McCarthy confident of a Green day in Dallas
Two of the NFL’s most storied franchises will contest Super Bowl XLV just outside Dallas — and it looks like both teams have brought the weather down to North Texas with them.
Arlington, the home of the Dallas Cowboys’ $1.3 billion (€950 million) stadium, has been unexpectedly hit with eight inches of snow — eight inches more than they’re accustomed to — meaning that the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Packers will face off underneath a closed retractable roof for the hotly anticipated showdown.
And McCarthy is relishing the opportunity to bring success back to the three-time winners from Wisconsin.
“Every coach that’s ever had the opportunity to step on the playing field, or even on the practice field is aware of coach Lombardi’s presence and the importance and the impact that he’s made on the coaching profession,” said McCarthy.
“When you talk about excellence and discipline, work ethic, he was the one that really brought all that to the forefront. He’s such a big part of the history and tradition of the Green Bay Packers, something that we celebrate all the time as an organisation, something that’s being celebrated right now on Broadway, and we take a tremendous pride and focus on bringing that trophy back where it belongs.”
Officially, Green Bay are slight favourites in a contest that is truly too tight to call, although a lot of money has been placed on the requirement of overtime. However, six-time champions Pittsburgh will be playing their third Super Bowl in six years, having won the other two, while the Packers have not played on the biggest stage since 1997.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was instrumental in those two victories and can now secure a third ring in spite of a controversial 12-month period which saw him miss the first four games of the season due to sexual assault accusations last spring.
Roethlisberger has also had a brush with the media this week having been pictured partying into the small hours at a Dallas piano bar with his team-mates on a night off last Tuesday. But his coach Mike Tomlin led the way in downplaying the incident.
“I am not concerned about that one iota,” Tomlin said. “It’s normal for guys to eat dinner, believe it or not, every now and then during the course of the week leading up to a game. So, this week is no different than any other.”
The second-seeded Pittsburgh secured the AFC Championship two weeks ago courtesy of a victory over the New York Jets while the Packers, who have three Super Bowls to their name including the first two, have been forced to do it the hard way, their wild card status forcing them to travel to Philadelphia, Atlanta and Chicago in the post season on their way to the NFC Championship.
Extra flights have had to be put in place for fans travelling to Dallas after 300 inbound trips had to be cancelled at Fort Worth International Airport yesterday as local officials proved inept at dealing with the freak conditions.
The chill factor reflected the ongoing stand-off between players and club owners which has dominated the build-up to tomorrow’s clash ahead of next month’s deadline for a new agreement between the two groups.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday reiterated his pledge to reduce his salary to $1 should fans be deprived of football next season and said he wanted the owners and players’ union to reach a new collective bargaining agreement “in the next few weeks”.
“I don’t want to (take a pay cut), my wife doesn’t me to, but this is about collective sacrifice and we need to work hard to avoid a bad outcome,” said Goodell, who is due to meet union officials today.
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