sagerian
