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Storybook Showdown

Every Super Bowl is special, but some are more special than others. This year, the Green Bay Packers
square off against the Pittsburgh Steelers in one of the most historic matchups in NFL history. The Packers
have won a record twelve championships and will be competing for a trophy that is named after their for‐
mer head coach (Vince Lombardi). The Steelers, on the other hand, have the best winning percentage in
the modern era, have won a record six Super Bowls, and will have a chance to win number seven this
weekend. The stage is set for a great game. Here’s everything you need to know about this storybook
showdown.
Green Bay Packers
Original 1919 team The Green Bay Packers are the most storied
(Earl Lambeau center holding ball) franchise in the NFL. The team was founded by
Earl "Curly" Lambeau in 1919. Lambeau per‐
suaded his employer, the Indian Packing Com‐
pany, to give him $500 to purchase uniforms
for the team, in exchange for naming rights to
the team. Thus, the Green Bay Packers were
born. Lambeau was part of a generation of
player‐coaches; in addition to coaching, Lam‐
beau played as halfback from 1919 to 1929. He
pioneered the forward passing game and was
the first coach to implement a daily practice
regimen. Lambeau quickly assembled a crew of future hall‐of‐
Don Huston famers, designed the league's stingiest defense, and ultimately
led the franchise to 6 world championships. During this stretch,
the Packers had an undefeated season (12‐0‐1 in 1929), drafted
the league's most explosive offensive player (wide receiver Don
Huston), and established the league's most enduring home‐
field advantage by winning 30 consecutive home games–a
record that still stands to this day. Lambeau retired in 1949 and
was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1963. In 1965, the Packers
renamed their stadium "Lambeau Field."

By 1959, the Packers' greatness had faded. The team had suc‐
cumbed to 12 straight losing seasons. This losing streak
prompted the hiring of New York Giants assistant coach Vince
Lombardi. Lombardi instantly turned the Packers around, insti‐
tuting a brutal training regimen, developing modern run block‐
ing schemes, and motivating his team with memorable
speeches. By 1967, Lombardi would lead the Packers to 5 more
championships, including the first 2 Super Bowls. Lombardi is
generally considered to be the most successful head coach of
Vince Lombardi
all time. He had a regular season winning percentage of .738
(96‐34‐6), a postseason record of 9‐1, and won 7 division titles in addition to his 5 championships in just
10 seasons. In 1970, following Lombardi's sudden death from cancer, the trophy given to the Super Bowl
winner each year was renamed the "Vince Lombardi Trophy."

Unfortunately, it would be more than 25 years before the Packers

Brett Favre
would reclaim the trophy named after their legendary coach. In
1992, looking to shake things up, the Packers hired 49ers offensive
coordinator Mike Holmgren as head coach of the Packers. One of
Holmgren's first moves was to trade for a young backup quarterback
named Brett Favre. When starting quarterback Don Majkowski left
a game against the Bengals with an injury, Favre stepped in and led
the Packers to their first victory of the season. The next game, Favre
started for the Packers and began an amazing streak of 297 consec‐
utive starts at quarterback, including every single regular and post‐
season game for the Packers through the end of the 2007 season.
During this streak, Favre would win 3 MVPs, break nearly every single passing record, and lead the Packers
to 2 Super Bowls, beating the Patriots in 1996, but losing to the Broncos in 1997.

By 2006, rumors of Favre's retirement dominated local

Favre & Rodgers
airwaves. Favre returned to complete the 2007 season,
but announced his retirement in the 2008 offseason, only
to soon recant and admit he still wanted to play in the
NFL. The Packers responded by confirming their commit‐
ment to Favre's young replacement, Aaron Rodgers.
Eventually, the Packers granted Favre a release after a bit‐
ter public relations war. Favre would go on to play two
more seasons with the Jets and Vikings. The Packers, in
turn, would begin the Aaron Rodgers era.

If being a young, untested quarterback in the NFL wasn't hard enough, Rodgers had the dubious distinction
of being perceived as the man responsible for forcing the franchise's most legendary player out of town.
Under heavy pressure to perform, Rodgers quickly began building his own legacy. Rodgers has the highest
career passer rating (98.4) and the lowest interception percentage (1.99%) in NFL history. He is also the
only NFL player to throw for at least 4,000 yards in each of his first 2 seasons. At 27 years old, Rodgers is
making his first Super Bowl appearance–13 years after Brett Favre made his first Super Bowl appearance,
at the age of 27.

Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers were founded in 1933 by Art Rooney, and
Art Rooney
have remained in the Rooney family ever since. Today, the Steelers
are owned by Art's son Dan. Art's grandson Art Rooney II is in
charge of day‐to‐day operations.

Since 1970, the Steelers have been the most successful and most
celebrated franchise in the NFL. However, prior to 1970, the Steel‐
ers were among the most forgettable franchises in the league.
They started life as the Pittsburgh Pirates, taking their name from
the local professional baseball team, as was common practice at the time. After nearly a decade of losing
seasons, the Pirates renamed themselves to the Steelers in 1940. During the 1940s, the Steelers experi‐
enced player shortages (due to World War II). As a result, the Steelers were forced to merge with other
diminished squads. In 1943, the Steelers merged with the Philadelphia Eagles, and were known as the
"Steagles." In 1944, they merged with the Chicago Cardi‐
nals, and were referred to mockingly as the "Carpets," in
reference to their winless 0‐10 record. By 1945, they were
back to a full squad, but would manage to make the play‐
offs only one time in the next 25 years. In 1947, they were
blown out 21‐0 in what would be the Steelers' first and
only playoff game until 1972. 1943 Steagles

In 1969, the Steelers orchestrated one of the most dramatic and enduring franchise turnarounds in sports
history, beginning with the hiring of head coach Chuck Noll. Noll had a remarkable talent for spotting fu‐
 ture NFL stars, and would go on to draft nine future Hall of Famers over
the next five seasons. In 1969, he drafted "Mean" Joe Greene. In 1970,
he acquired Terry Bradshaw and Mel Blount. In 1971, he picked up Jack
Harn, and in 1972, he added Franco Harris. Noll's most remarkable feat
was selecting four Hall of Famers in the 1974 draft (Lynn Swann, Jack
Lambert, John Stallworth, and MIke Webster). No other team has ever
picked up even three Hall of Famers in the same draft, let alone four.

It didn't take long for Noll's draft day wizardry to pay dividends on the
playing field. In 1972, the Steelers won their division and made the
Terry Bradshaw & Chuck Noll
playoffs for the first time since 1947. The Steelers would go on to win
their division in each of the next 8 years, winning 4 Super Bowls over 1978 Defense
a 6‐year period (1974‐1979).

By 1980, the core of the Steelers’ legendary defense began to succumb

to injury and retirement. The Steelers would remain competitive
throughout the 80s, but failed to advance beyond the divisional round
of the playoffs until the mid 90s. In 1992, Chuck Noll retired with 9 di‐
vision titles, 4 Super Bowl rings, and 16 playoff victories.

In the same year, Chuck Noll was succeeded by Kansas City Chiefs
defensive coordinator Bill Cowher. Cowher instantly revitalized the
team, leading the Steelers to playoff appearances in all of his first
six seasons. Cowher led the Steelers to the Super Bowl in 1995,
but they were defeated by the Dallas Cowboys (the first and only
Super Bowl loss in Steelers history). In 2005, Cowher led the Steel‐
ers back to the Super Bowl, beating the Seahawks to win a record‐
tying fifth Super Bowl championship. In 2006, Cowher resigned as
head coach of the Steelers to spend more time with his family.
Bill Cowher & Ben Roethlisberger
In 2007, the Steelers hired Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin to take over for Cowher. Tomlin did‐
n't skip a beat, maintaining the same aggressive defense and effi‐
cient offense that had made the Steelers so feared under Noll and
Cowher. He was awarded the NFL Coach of the Year in 2008, after
Super Bowl XLIII
leading the Steelers back to Super Bowl glory in a dramatic victory
against the Arizona Cardinals. The 2008 Super Bowl victory
marked the second time in NFL history that 3 consecutive coaches
from the same NFL team had each won a Super Bowl (Noll,
Cowher, and Tomlin), the previous team being the Dallas Cowboys
(Landry, Johnson, and Switzer). The 2008 championship also made
the Pittsburgh Steelers the first ever team to record six Super Bowl
championships.

The Steelers are known as much for their fans as they are for their teams. Steeler Fans
“Steeler Nation” is commonly regarded as the most loyal and geographically di‐
verse fan base in the NFL–a result of their dominance throughout the 70s and
also the ensuing collapse of the steel industry in the 1980s, which scattered Steel‐
ers fans throughout the country in search of better jobs.