Super Bowl 2006

Following an owners’ meeting that was held in Honolulu on November 1, 2000, Super Bowl XL was awarded to Detroit, Michigan. The stadium was not officially opened until 2002.

Super Bowl XL was played between the AFC’s Pittsburgh Steelers and NFC’s Seattle Seahawks on February 5, 2006, at the Ford Field Stadium, Detroit, to decide which team would be crowned champions of the 2005 football season.

Securing a win of 21-10, the Steelers joined the ranks of the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys as the only teams to win five Super Bowl titles.

Notable for:

• The 40th Super Bowl was marked by the strapline “The Road to Forty,” which was also a nod to the host’s history in the automobile industry.
• Super Bowl XL was the first Super Bowl to be played on FieldTurf; all previous games have been placed on either AstroTurf or natural grass.
• Super Bowl XL was surrounded by controversy over the officiating and NFL Films later ranked one of the officiator’s decisions within the top ten most questionable calls of all time.

The Pittsburgh Steelers took advantage of two major plays to score touchdowns and, by the third quarter, had established a 14-3 lead. Willie Parker had contributed to this with a record-breaking 75-yard run to score a touchdown. Parker was not the only record player on the field that day. Kelly Herndon also set a new record with a 76-yard interception return, which set up a touchdown for the Seahawks, taking the score to 14-10. However, any hopes of gaining further ground on the Steelers were dashed when Antwaan Randle El launched a 43-yard pass to Hines Ward for a touchdown.
Hines Ward was named MVP. During the game, he had caught five passes, covering 123 yards and scored a touchdown.