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On Sunday in Super Bowl LX, the New England Patriots have a chance to win their seventh Super Bowl. If they succeed, they will break the tie with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most Super Bowl wins ever. The Steelers won six Super Bowls before the Patriots did, however. One man responsible for that: USC football legend Troy Polamalu.
The Steeler dynasty of the 1970s brought home four Super Bowl wins. Pittsburgh was the first NFL franchise to win three, then four, Super Bowls, as the big game turned 14 years old in 1980. The tides shifted dramatically in the next decade and a half. By the end of Super Bowl XXX in 1996, the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers had won five Super Bowls each to tie for the NFL lead. The Steelers' Super Bowl championship drought stretched on -- 15 years, then 20, then 25.
Finally, in February of 2006, the Steelers got back to the big game. Troy Polamalu, one of the greatest NFL safeties ever, brought Pittsburgh into Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks. The Steelers clamped down on Seattle's high-powered offense and gave then-coach Bill Cowher the Super Bowl title which had eluded him for a long time. Cowher was there on the sidelines a decade earlier when the Steelers lost SB XXX to the Cowboys. Cowher's patience paid off, and Polamalu helped him cross the threshold.
The Steelers had won a fifth Super Bowl to tie Dallas and San Francisco. A few years later -- in 2009 -- Polamalu and the Steelers faced the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII with a chance to win number six. In one of the greatest fourth quarters in Super Bowl history, Pittsburgh and Arizona traded haymakers and leads before Santonio Holmes' toe-tap touchdown in the final seconds lifted the Steelers to a thrilling victory. Mike Tomlin, who recently stepped down as Steeler head coach, won his Lombardi Trophy in Pittsburgh.
Lynn Swann is the greatest and most successful USC football player to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. Swannie has a 4-0 record in Supes. Polamalu couldn't match that record, but he brought home two Lombardis to the Steel City and is responsible for Pittsburgh owning the most Super Bowl wins of all time. We will see if that shared lead continues for another season, or if the Patriots break that tie by winning number seven against the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC's Troy Polamalu helped Steelers make Super Bowl history
Continue reading...
The Steeler dynasty of the 1970s brought home four Super Bowl wins. Pittsburgh was the first NFL franchise to win three, then four, Super Bowls, as the big game turned 14 years old in 1980. The tides shifted dramatically in the next decade and a half. By the end of Super Bowl XXX in 1996, the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers had won five Super Bowls each to tie for the NFL lead. The Steelers' Super Bowl championship drought stretched on -- 15 years, then 20, then 25.
Finally, in February of 2006, the Steelers got back to the big game. Troy Polamalu, one of the greatest NFL safeties ever, brought Pittsburgh into Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks. The Steelers clamped down on Seattle's high-powered offense and gave then-coach Bill Cowher the Super Bowl title which had eluded him for a long time. Cowher was there on the sidelines a decade earlier when the Steelers lost SB XXX to the Cowboys. Cowher's patience paid off, and Polamalu helped him cross the threshold.
The Steelers had won a fifth Super Bowl to tie Dallas and San Francisco. A few years later -- in 2009 -- Polamalu and the Steelers faced the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII with a chance to win number six. In one of the greatest fourth quarters in Super Bowl history, Pittsburgh and Arizona traded haymakers and leads before Santonio Holmes' toe-tap touchdown in the final seconds lifted the Steelers to a thrilling victory. Mike Tomlin, who recently stepped down as Steeler head coach, won his Lombardi Trophy in Pittsburgh.
Lynn Swann is the greatest and most successful USC football player to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. Swannie has a 4-0 record in Supes. Polamalu couldn't match that record, but he brought home two Lombardis to the Steel City and is responsible for Pittsburgh owning the most Super Bowl wins of all time. We will see if that shared lead continues for another season, or if the Patriots break that tie by winning number seven against the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC's Troy Polamalu helped Steelers make Super Bowl history
Continue reading...
