Tyler Durden

Okay, my first US football game too. I'm staying up for the whole lot (I have Monday off work so staying up so bloody late isn't an issue).

Who should I support and why??

I've heard it's a good show for watching whacky 80's female pop stars falling out of their underwear. This is the only reason I'm watching really.

__________________
A throne is just a bench wrapped in velvet

DD

The funny thing is DK.....most Americans dont even know who to root for. You would almost forget there is a superbowl in two days.

I am not sure of all the different reasons to root for these teams but I will break some of the nostalgia for you and you can decide from there

Reasons to root for Seattle

-Seattle has never been to the Superbowl.

-Seattle has Shaun Alexander. MVP Running back.

-Seattle's head coach Mike Holgrem would be the first NFL coach to win a superbowl with 2 different teams with a win.

-Seattle is the underdog and everybody likes an underdog.


Reasons to root for Pittsburgh.

-Ummm, its closer to the UK?

-Running back Jerome Bettis hasnt won a superbowl, is playing in his hometown and will most likely retire after Sundays game.

-Bill Cowher (head coach) has been with his team longer than any other head coach in the league.

-Quarterback and relative rookie Ben Rothlisberger was passed on by 10 other teams before being taken 11th in last years draft and has something to prove. Also has only lost 3 times as a NFL starter.

-Your favorite colors are black and yellow.



_________________________________________

Generally speaking NFL fans root for their conference. For example. I am a Patriots fan and the Steelers are in the AFC so most Pats fans would theoretically root for Pittsburgh.

But the Seahawks QB is from the Boston area and went to college here plus people around my area freaking hate Pittsburgh so I am rooting for Seattle.

Did that help?

__________________

DD

Here are some more little tidbits I threw out there for you to ponder...


Ben Rothlisberger

• Most career touchdowns by a
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  quarterback - 84
• Most wins by an NFL rookie quarterback (2004) - 13 games (Roethlisberger did not play in the Steelers' wins over Oakland or Buffalo during their 15-1 season)
• Highest quarterback rating by an NFL rookie quarterback (2004) - 98.1
• Highest completion percentage by an NFL rookie quarterback (2004) - 66.4%
• Most consecutive regular season wins by an NFL quarterback before recording his first career regular season loss (2004-5) - 15 games
• First quarterback to start two
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  games in their first two seasons in the NFL (2004 & 2005)
• Second youngest quarterback to play in the Super Bowl (2005), only behind
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• 26-4 won/loss record as a starting quarterback in the NFL (as of 2/1/06)

[
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Trivia

• Stated that he wanted to be in a love scene with
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  , but was quoted saying that this was a fantasy and that he wanted a girl who likes him the way he is.

• Has a
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  named after him, called the "
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  ," which costs $7.00 at Peppi's, a restaurant in Pittsburgh. The burger is topped with sausage, scrambled eggs, grilled onions, and American cheese on a Portuguese roll.

• Wears #7 to pay tribute to
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  of the
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  .

• Once dated
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  golfer
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  .

• Owns a
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  , which he can only ride during the off-season due to contract restrictions. Does not wear a
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  .

• Visited
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  in June
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  , and admitted he was fascinated by the wrestlers' moves and how the fans could interact with the matches.

• Attends St. Paul's Methodist Church.

--__________________________________________________ _


Head coach Bill Cowher

Cowher began his coaching career in 1985 at age 28 under
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with the Browns. He was the Browns' special teams coach in 1985-86 and secondary coach in 1987-88 before following Schottenheimer to the
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in 1989 as defensive coordinator.
He became the fifteenth head coach in Steelers history when he replaced
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on January 21,
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– but only the second head coach since the NFL merger in 1970. In
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, at age 38, he became the youngest coach to lead his team to a
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. Cowher is only the second coach in NFL history to lead his team to the playoffs in each of his first six seasons as head coach, joining Pro Football Hall of Fame member
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. In Cowher’s 14 seasons, the Steelers have captured eight division titles, earned ten postseason playoff berths, advanced to six
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Championship games and made two Super Bowl appearances. He is one of only six coaches in NFL history to claim at least seven division titles. It has become an article of faith among NFL pundits that the Steelers do not have a bad team two years in a row – they have never lost 10 or more games in consecutive years since the 1970 NFL merger. At the conclusion of the 2005 regular season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have the best record of any team in the National Football League since Cowher was hired as head coach. As of the end of the 2005 normal season, Cowher has boasted a 102-1-1 record he has when up by 11 or more points at any moment in a game.
Cowher largely retained the famous "Steeler football" style of a strong running game on offense and an impeccable defense. With
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at the helm in the 1990s, and, more recently, former college QBs
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and
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as wide receivers along with
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at quarterback, Cowher has added a dash of wildness rarely seen in Pittsburgh during his predecessor's tenure.


-----------------------------------------------------

Seattle QB Matt Hasselbeck

Matt Hasselbeck is the son of former
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tight end,
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. His younger brother,
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, is a backup
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for the
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, while his sister-in-law,
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is a co-host of
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and former
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contestant. Hasselbeck prefers to be called "Matthew" by the press, though many do not seem to abide by this wish when giving interviews.


--------------------------------------------------------


Seattle head coach Mike Holmgrem
Career as a Player

Holmgren started out as a tight end before becoming a standout quarterback at
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's
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, where he was named "Prep Athlete of the Year" in
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. He continued his playing career as a quarterback at the
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from
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-
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, playing on USC's National Championship team of 1966, and graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1970. Holmgren was drafted by the
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in the eighth round of the 1970
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draft and went to camp with both the Cardinals and the AFL
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that year.
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Career as a Coach

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High School

Holmgren's coaching career began in 1971 at his alma mater
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in
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, where he also taught history. One year later, he moved to San Francisco's Sacred Heart High School as a teacher and assistant coach. He also coached at Oak Grove High from
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-
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.
[
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College

In 1981 Holmgren became the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at San Francisco State University. From 1982-1985, Holmgren was the quarterbacks coach at Brigham Young University under LaValle Edwards. BYU won the National Championship in 1984.
[
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National Footbal League

[
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, 1986-1991

Holmgren began his
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coaching career as an assistant coach of the
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from
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-
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. He coached the 49ers’ quarterbacks from 1986-1988 under head coach
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, working with
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and Steve Young. When
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took over as head coach, Holmgren became the team's offensive coordinator from
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-1991. During his tenure with San Francisco, the 49ers posted a 71-23-1 (74.7%) regular-season record to reach the postseason each year, and won
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over the
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and
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over the
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. As offensive coordinator in 1989, Holmgren's 49er offense was ranked number one in the
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.
[
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]


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, 1992-1998

Holmgren was head coach of the
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from
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-
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, which became one of the most successful coaching stints in
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history. One of Holmgren's first moves was to obtain
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from the
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. As head coach of the Packers, Holmgren posted a 75-37-0 (67.0%) regular-season record, a 9-5 (64.3%) postseason mark, and two
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appearances, including a 35-21 victory over the
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in
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. By winning at least one game in five consecutive postseasons (
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-
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) Holmgren joined
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(1973-1977) as the only coaches in league history to accomplish the feat. Holmgren's Packers posted an NFL-best 48-16 (75.0%) record, finished first in the
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Division three times, second once, and set a 7-3 mark in the playoffs between 1995 and 1998. By taking the Packers to six consecutive postseasons (1993-1998), Holmgren set a franchise record with a team that had had just two winning seasons in the 19 years before he was hired.
[
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, 1999-Present

Mike Holmgren resigned from the Green Bay Packers after the
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to accept an eight year head coach contract offered by the
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, which he accepted. Originally, Holmgren was the Executive Vice President/General Manager and Head Coach of the Seahawks. Following the
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, Holmgren decided to focus exclusively on coaching and relinquished his duties as general manager.
Holmgren took the Seahawks to their first postseason since
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during his first season with the club in 1999, breaking a 10-year playoff drought. Holmgren has posted a 63-49 (56.3%) regular-season record and a 2-3 (40.0%) postseason record, including an
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Division title (1999), two
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Division titles (2004 and 2005), an
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championship (2005), and the Seahawks' first-ever berth in a
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.
Holmgren's (and the Seahawks') best season to date was
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. The team posted the best regular-season 13-3 (81.3%) record in franchise history, set a team record 11 consecutive wins, and won their first playoff game since 1984. Holmgren also molded former Green Bay backup quarterback
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into a
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and Super Bowl quarterback in the
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(much as he did with Favre in the 90s), and coached
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to the NFL's MVP, a 2005 rushing title, and an NFL record 28 touchdowns in a single season.
With the NFC Championship win, Mike Holmgren became the fifth member of a rare coaching fraternity that has taken two different NFL teams to the Super Bowl. With a win in
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, Holmgren will become the first head coach in NFL history to win a
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with two different teams.

__________________

Tyler Durden

Would rep you but I can't just yet Double D.

Looks like I'll go for Seattle based on that.

Will anyone be on line at all?? I guess I'll check in during the game to see but you'll probably all be drunk, or with friends, or invading some other country or something.

__________________
A throne is just a bench wrapped in velvet

Dr. Giganto

DK, keep an eye out for Troy Polamalu, a defensive player for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He's a Pacific Islander with really long hair, and he flies all over the field making tackles. He's hard to miss, and pretty fun to watch. I'm sure they're going to be featuring him a lot when they show replays.

Oh, and remember that post on JVN, where I explained the rules and everything? You might want to take another look at that. Here are a few things I didn't touch on in that post...

A play-action pass is one in which the quarterback fakes a handoff to the running back to make the defense think it's a running play, but the QB keeps the ball and then attempts a pass.

A draw play is one in which the QB drops back like he's going to pass, and then quickly hands off to the running back.

A screen play is one in which the offensive line lets the defenders get past them, then the quarterback dumps off a short pass to the running back, who now has all of the linemen in front of him to block for him, and fewer defensive players to block (since the defensive players are already past the linemen and RB). There is also a wide receiver screen, but screens to the RB are most common.

If the coach of either team believes that the referees made a mistake, he is allowed to challenge the play. At this point, the referee will run off to the side, watch a replay, and decide if he should overturn the original call. Each team is allowed 2 challenges per game, and if they are successful on both, they are permitted a third challenge. However, it is rare that a team uses both challenges.

A blitz is when the defense sends more than 4 guys to rush after the quarterback. The advantage of this is that the quarterback will likely have less time to make his decision, and the receivers have less time to evade the defender that is covering him. The disadvantage is that there are less defensive players available to cover the receivers, so if one of the defenders gets beat, you run the risk of giving up a big play.

There are two basic types of defense that are played. Man-to-man is self-explanatory. A zone defense is when each defensive player is assigned a certain area of the field to protect, and he will not follow a receiver if he runs out of the zone. Instead, the person in the next zone is responsible for guarding the receiver.

An audible is when the quarterback gets up to the line ready to receive the ball from the center, but he realizes that the play he called will not work against the type of defense that he sees in front of him. The QB will then either call out another play, or make hand signals that signify that they are changing the play.

The QB may also send a reciever in motion. Basically, before the play starts, one of the receivers or tight ends will come into motion and run towards the opposite side of the field. The main reason why teams do this is to identify if the defense is playing zone or man-to-man. If the defensive player follows the receiver who goes into motion, it is man-to-man defense. If the defensive player stays put, it is a zone defense.

Here are some of the common penalties that get called during the game.

Offsides occurs when a member of the defensive team jumps across the line of scrimmage before the ball is snapped, or if he makes contact with an offensive player. This is sometimes called encroachment or a neutral zone infraction. The offense gains five yards on this penalty.

A false start occurs when a member of the offensive line moves after getting in his set position, but before the ball is snapped. This penalty is in place so that the offensive linemen can't trick the defense into jumping offsides. The offense loses five yards on this penalty.

Holding is a tough penalty to explain. Basically, if you are blocking a player, you basically have to block him face-to-face. If he's going to get past you, and you grab his jersey or something like that, it is called holding. If the penalty is called on the offense, the offense loses ten yards. If it is called on the defense, the offense gains five yards and is automatically awarded a first down

Pass intereference occurs when a defensive player hits a receiver before the ball gets to him. Once the ball is in the general vicinity of the receiver, he is fair game. Also, if the contact is ruled as incidental (basically, unintentional, like if two guys running down the field get their feet caught up) it is not a penalty. If the penalty is called, the ball is placed on the spot of the foul, and the offense is awarded a first down. This penalty can also be called on the offense, if the receiver pushes the defender away from him to make the catch. This is a ten-yard penalty against the offense.

Unsportsmanlike conduct is called whenever the referee decides a player makes a dirty play, cheap shot, etc. This is a 15-yard penalty.

Delay of game occurs if the offense does not start a play within 40 seconds of the end of the previous play, or within 25 seconds of getting back on the field after a timeout.

Intentional grounding occurs when a quarterback is about to get sacked, and he just throws the ball away to no one to avoid the loss of yardage.

There are a few others, but those are the ones that are called most commonly.

If I think of anything more, I'll post again...

Tyler Durden

I've still got your tips from JVN, thanks TD. I'll add these to it. Roll on me actually quite enjoying this.

__________________
A throne is just a bench wrapped in velvet

Miakal

For me it's Superbowl tradition to get super piss drunk, miss 3/4 of the game, and call up my father and tell him he's a cockblocker.

That said, if you don't root for the Steelers you are Kim Jong Il.

Dakstang

I haven't watched a football game all year. But I always watch the Super Bowl. I am rooting for Pittsburgh for no other reason than they are closer to where I live.

__________________

There'll be no sorrow there, no more burdens to bear,
No more sickness, no more pain, no more parting over there;
And forever I will be with the One who died for me,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

Miakal

I'm rooting for the Steelers because Bill Cowher is by far the most loyal coach in the NFL today.

It seems like it would be a shame if he didn't have his time to shine this Sunday.

Dr. Giganto

Not only is he a loyal coach, but the Steelers owners are loyal as well. When the Steelers went 5-11 or 6-12 a few years ago, the owener didnt rush out to find a new coach. He trusted Cowher to turn the team around and that's what he did.

What's also cool is the fact that the Steelers have only had 2 head coaches in the last like 40 years. Before Cowher, Chuck Knox was the coach for like 25 years.