Super Bowl XLV preview

The Super Bowl has often been dubbed the greatest show on earth and it’s easy to understand why when you look ahead to the upcoming showdown between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers.

For starters, Super Bowl XLV (45) will be bigger and brasher than ever before when the action kicks off at Dallas Cowboys Stadium on Sunday February 6.

More than 100,000 fans will be in attendance for the highlight of the American football calendar and they will be spoiled by breathtaking replays on the world’s largest high definition television screen.

That is just one of the perks on offer in the state-of-the-art stadium which also serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys. The HD screen measures 160 feet wide and 72 feet high. When the stadium played host to the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, the television screen was larger than the basketball court beneath it.

On the field, two of the most storied and successful teams in NFL history will battle for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The Green Bay Packers are one of the oldest teams in NFL history having been formed in 1921 and they lead the all-time rankings with 12 league championships. The Pittsburgh Steelers have also enjoyed huge success and have won an NFL-high six Super Bowls.

The Packers, who went 11-5 in the regular season, will be led by the hottest quarterback in the NFL in Aaron Rodgers. During the 2010 season, Rodgers established himself as one of the elite passers in the league, throwing for 3,922 yards and 28 touchdowns. He recorded a quarterback passer rating of 101.2, which for the uninitiated among you is excellent.

With the pressure being cranked up a notch or two in the playoffs, Rodgers was excellent in guiding the Packers to tough away wins over the Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons and Chicago Bears. He compiled a passer rating of 109.1 while throwing for 790 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions.

“We’ve talked about getting to Dallas all season long,” Rodgers admits. “This is the dream of all 32 teams at the start of the year and we’re one of two still standing. It is an incredible feeling.”

The Packers lost some key performers to injury this season, including star running back Ryan Grant and tight end Jermichael Finley, yet they remain one of the most talent-laden teams in the league.

Rodgers has some outstanding targets at his disposal in wide receivers Greg Jennings and Donald Driver and the defence has some dominant playmakers who can take over a game in the form of outside linebacker Clay Matthews and cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams.

Safety Nick Collins adds: “We came into this season with the mindset that we could go all the way and everybody buying into that belief has really paid off.”

Despite their six Super Bowl wins, the Steelers enter the big game as slight underdogs. That is a position that pleases some of their key players.

Defensive end Chris Hoke says: “I think we’re at our best when we’re underdogs. People were talking at the start of the season about how we were going to go 6-10 or 7-9.

“I think when our backs are against the wall and when you tell us we can’t do something, that’s when we fight and we’re at our best.”

Leading the supposed Super Bowl underdogs is two-time winner of the NFL title game, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. At 6-foot-5 and 18 stones, Big Ben is one of the toughest passers in the NFL and is virtually impossible to bring down single-handed.

Like his counterpart on the opposite sideline, Roethlisberger is surrounded by talented performers and is at his very best when the pressure mounts and the big games are on the line. He can hand to a bulldozing running back in Rashard Mendenhall or fire accurate and powerful strikes downfield to receivers such as Mike Wallace, Hines Ward and the emerging rookie duo of Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown.

Defensively, the Steelers are as tough as nails. They boast the NFL’s most aggressive and dominant linebacking unit, led by the outside pairing of James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley, and they feature one of the hardest-hitting safeties in the league in Troy Polamalu – the man whose infamous dreadlocked hair is insured for more than $1 million.

There is really nothing to choose between these two hugely-successful teams and a season of twists and turns is sure to end in similar high drama in Texas in front of one of the biggest crowds in recent Super Bowl history.

And there will be the usual assortment of Americana, glitz and glamour on display. Christina Aguilera will perform the American national anthem, while the Black Eyed Peas will entertain a worldwide audience of more than 900 million viewers during the half-time show.

As you would expect with the game being in Texas, the greatest show on earth just got a little bit bigger.

Now it’s up to the Packers and Steelers to provide the excitement and they will not disappoint.

Super Bowl XLV can be seen on BBC 1 from 11pm on Sunday February and also on Sky Sports 1 from 10pm. You can listen to coverage of the big game on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra. For more information, visit www.nfluk.com