SUPER BOWL XLV:SUPER BOWL XLV was always going to be big – having Texas as a host makes sure of that – but fans could hardly of dreamt up a better match-up than the Pittsburgh Steelers versus the Green Bay Packers.

Two of the most storied franchises in the NFL bring long histories of success to Cowboys Stadium, with the Steelers able to boast the most Super Bowl titles in league history and the Packers the most championships.

The Packers bring momentum and, if either team has it, the favourites tag, while the Steelers bring the experience of having won two Super Bowls in the last five years.

The Super Bowl trophy may be named after the Packers’ legendary coach Vince Lombardi, but his former team has only lifted it once since 1968, back in 1996.

For all his greatness, one Super Bowl ring was all Brett Favre could muster. Now his successor at quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, can lead the team back to glory.

The unassuming Californian has led a powerful offence this season, showing exactly why the Packers were happy to cut ties with Favre three years ago and hand things over to him.

“He’s definitely the quarterback we all hoped he would become,” said head coach Mike McCarthy. “He’s playing the best football of his career at this point, and that’s what you want, especially at this time of year.”

Ironically, when Rodgers was drafted 24th overall back in 2005, McCarthy had been offensive co-ordinator at the San Francisco 49ers, and part of the decision to choose quarterback Alex Smith first overall.

While Smith has struggled, Rodgers has blossomed, but McCarthy gets the benefit anyway. “Things happen for a reason,” McCarthy added.

The knock on Rodgers, until now, was that he could not win in the post-season, but he has been superb this season, thriving under the pressure as the Packers were put in a win-or-go-home situation even before the play-offs began as they had to scrap just to get into post-season play.

“We have 16 quarters in this whole play-off deal. We have 12 down and four more to go,” linebacker Clay Matthews said. “That’s how we’ve been taking it. That’s kind of been our theme through each and every week of the play-offs.

“We’ve been playing in a play-off-like atmosphere, a win-or-go-home mentality for five weeks. We have a very good opportunity in front of us. Four more quarters and the season is over, win or lose. So, we’re going to go out there swinging and give it our best shot.”

But the Packers could hardly have tougher opponents than the Steelers, who are on the verge of dynasty status.

Rodgers will have to contend with what is regarded as the best defence in the NFL, and a team littered with players who already have one if not two Super Bowl rings, and who want another one.

Indeed, there is a sense that, for all the Packers have been a feel-good story with their late surge, they could face a reality check against the powerhouse the Steelers have become.

That stingy defence is matched by a powerful offence that has only improved since quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 503 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-36 win over the Packers last season.

But Roethlisberger, for all he is a key part of the Steelers’ strength, is also a question mark. The burly Ohioan, who already has two Super Bowl rings at the young age of 28, also has plenty of baggage.

He missed the first four games of this season due to an NFL-imposed suspension that followed allegations of sexual assault – the second set of allegations he had faced in the space of a year.

He seemed to put that largely behind him, but even this week he has found an unwanted spotlight again after being filmed drunkenly singing along to an Elton John song at a bar in Fort Worth.

The off-field issues are perhaps in keeping with a playing style that is not always pretty, but usually works. The Steelers, and their fans, will stick with him while he keeps delivering.

“The guy wins,” Steelers nose tackle Chris Hoke said. “It doesn’t matter what he does. It doesn’t matter if his stats are low. He always makes that key drive. He always makes that key play. He’s always doing whatever he needs to do to win the game.”

Meanwhile, though Lombardi famously said “battles are primarily won in the hearts of men”, for a quarter of Americans watching the Super Bowl adverts mean more than the game.

A poll of 1,018 adults by Marist showed 26 per cent of American viewers are tuning in primarily for the commercials.

“The adverts are now a huge part of the day itself that has already grown bigger than anyone could imagine,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “It’s a national gathering now and for some the new adverts are part of the attraction, with pre- and post-show analysis much like the game itself.”

With an audience in excess of 100 million in the US alone, it’s the biggest day in the calendar for US TV advertisers. A 30-second slot is estimated to cost up to a record €2.2 million this year.