Wednesday, January 26, 2011

45 Stops to Super Bowl XLV: #31-#35


The "45 Stops to Super Bowl XLV" is a series that will feature stories, stats and interesting trivia that you can use to act smart as you prepare for Super Bowl XLV. I've done this on SPORTZASSASSIN.COM for Super Bowls XL, XLI, XLIII, XLIV and for AOL's FanHouse for Super Bowl XLII.

#31-JUST ANOTHER NFC TEAM: There are only 16 teams in the NFC. Yet, the conference has produced 10 different NFC champions in the last 10 years.

The Packers join the Saints, Cardinals, Giants, Bears, Seahawks, Eagles, Panthers, Buccaneers and Rams as NFC champs in the last decade. In that time, only the Vikings, Lions, Redskins, Falcons, Niners and Cowboys haven't been to the big show. That's a bit odd since in the span from 1987-1995, the Cowboys, Redskins and Niners went to and won 8 of the 9 Super Bowls.

#32-THE CHAMPION'S CHAMPIONS: No one has won more Super Bowls than the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their 6 Super Bowl titles thus far bests the Cowboys and Niners by one.

But they still only have half the titles that Green Bay has. The Packers have won 12 NFL Championships in their history, with 9 of them coming in the pre-Super Bowl era. If you count just the last 50 years of NFL play, both franchises have six NFL titles.

#33-WIN A FREE PIZZA!: If Super Bowl XLV goes into overtime ... which would be a first in the game's history ... then everyone in America could win a free Papa John's pizza. Just go to papajohns.com and register for an online customer loyalty program. If the game goes into OT, Papa John's will add 25 "Papa points" to your account. That's the exact amount of points needed to cash in for a free large, three-topping pizza.

#34-ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Packers became just the fourth team to win three road games en route to a Super Bowl. Green Bay won in Philadelphia, in Atlanta and in Chicago (the NFC's No. 3, 1 and 2 seeds, respectively).

The only other teams to do so were the 1985 New England Patriots, the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers and the 2007 New York Giants. Only the '85 Patriots lost in the Super Bowl.

#35-SIXTH SEEDED: The Green Bay Packers became just the second 6th-seeded team to make the Super Bowl. The other? The 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers. Those Steelers would beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.

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