Watching the Super Bowl has been an American tradition for the last 45 years.

    Over 100,000 people were in attendance of this year’s Super Bowl, and another 111 million watched from their homes. This became the most watched event in U.S. history, and the second most watched event in the world, behind the UEFA Champions League final. 
    The Pittsburg Steelers and the Green Bay Packers fought it out to the last seconds at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas for the 45^th Super Bowl. The Packers were victorious in a 31-25 effort, bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to Title Town, USA for the fourth time in their history. The last came in 1997 when the fan-forgotten Brett Favre led the Packers.

    Aaron Rodgers was named the Super Bowl MVP after throwing for 304 yards and three touchdowns, becoming the second Packers quarterback to receive the award. This stat helps him break more of the Brett Favre bonds by receiving the Super Bowl MVP, something Favre couldn’t accomplish in his career.
    The road to Cowboys Stadium was extremely tough for the champion Packers.

After losing 15 players to the injured reserve throughout the season and having to win their last three games against divisional rivals, the Packers were able to make the playoffs.                                                                                                                        After being named the sixth seed in the NFC, they had to play all of their playoff games on the road against the top three seeds, including the Michael Vick-led Philadelphia Eagles, the NFC South champion Atlanta Falcons, and their division rival and champion Chicago Bears. They beat these teams by a combined 39 points, including a 27-point blow out against the number-one seeded Falcons.

    The Steelers’ path was difficult but not nearly as rough as the Packers, while they were looking for their NFL leading seventh title. The team was without their two-time Super Bowl champion Ben Roethlisberger for the first four games of the season because of a violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy, but ended up winning three of the four games. They were able to finish the season with a 12-4 record and were awarded the number two seed in the AFC giving them a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

    The Steelers beat their division rival Baltimore Ravens by seven points after coming back from a 21-7 deficit in the second half. Then they were able to beat the Cinderella story New York Jets by five, who were fresh off wins against Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, and were looking to beat the next best quarterback in the AFC. The Steelers won their games by a combined 12 points, but relied on their defense as usual, especially the AP defensive player of the year Troy Polamalu.

    Super Bowl XLIV was exciting as any in the past. It wasn’t a blow out or a field goal dominated game, but a shoot out that lasted until the final seconds of the game. The only thing missing was a miraculous last second touchdown pass by Ben Roethlisberger, repeating the Steelers win in Super Bowl XLIII.

    But this season is owned by the Green Bay Packers. They are one of the most historic teams in the NFL, winning the first two Super Bowls, and with Aaron Rodgers behind the center they are set to become one of the greatest teams of all time.