Going to the Super Bowl

Going to the Super Bowl

An Amazing Touchdown The Arizona Cardinals are down 10-7, with only eighteen seconds left in the first half. But they have the ball on the Pittsburgh Steelers' one-yard line. All-star quarterback Kurt Warner takes the snap. He fades back and throws to his receiver in the end zone. It appears to be an easy touchdown. Wait! Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison snatches the ball out of the air. He sprints down the sideline. He sidesteps some tacklers and breaks away from others. He crosses the 50-yard line. He's at the 40, 30, 20, 10 . . . touchdown!

What an unbelievable play! A 100-yard interception return for a touchdown. The 75, 000 fans in the stadium in Tampa, Florida, go crazy. What's more, 100 million Americans-one-third of the country-have just witnessed football history.

Maybe you were one of those viewers on Sunday, February 1, 2009, watching Super Bowl 43. If so, you saw the longest-ever touchdown in a Super Bowl. You also saw one of the best-ever Super Bowls. The underdog Arizona team was down 17-7. They came back and went ahead 23-20 late in the fourth quarter. Then bam! Pittsburgh scored with only 35 seconds left on the clock. The Steelers won 27-23, setting the Super Bowl record for most wins by a team: six. Superstars, super plays, super teams, all in front of a supersized audience--these are what the Super Bowl is all about.

Super Fun The Super Bowl is the biggest football game of the year. But it is more than a sporting event. “ Super Bowl Sunday" is an unofficial national holiday. Friends and families get together to watch the game, root for their team, and have a good time. People throw all-day parties. In the host city where the game is played, the festivities may go on for a week. Fans often dress up in their team's jerseys. Some even paint their faces with the team's colors. And many people drive to the stadium on Super Sunday to attend tailgate parties--large outdoor barbecues held in parking lots.

The Super Bowl gives people across the country a good reason to celebrate. Football, after all, is an American game. It's also a way for the people who live in each team's home city and state to show their civic pride.