Lets be honest, many in the media will for the next week and a half, openly drool about the Pittsburgh Steelers. Whether its the unbelievable accomplishment of going 3-1 without its 2-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to the fact that its defense wants to be ranked with the Steeler defenses of the past. But what people will forget is that Super Bowl XLV actually has another team, the Green Bay Packers.
The Packers will likely assume the role as the underdog in this game, not just on paper but based on story lines. The fact that Ben Roethlisberger missed the first 4 weeks of the season due to a suspension. Or the fact that they overcame the much more tough and much more impressive AFC, and likely a juicier story, what will happen with defensive coordinator Dick LaBeau following the Super Bowl? So we can see that it is likely that many at the big networks, especially ESPN will be drooling on themselves over the numerous storylines of the Steelers.
In my opinion this will play right into the Packers and especially head coach Mike McCarthy’s hands, as well as their quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ hands. When McCarthy was picked to replace Mike Sherman as head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 2006, many, including myself had no idea who he was. Being the underdog fit him and with the Packers in his second season he led the Packers to the NFC Championship game out of seemingly no where, only for Brett Favre to throw his customary untimely overtime interception to spoil their shot at the Super Bowl.
Now enter Aaron Rodgers, who in the 2005 NFL draft became America’s sob story when he was picked by the Packers with the 24th pick in the first round. The problem was that Rodgers was projected to go first overall or at least in the top five, and the fact that he came to New York and waited in the ‘green room’ with other projected top ten picks to be drafted just contributed to the commotion. While Rodgers waited alone with his family in that room for hours just waiting for someone to take him, America watched. Oh and by the way, Rodgers replaced Brett Favre.
So with all this being said about the countless story lines for the Super Bowl, and how the media will probably cover Pittsburgh much more than Green Bay, we should be reminded that there have been countless David’s who have beaten their heavily favored Goliath’s.
