Super Bowl XLIII will be the forty-third edition of the Super Bowl, an American football game that will feature the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers (14-4) and the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals (12-7) to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2008 season. Of historical note is that this game matches up two franchises that were merged into a single team (i.e., “Card-Pitt”) for the 1944 season, in response to the depleted rosters during World War II. Pittsburgh will be 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 are seeking their first league title since 1947 and only the second undisputed league championship in their history.
The Cardinals will be the designated “home team”, as is the case for all NFC champions in odd numbered Super Bowls. The game is scheduled to be played on February 1, 2009, with kickoff at 6:20 PM Eastern Time, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Super Bowl XLIII will be the second Super Bowl at this venue and the fourth overall in that city.
Now for some Super Bowl Trivia…
Q. What player has been to the Superbowl more often than anyone else?
A. Mike Lodish (four times with Buffalo, two with Denver).
Q. Which team has been to the Superbowl the most often?
A. Three way tie, Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers.
Q. Which football teams have the most Superbowl wins?
A. Dallas and the San Francisco 49s, five wins each.
Q. What player holds the record for most rushing yards in a single Super Bowl?
A. In Super Bowl XXII, rookie running back Timmy Smith rushed for a Super Bowl record 204 yards, leading the Redskins to victory and breaking the previous mark of 191 yards set by Marcus Allen of the Raiders in Super Bowl XVII. Smith also scored twice on runs of 58 and 4 yards.
Q. Who was the MVP of the first Super Bowl?
A. Bart Starr was MVP of the first two Super Bowls, regular season MVP in 1966, NFL Man of the Year, Professional Player of the Decade, and the first winner of the Byron White Award. Starr led the Green Bay Packers to 5 NFL titles and 2 Super Bowl wins. He later served as head coach of the Packers (1975-83).