title: Matteo Berrettini

text: Berrettini's improvement continued into the grass court season, winning his third singles title in Stuttgart over Félix Auger-Aliassime in the final. Berrettini's serve was not broken throughout the entire tournament, thereby making him only the fifth man since 1999 to win two tournaments without dropping serve (the other occasion coming at the 2018 Gstaad Open). The following week, Berrettini reached his first ATP 500 semifinal at the Halle Open where he was defeated by David Goffin. Following the tournament, the Italian broke into the top-20.


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: As the 17th seed at Wimbledon, Berrettini reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time after defeating Diego Schwartzman in five sets. He then lost to eight-time champion Roger Federer comprehensively in 74 minutes. After congratulating Federer for his win during their post-match handshake, Berrettini jokingly asked Federer, "Thanks for the tennis lesson, how much do I owe you?"


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: Berrettini withdrew from his next two events in Gstaad and Montreal, citing an ankle injury. He played a lead-up tournament in Cincinnati before competing in the US Open. There, despite his lack of preparation, Berettini reached his first Major quarterfinal after defeating Andrey Rublev in the fourth round. He then beat Gaël Monfils in a fifth set tiebreak to become the first Italian man to reach the US Open semifinals since 1977. Berrettini's run ended against eventual champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets, despite holding two set points in the opening-set tiebreak.


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: Pursuing an ATP Finals berth, Berrettini achieved his best Masters result yet at the Shanghai Masters by reaching the semifinals. Along the way Berrettini claimed his second career top-5 victory by beating Dominic Thiem in the quarterfinals. Another semifinal appearance at the Vienna Open saw Berrettini break into the top ten rankings. As world number 8, Berrettini claimed the final spot in the 2019 ATP Finals in London. There, he lost his opening two round robin matches to Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, before becoming the first Italian man to win a match at the event by defeating Dominic Thiem.


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: After withdrawing from the ATP Cup due to physical problems, at the Australian Open, Berrettini beat Andrew Harris before losing to Tennys Sandgren in the second round. After the tour shutdown and return due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he won the Ultimate Tennis Showdown. He lost in the third round to Reilly Opelka in Cincinnati.


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: At the US Open, he reached the fourth round without dropping a set. He then lost to Andrey Rublev in four sets in a rematch of the previous year's fourth round.


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: He reached the quarterfinals in Rome for the first time, losing to Casper Ruud. Berrettini reached the third round at the French Open. At the Paris Masters, he lost to Marcos Giron in the first round, citing physical pain. Despite his weak results, Berrettini finished in the top-10 for the second consecutive year (due to his 2019 ranking points being protected by the post COVID-19 ranking changes).


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: Berrettini's strong performance advanced Italy to the final of the 2021 ATP Cup against Russia, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev in straight sets. At the Australian Open, he reached the fourth round but withdrew from the tournament with abdominal pain. Berrettini remained out of competition until the clay season in April, where he won his first singles title in over a year at the Serbia Open over Aslan Karatsev. In May at the Madrid Open, he reached his first Masters 1000 final, which he lost to Alexander Zverev in three sets.


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: At the French Open, Berrettini became the first Italian man to reach the fourth round at each major. He reached his second career major quarterfinal when Roger Federer withdrew ahead of their fourth-round match. In the quarterfinals, he lost in four sets against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: On 20 June Berrettini won the biggest title of his career at the Queen's Club Championships, his first at the ATP 500 level. He became the first Italian in history to win this title, defeating three Britons en route (Andy Murray, Dan Evans, and Cameron Norrie).


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: At the Wimbledon Championships, Berrettini reached his second straight Major quarterfinal, then defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in four sets to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal, becoming the first Italian man in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon semifinals and the first since Nicola Pietrangeli in 1960. He advanced to his maiden major final after beating Hubert Hurkacz, becoming the first Italian to reach a Wimbledon singles final and the first Italian man to reach a major final since Adriano Panatta at the 1976 French Open. There, he lost to Novak Djokovic in four sets.


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: At the US Open, Berrettini reached the quarterfinals following wins over Ilya Ivashka and Oscar Otte. He then lost to Novak Djokovic in four sets, in a repeat of the Wimbledon final. At the ATP Finals, Berrettini was forced to withdraw with an abdominal injury during his first match with Alexander Zverev.


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: At the Australian Open, Berrettini reached the quarterfinals for the first time after defeating Brandon Nakashima, Stefan Kozlov, Carlos Alcaraz, and Pablo Carreño Busta en route. He became the first man born in the 1990s and the first Italian man to reach the quarterfinals at all four majors. By defeating Monfils in five sets, Berrettini then became the first Italian man to reach the singles semifinals at the tournament. There, he was stopped by eventual champion Nadal in four sets, but as a result of his run, he improved to a career-high ranking of world No. 6. Following a poor outing in Rio de Janeiro and an early retirement in Acapulco, he then traveled to Indian Wells, where he was dispatched in the fourth round by Miomir Kecmanović in three sets. Soon after, Berrettini announced that he had sustained an injury to his right hand that necessitated emergency surgery, forcing him to withdraw from Miami and the tour's clay swing, including the French Open, in order to fully recover.


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: Berrettini returned for the tour's grasscourt season at the Stuttgart Open in early June, and found his form by winning the title. He later confirmed his form, winning his second title at the Queen's Club Championships.


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: He withdrew from the 2022 Wimbledon Championships after testing positive for COVID-19. In July 2022, Berrettini entered the Swiss Open Gstaad final and lost in three sets against Casper Ruud. At the US Open, Berrettini defeated Andy Murray in the third round. He reached the quarterfinals after defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in five sets. In the quarterfinals, he lost to Casper Ruud in straight sets. At the 2022 Laver Cup, Berrettini was named an alternate for Team Europe, and replaced Roger Federer mid-tournament, after Federer played the final match of his career in doubles.


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: Berrettini is an aggressive all-court player known for his strong serve and forehand. His primary weapon is his forehand, known for its speed, spin and depth. At , he also possesses a strong serve, capable of reaching up to . His favorite surface is grass. In describing his build, American former tennis player Jim Courier compared Berrettini to a rugby player or a linebacker and described how that laid the foundation for his game style. Berrettini focuses on setting up quick points and hitting winners with aggressive play and putting pressure on his opponent. His transitional and net game are also integral parts of his game to finish off points, and he has been known to serve-and-volley. His aggressive game grounded in big serves and forehands have led to many to compare him to Fernando González and Juan Martín del Potro.


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: Despite having a weaker and less consistent backhand, Berrettini has developed a blocked return and deploys his developed backhand slice to neutralize aggression and keep the ball low. This slice allows him to set up aggressive forehands. He has good disguise on his dropshot on both wings, often following with an approach to the net.


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: Berrettini's weaknesses are his defensive game and consistency. He suffers most when put under pressure by opponents and is forced to defend on the run, especially when attacked on the backhand wing. Prior to 2019, Berrettini's inconsistency was also a major obstacle to his success, though it has shown signs of improvement since. However, drops in mental focus and his naturally aggressive game are responsible for his high number of unforced errors.


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: Born in Rome to Luca Berrettini and Claudia Bigo, Berrettini has a younger brother, Jacopo, who is also a tennis player. Berrettini is of partial Brazilian descent through his maternal grandmother Lucia Fogaça, a Brazilian born in Rio de Janeiro.


title: Matteo Berrettini

text: From 2019 to 2022, he was in a relationship with Croatian-born Australian tennis player Ajla Tomljanović.


title: Melissa McBride

text: Melissa Suzanne McBride (born May 23, 1965) is an American actress. Her breakout role was Carol Peletier on the AMC series "The Walking Dead" (2010–2022). She has garnered critical acclaim and received multiple awards and nominations for her role on the show. Originally cast in a minor role, McBride's role expanded over time to a main cast member and as of 2020, she is the second billed cast member in the opening credits of the show, and one of only two cast members to appear in every season (the other being Norman Reedus).


title: Melissa McBride

text: McBride was born in Lexington, Kentucky, to parents John Leslie McBride and Suzanne Lillian (née Sagley). Her father owned his own business, and her mother studied at the historic Pasadena Playhouse. She had three siblings: John Michael, Neil Allen, and Melanie Suzanne.


title: Melissa McBride

text: McBride began her acting career in 1991, appearing in several television commercials for clients such as Rooms To Go; she was also a spokeswoman for Ford. She made her series television debut in a 1993 episode of ABC legal drama series "Matlock", and later guest-starred in several other television drama series, including "In the Heat of the Night"; "American Gothic"; "Profiler"; "Walker, Texas Ranger"; and "Dawson's Creek". In the last, she played Nina – a film buff who charms Dawson after his breakup with Jen – in the Season 1 episode "Road Trip" (1998) – and in 2003 returned to the series finale playing a different character.


title: Melissa McBride

text: In the 1990s, McBride had supporting roles in several made-for-television movies, such as "Her Deadly Rival" (1995) opposite Annie Potts and Harry Hamlin, "Close to Danger" (1997) with Rob Estes, "Any Place But Home" (1997), and "Pirates of Silicon Valley" (1999). In 1996, she appeared on the CBS miniseries "A Season in Purgatory", based on Dominick Dunne's eponymous 1993 novel. From 2000 to 2010, she worked as a film and commercial casting director in Atlanta, Georgia and starred in several short films. In 2007, director Frank Darabont cast McBride as the "woman with the kids at home" in the ensemble-cast science-fiction horror film "The Mist", alongside Thomas Jane, Laurie Holden, and Marcia Gay Harden. McBride was in contention for a bigger role in the film but did not want to take a significant amount of time away from her job as a casting director. The following year, she appeared in the Lifetime television movie "Living Proof".


title: Melissa McBride

text: In 1996, McBride acted alongside both Martin Sheen and Ramon Estevez in the music video for country music group Diamond Rio's single "It's All In Your Head".


title: Melissa McBride

text: McBride was cast as Carol Peletier in the AMC television drama series "The Walking Dead" – her biggest role to date. Peletier begins as a mid-forties abused wife and caring mother to preteen Sophia, fighting to survive in a violent post-apocalyptic world populated with flesh-eating zombies and the few surviving humans, some of whom are diabolical and even more dangerous than the zombies themselves. McBride did not audition for the role, which she thought was temporary. She was a recurring cast member in Season 1 and was promoted to series regular for Season 2. McBride's name appeared in the opening credits sequence beginning with the first episode of Season 4. Carol was supposed to have been killed off in the episode "Killer Within", but the producers eventually had a change of plans.


title: Melissa McBride

text: As the series progresses, McBride's character develops from being weak and dependent, into a strong, cunning, and loyal warrior. The direction of her character is contrasted between the two media. In the comic series, Carol is much younger and exhibits a neurotic, self-centered, and naive demeanor. Throughout her time in the comics, she grows increasingly unstable to the point of being self-destructive. The television show differs in these regards, as she is shown to be a stern, pragmatic, and compassionate individual who has been gradually building inner strength. Producers of the series, Scott M. Gimple and Robert Kirkman, said in 2014 that "Carol is her own unique character; it would be a disservice to Melissa McBride to say she's evolved into the Carol from the comics. The Carol in the TV show is a wholly original creation that we'll continue to explore on the show to great effect. Everyone in the writers' room loves that character, and we're thrilled with what Melissa has brought to the table. She has definitely become a character that is one to watch, and there's some really exciting stuff ahead for her."


title: Melissa McBride

text: McBride has received critical acclaim for her performance as Carol and won positive reviews from critics during Seasons 3, 4, and 5. Many critics praised McBride's performance in the Season 4 episode centered on her character, "The Grove". Others singled out Carol's actions in the Season 5 premiere, "No Sanctuary", which earned critical praise and positive fan reception. Despite the praise of some critics and a fan campaign, McBride did not receive a nomination for the 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. However, she won the 40th Annual Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television, and was nominated for the 2014 Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in Season 4. In March 2015, McBride was nominated for a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Leading Actress in a Television series, for her role as Carol. She once again won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television at the 41st Saturn Awards, for the second year in a row.


title: Melissa McBride

text: McBride was set to reprise her role as Carol in a spin-off series centered on her and Daryl Dixon (played by Norman Reedus), following the conclusion of the 11th and final season of "The Walking Dead", which is set to debut in 2023. In April 2022, it was reported that McBride dropped out of the series which was relocated to Europe, with AMC citing that McBride's decision to drop out was because it was "logistically untenable" for her to film in Europe.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2005 season. The Steelers defeated the Seahawks by the score of 21–10. The game was played on February 5, 2006, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. It is currently the most recent Super Bowl broadcast on ABC (until Super Bowl LXI in 2027), and the first where all aspects of the game itself were aired in HD. This was the last of 10 straight Super Bowls to feature a team seeking its first win.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: With the win, the Steelers tied the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys with the then-record five Super Bowl victories (a record the Steelers themselves would break three years later). The Steelers' victory was their first Super Bowl victory since Super Bowl XIV. Pittsburgh, who finished the regular season with an 11–5 record, also became the fourth wild card team, the third in nine years, and the first ever number 6 seed in the NFL playoffs, to win a Super Bowl. The Seahawks, on the other hand, in their 30th season, were making their first ever Super Bowl appearance after posting an NFC-best 13–3 regular season record.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Pittsburgh capitalized on two big plays that were converted into touchdowns. The Steelers jumped to a 14–3 lead early in the third quarter with running back Willie Parker's Super Bowl record 75-yard touchdown run. Seahawks defensive back Kelly Herndon's then-Super Bowl record 76-yard interception return set up a Seattle touchdown to cut the lead 14–10. But Pittsburgh responded with Antwaan Randle El's 43-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward, the first time a wide receiver threw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl, to clinch the game in the fourth quarter. Ward, who caught 5 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 18 yards, was named Super Bowl MVP.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The officiating in Super Bowl XL was met with criticism from members of the media soon after the game, leading NFL Films to rank it as one of the top ten controversial calls of all time.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Ford Field was selected to host Super Bowl XL on November 1, 2000, at the owners meetings held in Atlanta, two years before the stadium opened in 2002; the only previous Super Bowl held in the Detroit area, Super Bowl XVI, had been played at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1982 (also between teams from the AFC North and NFC West divisions [the Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers, respectively], though the AFC North was called the Central at that time).


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The NFL promoted this Super Bowl under the slogan "The Road to Forty." The slogan not only honored the 40-year history of the game, but was a nod to Detroit's traditional role as the center of the U.S. automotive industry. In a related note, Roger Penske, owner of a car dealership, racing team, and other related companies, headed the Super Bowl XL host committee.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: This was the first Super Bowl to be played on the newer FieldTurf surface; each of the previous Super Bowls had been played either on natural grass or on the first-generation AstroTurf.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The Seahawks became the first team to have their full team name painted in their end zone for a Super Bowl, as their geographic location name (Seattle) was painted above the team nickname (Seahawks). In Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals became the second team to have their full team name painted in their end zone, as their geographic location name (Arizona) was painted above the team nickname (Cardinals). For all other Super Bowl teams, end zones have featured only the team nickname.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The Seahawks entered Super Bowl XL after finishing the regular season with an NFC-best 13–3 record. After a rocky 2–2 start, they won 11 consecutive games before losing to the Green Bay Packers to finish the season. The 13–3 record and 11-game winning streak set new team records.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: This was Seattle's first Super Bowl appearance in the team's 30-year history. The Seahawks had been mediocre for much of the 1990s, recording eight consecutive non-winning seasons from 1991 through 1998. The team hit a low point in 1996, when then-owner Ken Behring announced his intention to move the team to the Los Angeles area. The team's fortunes began to turn in 1997, when Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen bought the team and brokered a deal to build a new football stadium, Qwest Field (now Lumen Field), to replace the aging Kingdome. Mike Holmgren, who had led the Green Bay Packers to Super Bowls XXXI and XXXII, became head coach in 1999. He became the fifth coach to take two franchises to the Super Bowl. Joe Jurevicius became the sixth player to play in a Super Bowl with three teams.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Behind running back Shaun Alexander, Seattle finished the 2005 season as the league's top offense, scoring 452 points. Meanwhile, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 3,455 yards and 24 touchdowns (against just nine interceptions) and added 124 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Alexander, who had scored at least 16 touchdowns in each of the previous four seasons, had the best campaign of his career, leading the league with 1,880 rushing yards and scoring an NFL-record 28 touchdowns, for which he was rewarded with the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. Although the Seahawks suffered injuries to starting wide receivers Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram throughout the season, the passing game proved potent, as Engram managed 67 receptions for 778 yards. Joe Jurevicius, a backup when the season began, started eleven games and caught 55 passes for 694 yards and 10 touchdowns; tight end Jerramy Stevens also emerged as a Hasselbeck target, catching 45 passes for 554 yards and scoring five touchdowns. Hasselbeck was protected and Alexander was given time to run by a stout offensive line, led by Pro Bowl offensive tackle Walter Jones, guard Steve Hutchinson, and center Robbie Tobeck, and by bruising Pro Bowl fullback Mack Strong.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Though unheralded rookie middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu was the Seahawks' only defensive Pro Bowl selection, the Seahawks' defense recorded 50 quarterback sacks, leading the NFL in that category; defensive end Bryce Fisher led the Seahawks with nine sacks, while defensive tackle Rocky Bernard added 8.5 and veteran defensive end Grant Wistrom recorded four. Despite starting two rookies at linebacker for most of the year, the Seattle linebacking corps played well, led by Tatupu, who topped the team with 104 tackles and added four sacks, three interceptions, and one fumble recovery. From his strong safety position, Michael Boulware led the team with four interceptions and also tallied two sacks and one fumble recovery. The Seattle secondary suffered injuries throughout the year, notably to free safety Ken Hamlin; second-year cornerback Jordan Babineaux played well as he appeared in all sixteen games for Seattle, intercepting three passes and making 61 tackles. For the year, the defense surrendered just 271 points, 181 fewer than the Seahawks offense scored.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: After stumbling to a 7–5 start, the Steelers rebounded and entered Super Bowl XL finishing the regular season with an 11–5 record. (Although the team finished tied with the Cincinnati Bengals for the division lead, the Bengals won the tiebreaker for the AFC North championship based on better divisional record.) They also became the first team ever to defeat the top three seeded teams on the road in the playoffs (#3 Cincinnati, #1 Indianapolis and #2 Denver). In addition, the team became the first sixth-seeded team to reach both a conference championship game and the Super Bowl since the NFL expanded to a 12-team playoff format in 1990.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Under Bill Cowher's reign as head coach since 1992, the Steelers had been one of the top teams in the NFL, making the playoffs in 10 out of his 14 seasons, advancing to the AFC Championship Game six times, and making an appearance in Super Bowl XXX, losing to the Dallas Cowboys 27–17. After having finished the 2003 season with a 6–10 record and after splitting its first two games to open 2004, Pittsburgh lost starting quarterback Tommy Maddox to injury. Maddox was replaced by rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was drafted with the 11th pick in the 2004 NFL Draft but was not expected to play during his rookie season. Nevertheless, Roethlisberger led the Steelers to victory in all of the team's 14 remaining regular season games, giving Pittsburgh a 15–1 record and making the Steelers the first AFC team ever to win 15 games. However, the Steelers lost to eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Pittsburgh began the 2005 season by winning seven of its first nine games, but suffered a major setback when both Roethlisberger and his backup, Charlie Batch, went down with injuries. With Maddox back as the starter, the team was upset by Baltimore and dropped two more games after Roethlisberger's return, falling to then-undefeated Indianapolis, and division rival Cincinnati. The postseason hopes of the Steelers were in peril, but the team recovered to win its final four regular season games and to claim the sixth—and final—seed in the AFC playoffs.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Roethlisberger was efficient in his 12 regular season games, throwing for 2,385 yards and seventeen touchdowns with nine interceptions, while adding three rushing touchdowns. The Steelers' main receiving threat was wide receiver Hines Ward, who led the team with 69 receptions for 975 yards and eleven touchdowns. His 69 catches gave him a career total of 574, surpassing a franchise record for receptions previously held by Hall of Famer John Stallworth. On the other side of the field, speedy wide receiver Antwaan Randle El was a constant breakaway threat, catching 35 passes for 558 yards, while gaining 448 yards and two touchdowns on punt returns. Rookie tight end Heath Miller also recorded 39 receptions for 459 yards and six touchdowns.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Pittsburgh's main strength on offense, however, was its running game. Running back Willie Parker was the team's leading rusher with 1,202 yards, while also recording 18 catches for 218 yards and scoring five touchdowns. In short-yardage situations, the team relied on 255-pound running back Jerome Bettis, who rushed for 368 yards and scored nine touchdowns. The 33-year-old Bettis finished his 13th NFL season as the league's fifth all-time leading rusher (13,662 yards and 91 touchdowns), but until this point he had never played in a Super Bowl. The Steelers rushing attack was powered by an offensive line led by Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca and Pro Bowl reserve center Jeff Hartings.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The Steelers defense ranked fourth in the NFL, giving up 284.0 total yards per game. The Pittsburgh defense was led by its linebacking corps: Joey Porter, James Farrior, Clark Haggans, and Larry Foote. Porter led all NFL linebackers with 10.5 quarterback sacks and also recorded two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Haggans tallied nine sacks and 40 tackles, while Farrior added a team-high 119 tackles to go with his two sacks and one fumble recovery. In the secondary, free safety Chris Hope led the team with three interceptions, while Pro Bowl safety Troy Polamalu, the team's top threat in the defensive backfield, notched 91 tackles, three sacks, two fumble recoveries, and two interceptions.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The Steelers became just the third team to win the Super Bowl despite not playing a single home game in the playoffs. The Green Bay Packers, who won Super Bowl I (against the Kansas City Chiefs), and the Kansas City Chiefs, who won Super Bowl IV (against the Minnesota Vikings), also accomplished the feat. The Steelers, however, had to win four games to accomplish the feat, while the Chiefs won three and Packers won only two games.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Of a "bridging the eras" moment, Steelers cornerback Willie Williams was the last remaining player to have been on the Steelers last Super Bowl team, their Super Bowl XXX loss to the Dallas Cowboys following the 1995 season. (Defensive backs coach Darren Perry was also a player on the Super Bowl XXX team. Both were starters in that game.) Ironically, Williams, who was in his second stint with the Steelers at the time, played with Seattle from 1997 to 2003. He was inactive for Super Bowl XL, which, like Bettis, turned out to be his final NFL game before retiring that offseason.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The chart below provides a comparison of regular season statistics in key categories (overall rank amongst 32 teams in parentheses).


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The Seahawks became the first team to advance to the Super Bowl without playing a division champion in the playoffs (later matched by the Colts in 2009, Steelers in 2010, and the Seahawks again in 2013, with the 2013 Seahawks being the only one of the four to win the Super Bowl). Off a first-round bye, Seattle defeated the sixth-seeded Washington Redskins, 20–10, before eliminating the fifth-seeded Carolina Panthers, 34–14, in the NFC Championship Game. These were Seattle's first playoff victories since the 1984 season when they defeated the Los Angeles Raiders 13–7, when the team was still in the AFC (the Seahawks were in that conference from 1977 to 2001).


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The Steelers became the second team after the 1985 New England Patriots to win three road playoff games to reach the Super Bowl. Pittsburgh defeated the third-seeded Cincinnati Bengals, 31–17; the top-seeded Indianapolis Colts, 21–18 in the "Immaculate Redemption/Tackle II" game; and the second-seeded Denver Broncos, 34–17, in the AFC Championship Game. The Steelers also became the eighth wild-card team to go to the Super Bowl and the fourth in nine seasons. The Steelers' catchphrase for the playoffs was "One for the Thumb", a phrase originally made popular by Joe Greene as an allusion to a fifth Super Bowl ring.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The Steelers practiced at the Silverdome in Pontiac (site of Super Bowl XVI). Since the Silverdome featured Astroturf, a FieldTurf surface was temporarily installed at the venue specifically for these practices. After the Super Bowl the playing surface used for these practices was donated by the manufacturers of FieldTurf for use at Wisner Stadium, a public sports stadium in Pontiac.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: With the expiration of the television contracts among ABC, CBS, ESPN, and Fox following the 2005 season, Super Bowl XL ended up being ABC's final NFL broadcast as a regular NFL broadcaster. Following the game, "Monday Night Football" moved to corporate sibling ESPN under the new deal, which also saw ESPN/ABC being removed from the Super Bowl rotation. ABC would later simulcast all future ESPN-produced playoff games starting in January 2016, and select Monday Night games starting in 2020. ABC would be reinstated to the Super Bowl rotation in 2021, where they gained rights to two Super Bowls in 2027 and 2031.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Although the Super Bowl had largely been presented in high definition since Super Bowl XXXIV, Super Bowl XL was the first Super Bowl where all aspects of the game itself were aired in HD.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The telecast featured play-by-play announcer Al Michaels, color commentator John Madden, who was named the day before to the Class of 2006 by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and sideline reporters Michele Tafoya (Steelers sideline) and Suzy Kolber (Seahawks sideline). This was the sixth Super Bowl telecast for Michaels, and the tenth for Madden (whose first was Super Bowl XVI, also played in Michigan). The opening theme was sung by Hank Williams Jr., who was later spotted in the stands wearing Steelers regalia.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: This game was the second Super Bowl broadcast for the Michaels-Madden pairing after they had called Super Bowl XXXVII for ABC three years earlier. Madden had already signed with NBC to broadcast games for them beginning in the 2006 season; several days later Michaels, who was still under contract to ABC and ESPN, joined him in exchange for ESPN gaining partial coverage of the Ryder Cup golf tournament and The Walt Disney Company, ABC's parent, gaining all intellectual property rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a cartoon character that Walt Disney had created for Universal Pictures (NBC's corporate sibling) in the 1920s. Michaels and Madden would go on to call one more Super Bowl together, Super Bowl XLIII, after which Madden retired from broadcasting altogether.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: With the Steelers win, they became the fourth team to win Super Bowls on three networks (NBC-IX and XIII, CBS–X and XIV, and ABC) joining the Green Bay Packers (NBC- I, CBS-II, Fox- XXXI and XLV), San Francisco 49ers (NBC- XXIII, CBS- XVI, and XXIV, ABC- XIX and XXIX), and Washington Redskins (NBC- XVII, ABC- XXII, CBS- XXVI). These teams have since been joined by the New York Giants, who also surpassed them by winning a Super Bowl on each of the networks that carried the game; their win in Super Bowl XXI was carried by CBS, their win in Super Bowl XXV was carried by ABC, their win in Super Bowl XLII was carried by Fox, and their win in Super Bowl XLVI was carried by NBC, and later by the New England Patriots, who had two Super Bowl wins on Fox (XXXVI and XXXIX), one Super Bowl win on CBS (XXXVIII), and a Super Bowl win on NBC (XLIX).


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Chris Berman, from Disney-owned corporate sibling ESPN, returned to host ABC's pregame show, as he had done for the network's coverage of Super Bowls XXXIV and XXXVII. Berman was joined by his fellow analysts from ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" pregame show: Michael Irvin, Tom Jackson, and Steve Young, along with co-host Mike Tirico and New England Patriots head coach (and three-time Super Bowl winner) Bill Belichick. Also contributing to the pre-game show were Tafoya, Kolber, Sam Ryan, Andrea Kremer, Kenny Mayne and Chris Mortensen.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Since the game was being played close to the U.S.-Canada border, Canadian television rights holders Global broadcast portions of an NFL-sponsored "Passport To The Super Bowl" event in nearby Windsor, Ontario, featuring a performance by the newly revived 1980s rock group INXS with Canadian native lead singer J.D. Fortune, though the network limited coverage of the Windsor event to short segments immediately prior to commercial breaks.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The game was also televised in Australia (SBS), Austria (ORF and TW1), Brazil (ESPN International), Denmark (TV 2), Finland (MTV3), France (France 2), Germany (ARD), Hungary (Sport 1), Iceland (SÝN), Ireland (Sky Sports), Italy (Sky Sports 3 and Italia 1), Japan (NHK BS-1, NTV), Mexico (TV Azteca), Netherlands (SBS6), New Zealand (ESPN International/SKY TV), Portugal (SportTV), Slovenia (Prva TV), Spain (Canal +), Sweden (ZTV), and UK and Ireland (ITV/Sky Sports). According to the NFL, the game was available worldwide in 32 languages.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The main NFL international feed of the game featured FOX broadcasters Dick Stockton and Daryl Johnston providing commentary tailored to those largely unfamiliar with the rules of American football.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Westwood One/CBS Radio provided radio coverage in the United States, with the broadcasting team of Marv Albert and Boomer Esiason.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Sirius Satellite Radio and NFL.com carried international local-language broadcasts from the United Kingdom (BBC Radio Five Live), Spain (Canal Plus Spain), Russia (NTV), Belgium (BeTV, in French), China (SMG), and Japan (NTV), in addition to the press box intercom and the public address announcer feeds.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: During the pre-game ceremonies, Stevie Wonder, along with Joss Stone, India.Arie, and John Legend, performed a medley of Wonder's hits. The Four Tops also performed during the pregame ceremonies, though the performance was not televised.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: In honor of the fortieth Super Bowl, the pre-game ceremony featured the on-field introduction of 30 of the previous 34 Super Bowl Most Valuable Players (with the exception of Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Jake Scott, and the late Harvey Martin). The absences of Montana and Bradshaw were originally reported to have been due to disagreements over appearance funds to be paid by the NFL, but each later rebutted such reports, suggesting that they had prior family commitments; Scott was reported to have been traveling through Australia. This ceremony continued a ten-year tradition (starting with Super Bowl XX and then repeated in Super Bowl XXX) in which past Super Bowl MVPs were honored before the game.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: A moment of silence was observed in memory of the two civil rights activists who had died during the months prior to the game: Coretta Scott King (six days earlier) and Rosa Parks (on October 24, 2005), the latter a long-time Detroit resident.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The Steelers became the first AFC club, and only the third franchise overall, to wear white jerseys despite being the "home" team. The first two clubs, the Cowboys (Super Bowls XIII and XXVII) and the Redskins (Super Bowl XVII), traditionally wore white at home. The Denver Broncos later became the second AFC team and fourth club overall to wear white jerseys in a Super Bowl despite being the home team in Super Bowl 50. Bill Cowher stated that the Steelers were playing in Detroit, not Pittsburgh, and therefore it was not a "home" game (although 10 years earlier Cowher's Steelers did wear their black home jerseys as the designated "home" team in Super Bowl XXX at Tempe, Arizona away from Pittsburgh, where they had won both their playoff games to reach that Super Bowl). Having been the Cowboys' opponent in Super Bowl XIII, Pittsburgh also became the first team to have worn white jerseys for a "home" Super Bowl and colored jerseys for an "away" one.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The teams took the field while flanked on either side by flags bearing the names of all previous Super Bowl MVPs. Although the participating teams each entered as a team for their introduction, the Steelers insisted on sending Jerome Bettis out ahead of the rest of the team in front of his hometown crowd.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Singers Aretha Franklin and Aaron Neville, along with pianist Dr. John and a 150-member choir, performed the national anthem as part of a pre-game tribute to New Orleans, a nine-time Super Bowl host city then in the midst of efforts to rebuild in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The national anthem was performed in American Sign Language by Angela LaGuardia, a teacher at Michigan School for the Deaf.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Tom Brady, MVP of Super Bowls XXXVI and XXXVIII, became the first active player to participate in a Super Bowl coin toss, the result of which toss was tails, as selected by Seattle.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The Rolling Stones performed during the halftime show, which was sponsored by the American telecommunications company Sprint. The group performed three songs: "Start Me Up", "Rough Justice", and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (where Mick Jagger wryly quipped at the song introduction, "Here's one we could have done at Super Bowl I").


title: Super Bowl XL

text: In the wake of the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy with Janet Jackson two years earlier, ABC and the NFL were keen to avoid controversy.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: However, the choice of the Rolling Stones sparked controversy in the Detroit community because the band did not represent the music of Detroit and no other artist from the area was included. The NFL took issue with some of the language used in the lyrics of the songs that were in the Rolling Stones setlist, Particularly, with specific lyrics in "Start Me Up" and "Rough Justice". In addition to the lyrics the NFL took issue with, there was worry that Jagger might ad-lib explicitly as well. Conflict between the NFL and the band over these lyrics continued into the days just before the performance, with NFL Chief Operating Officer Roger Goodell even threatening to cancel the Rolling Stones performance and find a last-minute replacement. Ultimately, ABC and the NFL imposed a five-second delay and censored lyrics considered too sexually explicit in the first two songs by briefly turning off Jagger's microphone, with the group having agreed to the censoring.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: During the development of the show, there had been another disagreement between the Rolling Stones and the NFL. The Rolling Stones wanted to perform material from their new album, while the NFL wanted them to play well-known hits from their back catalog. Ultimately, the only new song included was "Rough Justice".


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The 28-piece stage was shaped as the group's iconic tongue logo, and was assembled by a 600-member volunteer stage crew.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The post-game presentation saw Bart Starr, the MVP of Super Bowls I and II, take the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the podium, whence it was presented to Steelers owner Dan Rooney.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: After the first four possessions of the Super Bowl XL ended with punts, Seahawks punt returner Peter Warrick gave his team good field position by returning Chris Gardocki's 37-yard punt 12 yards to Seattle's 49-yard line. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck then started off the drive with a pair of completions to receivers Darrell Jackson and Joe Jurevicius for gains of 20 and 11 yards, respectively. On the third play of the drive, Jackson caught a pass in the end-zone, apparently for a touchdown, but the play was nullified as Jackson was called for pass interference. Running back Shaun Alexander ran the ball the next two plays, but gained only three yards. Hasselbeck's third-down pass attempt fell incomplete, and the Seahawks were forced to settle for a 47-yard field goal by kicker Josh Brown, which was successful.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: By the end of the first quarter, the Steelers had failed to gain a first down, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had completed one of five pass attempts for one yard.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: On their first second-quarter possession, Pittsburgh once more was forced to punt after three plays, but benefited from another Seahawks penalty, a holding call that nullified Warrick's 34-yard punt return. The Steelers forced a Seattle punt, but Seattle safety Michael Boulware intercepted a Roethlisberger pass at the Seattle 17-yard line on the ensuing drive. The Seahawks, though, were once more forced to punt after three plays, and Pittsburgh drove into Seattle territory on the following drive.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: An offensive pass interference call against tight end Heath Miller and a sack for an eight-yard loss by Seahawks defensive end Grant Wistrom, though, backed the Steelers to the 40-yard line, and left the team facing a third-down-and-28. However, Roethlisberger hit receiver Hines Ward out of a scramble and extremely unorthodox, against the grain pass for a 37-yard gain to give the team the longest third down conversion in Super Bowl history. Jerome Bettis carried the ball on the next two plays, taking his team to the one-yard line but not into the end-zone. On the third-down play, after the two-minute warning, Roethlisberger faked a hand-off and dove into the end-zone himself. There was some confusion as to whether or not he had scored, since the referee hesitated for a bit after the play ended, but he eventually signaled a touchdown, and it was upheld after a replay challenge.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: On the strength of a 19-yard Jurevicius reception, Seattle advanced the ball to the Pittsburgh 36-yard line, but, after the drive stalled, Brown missed a 54-yard field goal attempt to the right and the Steelers ran out the clock to end the first half.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The Steelers took the ball to begin the second half, and just two plays in, running back Willie Parker broke through for a 75-yard touchdown run, giving his team a 14–3 lead and setting a record for the longest run in Super Bowl history, beating Marcus Allen's Super Bowl XVIII mark by one yard.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The Seahawks drove into Pittsburgh territory on the next drive, sparked by a 21-yard run by Alexander, but Brown again missed a field-goal attempt, this one from 50 yards, as Seattle was unable to close the 11-point deficit.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Pittsburgh drove 54 yards to the Seattle six-yard line to put themselves in position to take a large lead, but Seahawks defensive back Kelly Herndon intercepted a pass from Roethlisberger and returned it a Super Bowl record 76 yards to the Steelers 20-yard line. From there, the Seahawks required just two plays to score on Hasselbeck's 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jerramy Stevens, cutting their deficit to 14–10.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The teams exchanged punts (two from Pittsburgh, one from Seattle) to fill out most of the third quarter, but the Seahawks ended the quarter having driven from their own two-yard line to near midfield.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The drive continued in the fourth quarter, as the Seahawks reached the Pittsburgh 19-yard line. An 18-yard pass to Stevens, though, was negated on a penalty call against Seattle tackle Sean Locklear for holding, denying the Seahawks an opportunity for a first-down-and-goal from the 1-yard-line. Three plays later, Pittsburgh defensive back Ike Taylor intercepted a Hasselbeck pass at the 5-yard line and returned it 24 yards. While tackling Taylor, Hasselbeck dove low and was flagged for blocking below the waist. The penalty added 15 yards to the return and gave the Steelers the ball on their own 44-yard line.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Four plays later, Pittsburgh ran a wide receiver reverse, but the play turned out to be a pass play by wide receiver Antwaan Randle El, who played quarterback while in college. Parker took a pitch from Roethlisberger and handed off to Randle El, who was running in the opposite direction. Randle El then pulled up and threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Ward, giving the Steelers a 21–10 lead and also marking the first time a wide receiver threw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: On the ensuing possession, Hasselbeck ran the ball for eighteen yards and was briefly touched by Steelers linebacker Larry Foote as the former fell to the ground. Though the play was initially ruled a fumble, with the ball recovered by the Steelers, a Seahawks challenge proved successful, as officials ruled Hasselbeck to have been down prior to his having lost the ball, Seattle, aided by a 13-yard Jurevicius reception, drove to the Pittsburgh 48-yard line but could go no further; a Tom Rouen punt entered the end zone, giving the Steelers possession on their own 20-yard line.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Pittsburgh possessed the ball for nearly four-and-one-half minutes on the ensuing drive, as Bettis carried seven times, Seattle was forced to use all of its three timeouts to stop the clock, but nevertheless had only 1:51 left when it took the ball from its own 20-yard line following a Gardocki punt. A 35-yard reception by Jurevicius took the Seahawks into Pittsburgh territory, and a 13-yard Bobby Engram reception took the team to within field-goal range, but dubious clock-management and play-calling left the team with just 35 seconds remaining; an incompletion and a three-yard pass to Stevens over the middle of the field consumed 26 seconds, and Hasselbeck threw incomplete near Stevens on fourth down, giving the Steelers the ball on downs with just three seconds remaining, after which a Roethlisberger kneel-down ended the game.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The Steelers became just the third team to win the Super Bowl despite not playing a home game in the playoffs. The Green Bay Packers, who won Super Bowl I, and the Kansas City Chiefs, who won Super Bowl IV, also accomplished the feat. The Steelers, however, had to win four games to accomplish the feat, while the Chiefs won three and Packers won only two games.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Roethlisberger finished the game having completed just 9 of 21 passes for 123 yards and having also thrown two interceptions; his 22.6 quarterback rating was the lowest ever by a Super Bowl winning quarterback. He also rushed for 25 yards and a touchdown. He became the second youngest quarterback to start in a Super Bowl and the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl at 23 years, 11 months.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The Steelers rushing game was paced by Willie Parker, who gained 93 yards and one touchdown on ten carries, Bettis rushed 14 times for 43 yards, converted a key first down, and allowed his team to run time off the clock late in the fourth quarter. Ward caught five passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. In addition to his 43-yard touchdown pass, Randle El caught three passes for 22 yards and returned two punts for 32 yards.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: In defeat for the Seahawks, Hasselbeck completed 26 of 49 pass attempts for 273 yards and a touchdown, with one interception. Jurevicius caught 5 passes for 93 yards. Engram and Jackson also played roles, combining to gain 120 yards on eleven receptions. Alexander led all rushers in the game, accumulating 95 yards on 20 carries while also catching two passes for two yards. The Steelers were the third team to lose the turnover battle and win the game, after the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V and the Steelers in Super Bowl XIV.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Defensively, Taylor led the Steelers, making seven tackles, defensing two passes, and intercepting Hasselbeck; for the Seahawks, linebacker Lofa Tatupu recorded nine tackles.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The officiating in Super Bowl XL was met with criticism from members of the media soon after the game. One call that was complained about was an offensive pass interference on Seahawks wide receiver Darrell Jackson for a push-off against Steelers safety Chris Hope that nullified his 16-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. However, according to the NFL's Director of Officiating at the time, Mike Pereira, the call was indeed correct as Jackson had pushed off.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Another complaint had to do with a penalty in the fourth quarter against Seattle right tackle Sean Locklear for holding Steelers linebacker Clark Haggans that nullified a deep pass. Pereira later stated that Locklear was definitively holding and the call was correct. Also disputed was the penalty on Hasselbeck for an illegal block below the waist while making a tackle during Ike Taylor's interception return.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: In addition, many Seahawks fans were outraged by an incomplete pass call early in the game from Hasselbeck to Jerramy Stevens. Stevens appeared to have possession and then fumble, only for the officials to rule he never had complete possession. The Steelers also were upset about a call on a play that appeared to give them possession of the football when Matt Hasselbeck fumbled while scrambling. It was ruled however that Hasselbeck had been touched before losing control of the football, thus negating the fumble.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: "Kansas City Star" writer Jason Whitlock encapsulated some views when he wrote the day after the game, "Bill Leavy and his crew ruined Super Bowl XL. Am I the only one who would like to hear them defend their incompetence?" Initially, some fans reacted negatively as well. A February 7 online ESPN poll found that, with 103,167 votes cast, 61.7% of those votes were cast for the choice of "officiating mistakes affected the outcome of Super Bowl XL." Seahawks head coach Mike Holmgren himself took issue with the officiating at a rally for his team on February 6 at Qwest Field, saying, "We knew it was going to be tough going against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I didn't know we were going to have to play the guys in the striped shirts as well."


title: Super Bowl XL

text: In response to the criticisms leveled at the officials, the NFL, just two days after the game, released a statement defending the officials' performance. "The game was properly officiated, including, as in most NFL games, some tight plays that produced disagreement about the calls made by the officials", NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: High-profile referee Ed Hochuli said "The Super Bowl was one of those games where it seemed the big calls went against Seattle. And that was just fortuitous—bad fortuitous for Seattle." Hochuli went on to say that "The league felt, actually, that the Super Bowl was well officiated. Now, that doesn't mean there were no mistakes. There are always mistakes, but it was a well-officiated game."


title: Super Bowl XL

text: On August 6, 2010, while visiting the Seahawks' preseason training camp for an annual rules interpretation session with the Seattle media, Leavy brought up Super Bowl XL without being asked, and said:


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The Super Bowl XL officiating controversy was later listed as number 8 on the NFL's list of the top ten controversial calls of all time. Commentators Boomer Esiason, Steve Raible, and Tom Curran were critical of the officiating, while former Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward and commentator Ed Bouchette defended the calls, and commentators Howard Balzer and Bill Hillgrove and former Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau felt that the officiating did not impact the outcome of the game.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: As usual, the American television broadcast of the Super Bowl showcased top commercials and commanded high prices, estimated at $2.6 million (US) for a 30-second spot. According to "Advertising Age", Anheuser-Busch was the top advertiser during the game, having purchased ten 30-second spots. The magazine reported that other companies having purchased multiple commercial segments included Ameriquest (two), CareerBuilder.com (two), Pepsi-Cola (four), Pizza Hut (ten, though most ran prior to kickoff), Sprint (three), Procter & Gamble (four, three for Gillette's new Fusion razor), Warner Bros. (three), Disney (two) and GoDaddy.com (two). Three companies aired 60-second advertisements: General Motors (for the Cadillac brand), Burger King, and Mobile ESPN (the Sports Heaven ad). Agency BBDO was the biggest single producer of commercials, creating 19. ABC also aired several 60-second commercials for some of its shows, including "Lost", "Desperate Housewives", and "Grey's Anatomy". Notably, this was the first Super Bowl during which commercials, in addition to the game itself, were broadcast in HDTV. During typical HDTV broadcasts at the time, commercials themselves were broadcast in standard definition.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Google Video and America Online each catalogued ads for later viewing. The "USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter" and ADBOWL, which both measure viewer online reaction to all Super Bowl ads, found the Bud Light "Magic refrigerator" spot ranked as the top spot.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: This was just the fifth time in Super Bowl history when a lower-seeded team opened as the favorite to win; the previous occurrences were Super Bowls XXXIX (AFC second-seeded New England Patriots were favored by seven points over NFC top-seed Philadelphia Eagles), XXXV (AFC fourth-seeded Baltimore Ravens were favored by three points over NFC top-seed New York Giants), XXIII (NFC second-seeded San Francisco 49ers were favored by seven points over AFC first-seed Cincinnati Bengals), and XVII (AFC second-seeded Miami Dolphins were favored by three points over NFC top-seed Washington Redskins). In each but the last iteration, the lower-seeded and favored team won.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: This was also the second time in Super Bowl history when the favorite was a wild card team, the first was before Super Bowl XXXV, when the Ravens were favored. It also marked the first time since that game the favorite won against the spread.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: Members of the winning team each received a payment of $73,000 for playing in the game, while players on the losing team were paid $38,000. The Green Bay Packers received $15,000 each for winning Super Bowl I in 1967; adjusted for inflation in 2006 dollars, that sum is roughly $86,000.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: After having held constant at $600 for three years, the face value of the costliest Super Bowl ticket rose to $700 for the game. On eBay, the least-desirable seats—those behind each end zone in the upper level—fetched more than $2000 each, while top seats around the 50-yard line sold for more than $6000.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The ring for the Pittsburgh Steelers was designed by Steelers owner Dan Rooney with Jerome Bettis and Ben Roethlisberger. It is crowned by five Vince Lombardi trophies, all topped with football-shaped diamond settings to represent their five Super Bowl victories. Rooney would have preferred the ring to focus exclusively on this team's win, but Bettis and Roethlisberger, cognizant of a tradition of which they couldn't help but be reminded, insisted that it acknowledge the legacy of all those teams (indeed, during the pre-game MVP introductions, Franco Harris, winner of the award in the Steelers' first Super Bowl IX victory 31 years earlier on January 12, 1975, had waved a Terrible Towel as he walked onto the field).


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The base of each trophy has the Roman numeral for their victories, with Super Bowl XL front and center. In front of the trophies is the Steelers logo set with colored jewels to mimic the colors of the logo. On the top of the crown is "PITTSBURGH", and on the bottom is "WORLD CHAMPIONS". Each side of the crown has 10 square cut diamonds channel set along the edge. The left side of the ring has the player's name and number with the NFL logo in between, while the right side has the score of the game (Steelers 21 Seahawks 10) above the Super Bowl XL logo over 2005. The year on the ring is for the NFL season, and not the year the game was played.


title: Super Bowl XL

text: The Super Bowl XL rings were produced by the Minneapolis-based jewelry company Jostens, which is the primary supplier of Super Bowl champion rings and has made 31 rings in the Super Bowl's 50-year history through 2017. The National Football League covers the cost of 150 rings, paying up to $5,000 for each (three quarters of a million dollars). If a team wants a fancier look, such as player names, more gems or detailed designs, or more than 150 rings, then the team owner has to foot the bill for the extra cost.


title: Eragon

text: Eragon is the first book in "The Inheritance Cycle" by American fantasy writer Christopher Paolini. Paolini, born in 1983, began writing the novel after graduating from home school at the age of fifteen. After writing the first draft for a year, Paolini spent a second year rewriting and fleshing out the story and characters. His parents saw the final manuscript and in 2001 decided to self-publish "Eragon;" Paolini spent a year traveling around the United States promoting the novel. The book was discovered by novelist Carl Hiaasen, who got it re-published by Alfred A. Knopf. The re-published version was released on August 26, 2003.


title: Eragon

text: The book tells the story of a farm boy named Eragon, who finds a mysterious stone in the mountains. The stone is revealed to be a dragon egg, and a dragon he later names Saphira hatches from it. When the evil King Galbatorix finds out about the egg, he sends monstrous servants to acquire it, making Eragon and Saphira flee from their hometown with a storyteller named Brom. Brom, an old member of an extinct group called the Dragon Riders, teaches Eragon about 'The Ways of the Rider.'


title: Eragon

text: "Eragon" was the third-best-selling children's hardback book of 2003, and the second-best-selling paperback of 2005. It placed on the "New York Times" Children's Books Best Seller list for 121 weeks and was adapted as a feature film of the same name that was released on December 15, 2006.


title: Eragon

text: Christopher Paolini started reading fantasy books when he was 10 years old. At the age of 14, as a hobby, he started writing the first novel in a series of four books, but he could not get beyond a few pages because he had "no idea" where he was going. He began reading everything he could about the "art of writing", and then plotted the whole "Inheritance Cycle" book series. After a month of planning out the series, he started writing the draft of "Eragon" by hand. It was finished a year later, and Paolini began writing the "real" version of the book. After another year of editing, Paolini's parents saw the final manuscript. They immediately saw its potential and decided to publish the book through their small, home-based publishing company, Paolini International. Paolini created the cover art for this edition of "Eragon", which featured Saphira's eye on the cover. He also drew the maps inside the book.


title: Eragon

text: Paolini and his family toured across the United States promoting the book. He gave over 135 talks at bookshops, libraries, and schools, many with Paolini dressed up in a medieval costume; but the book did not receive much attention. Paolini said he "would stand behind a table in my costume talking all day without a break – and would sell maybe forty books in eight hours if I did really well. [...] It was a very stressful experience. I couldn't have gone on for very much longer." In the summer of 2002, American novelist Carl Hiaasen was on vacation in one of the cities that Paolini gave a talk in. While there, Hiaasen's stepson bought a copy of "Eragon" that he "immediately loved". He showed it to Hiaasen, who brought the book to the attention of the publishing house Alfred A. Knopf. Michelle Frey, executive editor at Knopf, contacted Paolini and his family to ask if they were interested in having Knopf publish "Eragon". The answer was yes, and after another round of editing, Knopf published "Eragon" in August 2003, with a new cover, drawn by John Jude Palencar.


title: Eragon

text: Paolini cites old myths, folk tales, medieval stories, the epic poem "Beowulf", and authors J. R. R. Tolkien and E. R. Eddison as his biggest influences in writing. Other literary influences include David Eddings, Andre Norton, Brian Jacques, Anne McCaffrey, Raymond E. Feist, Mervyn Peake, Ursula K. Le Guin, Frank Herbert, Philip Pullman, and Garth Nix.


title: Eragon

text: The ancient language used by the elves in "Eragon" is based "almost entirely" on Old Norse, German, Anglo Saxon, and Russian myth. Paolini commented: "[I] did a god-awful amount of research into the subject when I was composing it. I found that it gave the world a much richer feel, a much older feel, using these words that had been around for centuries and centuries. I had a lot of fun with that." Picking the right names for the characters and places was a process that could take "days, weeks, or even years". Paolini said: "if I have difficulty choosing the correct moniker, I use a placeholder name until a replacement suggests itself." He added that he was "really lucky" with the name Eragon, "because it's just dragon with one letter changed." Also, Paolini commented that he thought of both parts of the name "Eragon" - "era" and "gone" - as if the name itself changes the era in which the character lives. He thought the name fit the book perfectly, but some of the other names caused him "real headaches".


title: Eragon

text: The landscape in "Eragon" is based on the "wild territory" of Paolini's home state, Montana. He said in an interview: "I go hiking a lot, and oftentimes when I'm in the forest or in the mountains, sitting down and seeing some of those little details makes the difference between having an okay description and having a unique description." Paolini also said that Paradise Valley, Montana is "one of the main sources" of his inspiration for the landscape in the book ("Eragon" takes place in the fictional continent Alagaësia). Paolini "roughed out" the main history of the land before he wrote the book, but he did not draw a map of it until it became important to see where Eragon was traveling. He then started to get history and plot ideas from seeing the landscape depicted.


title: Eragon

text: Paolini chose to have Eragon mature throughout the book because, "for one thing, it's one of the archetypal fantasy elements". He thought Eragon's growth and maturation throughout the book "sort of mirrored my own growing abilities as a writer and as a person, too. So it was a very personal choice for that book." Eragon's dragon, Saphira, was imagined as "the perfect friend" by Paolini. He decided to go in a more "human direction" with her because she is raised away from her own species, in "close mental contact" with a human. "I considered making the dragon more dragon-like, if you will, in its own society, but I haven't had a chance to explore that. I went with a more human element with Saphira while still trying to get a bit of the magic, the alien, of her race." Paolini made Saphira the "best friend anyone could have: loyal, funny, brave, intelligent, and noble. She transcended that, however, and became her own person, fiercely independent and proud." Saphira's blue tinted vision was in turn inspired by Paolini's own color-blindness.


title: Eragon

text: Paolini deliberately included archetypal elements of a fantasy novel like a quest, a journey of experience, revenge, romance, betrayal, and a "unique" sword. The book is described as a fantasy, and "Booklist" observed: "Paolini knows the genre well—his lush tale is full of recognizable fantasy elements and conventions". "Kirkus Reviews" called the book a "high fantasy"; other reviewers have compared it to other books and films of the fantasy genre, such as "Star Wars" and "The Lord of the Rings", and in some instances stated "Eragon"s plot is too similar to those other stories.


title: Eragon

text: A Shade named Durza, along with a group of Urgals, ambushes a party of three elves. They kill two of them, and Durza attempts to steal an egg carried by the remaining female elf. However, she manages to use magic to teleport it elsewhere. Infuriated, Durza abducts her and keeps her prisoner at the city of Gil'ead.


title: Eragon

text: Eragon is a fifteen-year-old boy who has lived with his uncle Garrow and cousin Roran on a farm near the village of Carvahall, left there by his mother Selena after his birth. While hunting, he sees a large explosion and finds a dragon egg in the rubble. The night after, a baby dragon hatches from the egg, and bonds with Eragon, giving him a silver mark on his hand. Eragon names the dragon Saphira, after a name the old village storyteller Brom mentions.


title: Eragon

text: He raises the dragon in secret until two of King Galbatorix's servants, the Ra'zac, come to Carvahall. Eragon and Saphira escape and hide in the Spine, but Garrow is fatally wounded and the farm is burned down by the Ra'zac. Once Garrow dies, Eragon and Saphira decide to hunt the Ra'zac, in vengeance. Brom insists on accompanying him and Saphira, and gives Eragon the sword Zar'roc.


title: Eragon

text: Eragon becomes a Dragon Rider, through his bond with Saphira. He is the only known Rider in Alagaësia other than King Galbatorix, who, with the help of the now-dead Forsworn, a group of rogue Riders, killed every other Rider a century ago. As they travel, Brom teaches Eragon sword fighting, magic, the ancient elvish language, and the ways of the Dragon Riders.


title: Eragon

text: They travel to the city of Teirm, where they meet with Brom's friend Jeod. Eragon's fortune is told by the witch Angela, and her companion, the werecat Solembum, gives Eragon mysterious advice. With Jeod's help, they track the Ra'zac to the city of Dras-Leona. They manage to infiltrate the city, but are forced to flee after a run-in with the Ra'zac. That night, they are ambushed by the Ra'zac. A stranger named Murtagh rescues them, but Brom is mortally wounded. Brom gives Eragon his blessing, reveals that he was once a Dragon Rider, with a dragon named Saphira, and dies. Saphira uses magic to encase Brom in a diamond tomb.


title: Eragon

text: Murtagh becomes Eragon's new companion and they travel to the city of Gil'ead, seeking information on how to find the Varden, a group of rebels who seek the downfall of Galbatorix. Near Gil'ead, Eragon is captured and imprisoned in a jail that holds a female elf he had had recurring dreams about. Murtagh and Saphira stage a rescue, and Eragon takes the unconscious elf with him. After fighting Durza, Murtagh seemingly kills him with an arrow shot through his head, and they escape. Eragon telepathically communicates with the elf, named Arya, who reveals she had sent the egg to him accidentally. From her, he learns the location of the Varden. Murtagh is reluctant to journey to the Varden, revealing that he is the son of Morzan, former leader of the Forsworn.


title: Eragon

text: An army of Kull, elite Urgals, chases Eragon to the Varden's headquarters, but is driven off by the Varden, who escort Eragon, Saphira, Murtagh, and Arya to Farthen Dûr, their mountain hideout. Eragon meets the leader of the Varden, Ajihad. Ajihad imprisons Murtagh after he refuses to allow his mind to be read, to determine his allegiance. Eragon is told by Ajihad that Murtagh failed to kill Durza, as the only way to kill a Shade is with a stab through the heart. Orik, nephew of the dwarf King Hrothgar, is appointed as Eragon and Saphira's guide. Eragon also meets Ajihad's daughter, Nasuada, and Ajihad's right-hand man, Jörmundur. He runs into Angela and Solembum again, and visits Murtagh in prison. He is tested by two magicians, The Twins, as well as Arya.


title: Eragon

text: Eragon and the Varden are then attacked by an immense Urgal army. Eragon personally battles Durza again, and, after a mental battle, is overwhelmed by Durza, who slashes him across the back. Arya and Saphira shatter Isidar Mithrim, a large sapphire that formed the roof of the chamber, to distract Durza, allowing Eragon to stab him through the heart with his sword. He falls into a coma, and is visited telepathically by a stranger, who tells Eragon to visit him in the Elven capital, Ellesméra. He wakes up with a scar across his back, and resolves to journey to Ellesméra.


title: Eragon

text: "Eragon" received generally mixed reviews and was criticized for its derivative nature. Liz Rosenberg of "The New York Times Book Review" criticized "Eragon" for having "clichéd descriptions", "B-movie dialogue", "awkward and gangly prose". However, she concluded the review by noting that "for all its flaws, it is an authentic work of great talent." "School Library Journal" wrote that in "Eragon" "sometimes the magic solutions are just too convenient for getting out of difficult situations." Common Sense Media called "Eragon"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s dialogue "long-winded" and "clichéd", with a plot "straight out of "Star Wars" by way of "The Lord of the Rings", with bits of other great fantasies thrown in here and there.." The website did concede that the book is a notable achievement for such a young author, and that it would be "appreciated" by younger fans.


title: Eragon

text: Favorable reviews of "Eragon" often focused on the book's characters and plot. IGN's Matt Casamassina called the book "entertaining", and added that "Paolini demonstrates that he understands how to hold the reader's eyes and this is what ultimately separates "Eragon" from countless other me-too fantasy novels." Chris Lawrence of About.com thought the book had all the "traditional ingredients" that make a fantasy novel "enjoyable". The book was a "fun read" for him because it is "quick and exciting" and "packed" with action and magic. Lawrence concluded his review by giving the book a rating of 3.8/5, commenting that "the characters are interesting, the plot is engrossing, and you know the good guy will win in the end."


title: Eragon

text: "Eragon" was the third best-selling children's hardback book of 2003, and the second best-selling children's paperback of 2005. It placed on the "New York Times" Children's Books Best Seller list for 121 weeks. In 2006, the novel was awarded with a Nene Award by the children of Hawaii. It won the Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award and the Young Reader's Choice Award the same year.


title: Eragon

text: A film adaptation of "Eragon" was released in the United States on December 15, 2006. Plans to create the film were first announced in February 2004, when 20th Century Fox purchased the rights to "Eragon". The film was directed by first-timer Stefen Fangmeier, and written by Peter Buchman. Edward Speleers was selected for the role of Eragon. Over the following months, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Chris Egan and Djimon Hounsou were all confirmed as joining the cast. Principal photography for the film took place in Hungary and Slovakia.


title: Eragon

text: The film received mostly negative reviews, garnering a 16% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes; the tenth worst of 2006. "The Seattle Times" described it as "technically accomplished, but fairly lifeless and at times a bit silly". "The Hollywood Reporter" said the world of "Eragon" was "without much texture or depth". The story was labelled "derivative" by "The Washington Post", and "generic" by the "Las Vegas Weekly".


title: Eragon

text: "Newsday" stressed this point further, asserting that only "nine-year-olds with no knowledge whatsoever of any of the six "Star Wars" movies" would find the film original.


title: Eragon

text: The acting was called "lame" by the "Washington Post," as well as "stilted" and "lifeless" by the "Orlando Weekly". The dialogue was also criticized: MSNBC labelled it "silly"; the "Las Vegas Weekly" called it "wooden". Positive reviews described the film as "fun" and "the stuff boys' fantasies are made of". The CGI work was called "imaginative" and Saphira was called a "magnificent creation". Paolini stated he enjoyed the film, particularly praising the performances of Jeremy Irons and Ed Speleers.


title: Eragon

text: "Eragon" grossed approximately $75 million in the United States and $173.9 million elsewhere, totaling $249 million worldwide. It is the fifth highest-grossing film with a dragon at its focal point, and the sixth highest-grossing film of the sword and sorcery subgenre. "Eragon" was in release for seventeen weeks in the United States, opening on December 15, 2006 and closing on April 9, 2007. It opened in 3,020 theaters, earning $8.7 million on opening day and $23.2 million across opening weekend, ranking second behind "The Pursuit of Happyness". Eragon's $75 million total United States gross was the thirty-first highest for 2006. The film earned $150 million in its opening weekend across 76 overseas markets, making it the #1 film worldwide. The film's $249 million total worldwide gross was the sixteenth highest for 2006.


title: Eragon

text: In June 2021, Christopher Paolini tweeted #EragonRemake in an effort to get Disney, the intellectual rights holders following their acquisition of 21st Century Fox, to revamp the book series into a possible television show for Disney+. Within hours, the hashtag began to trend with fans pushing for a proper adaptation. On July 25, 2022, "Variety" reported that a live action television series adaptation of "Eragon" was in early development for Disney+, with Paolini serving as a co-writer on the series, and with Bert Salke executive producing.


title: Eragon

text: A video game adaptation of "Eragon" based primarily on the film, released in North America on November 14, 2006. The game is a third-person video game released for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows, developed by Stormfront Studios. Also released are unique versions of Eragon for the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and mobile phone handheld gaming systems, primarily developed by Amaze Entertainment. The console and PC versions of the game are very similar, focusing on the same style of gameplay. However, the Xbox 360 edition features two exclusive levels. One is on foot as Eragon, and Saphira is controlled in the second mission.


title: Eragon

text: The game has received generally negative reviews usually receiving press averages around the 4-6 out of 10 region (or the equivalent), (45-55 out of 100) according to review aggregator sites Metacritic and GameRankings. The combined sales in North America were over 400,000 copies.


title: Eragon

text: The majority of the game is taken up by third-person combat, usually on foot. Some missions permit the player to use the dragon Saphira in combat. The gameplay mechanics within these levels are largely similar to those in ground-based levels, with the exception of some different attack moves (such as tail attacks). Protagonist Eragon sits on Saphira's back during these sections, and can be made to fire magic arrows. The player has no choice as to whether or not they use Saphira. Similarly, the player cannot use Saphira in ground-based levels: they can call for her and she will swoop past, but it is not possible to use this feature to ride Saphira. There is a multiplayer co-op mode which allows two people to play through the main storyline. It is possible to switch from playing a one-player game to a two-player game at any time. There are no Internet multiplayer options.


title: Galba

text: Galba (; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was the sixth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 68 to 69. After his adoption by his stepmother, and before becoming emperor, he was known as Livius Ocella Sulpicius Galba. He was the first emperor in the Year of the Four Emperors and assumed the throne following Emperor Nero's suicide.


title: Galba

text: Born into a wealthy family, Galba held at various times the positions of praetor, consul, and governor to the provinces of Aquitania, Upper Germany, and Africa during the first half of the first century AD. He retired from his positions during the latter part of Claudius' reign (with the advent of Agrippina the Younger), but Nero later granted him the governorship of Hispania. Taking advantage of the defeat of Vindex's rebellion and Nero's suicide, he became emperor with the support of the Praetorian Guard.


title: Galba

text: Galba's physical weakness and general apathy led to him being selected-over by favorites. Unable to gain popularity with the people or maintain the support of the Praetorian Guard, Galba was murdered by Otho, who became emperor in his place.


title: Galba

text: Galba was not related to any of the emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, but he was a member of a distinguished noble family. The origin of the cognomen Galba is uncertain. Suetonius offers a number of possible explanations; the first member of the gens Sulpicia to bear the name might have gotten the name from the term "galba", which the Romans used to describe the Gauls, or after an insect called "galbae". One of Galba's ancestors had been consul in 200 BC, and another of his ancestors was consul in 144 BC; the later emperor's father and brother, both named Gaius, would hold the office in 5 BC and AD 22 respectively.


title: Galba

text: Galba's grandfather was a historian and his son was a barrister whose first marriage was to Mummia Achaica, granddaughter of Quintus Lutatius Catulus and great-granddaughter of Lucius Mummius Achaicus; Galba prided himself on his descent from his great-grandfather Catulus. According to Suetonius, he fabricated a genealogy of paternal descent from the god Jupiter and maternal descent from the legendary Pasiphaë, wife of Minos. Reportedly, Galba was distantly related to Livia to whom he had much respect and in turn by whom he was advanced in his career; in her will she left him fifty million sesterces; Emperor Tiberius however cheated Galba by reducing the amount to five hundred thousand sesterces and never even paid Galba the reduced amount.


title: Galba

text: Servius Sulpicius Galba was born near Terracina on 24 December 3 BC. His elder brother Gaius fled from Rome and committed suicide because the emperor Tiberius would not allow him to control a Roman province. Livia Ocellina became the second wife of Galba's father, whom she may have married because of his wealth; he was short and hunchbacked. Ocellina adopted Galba, and he took the name Lucius Livius Galba Ocella. Galba had a sexual appetite for males, whom he preferred over females; according to Suetonius, "he was more inclined to ... the hard bodied and those past their prime". Nevertheless, he married a woman named Aemilia Lepida and had two sons. Aemilia and their sons died during the early years of the reign of Claudius (r. 41–54). Galba would remain a widower for the rest of his life.


title: Galba

text: Galba became praetor in about 30, then governor of Aquitania for about a year, then consul in 33. In 39 the emperor Caligula learned of a plot against himself in which Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus, the general of the Upper German legions, was an important figure; Caligula installed Galba in the post held by Gaetulicus. According to one report Galba ran alongside Caligula's chariot for twenty miles. As commander of the legions of Upper Germany, Galba gained a reputation as a disciplinarian. Suetonius writes that Galba was advised to take the throne following the assassination of Caligula in 41, but loyally served Caligula's uncle and successor Claudius (r. 41–54); this story may simply be fictional. Galba was appointed as governor of Africa in 44 or 45. He retired at an uncertain time during the reign of Claudius, possibly in 49. He was recalled in 59 or 60 by the emperor Nero (r. 54–68) to govern Hispania.


title: Galba

text: A rebellion against Nero was orchestrated by Gaius Julius Vindex in Gaul on the anniversary of the death of Nero's mother, Agrippina the Younger, in 68. Shortly afterwards Galba, in rebellion against Nero, rejected the title "General of Caesar" in favor of "General of The Senate and People of Rome". He was supported by the imperial official Tigellinus. At midnight on 8 June, another imperial official, Nymphidius Sabinus, falsely announced to the Praetorian Guard that Nero had fled to Egypt, and the Senate proclaimed Galba emperor. Nero then committed assisted suicide with help from his secretary.


title: Galba

text: Upon becoming emperor, Galba was faced by the rebellion of Nymphidius Sabinus, who had his own aspirations for the imperial throne. However, Sabinus was killed by the Praetorians before he could take the throne. While Galba was arriving to Rome with the Lusitanian governor Marcus Salvius Otho, his army was attacked by a legion that had been organized by Nero; a number of Galba's troops were killed in the fighting. Galba, who suffered from chronic gout by the time he came to the throne, was advised by a corrupt group which included the Spanish general Titus Vinius, the praetorian prefect Cornelius Laco, and Icelus, a freedman of Galba. Galba seized the property of Roman citizens, disbanded the German legions, and did not pay the Praetorians and the soldiers who fought against Vindex. These actions caused him to become unpopular.


title: Galba

text: Tacitus (Histories 1.49) comments on the character of Galba: "He seemed too great to be a subject so long as he was subject, and all would have agreed that he was equal to the imperial office if he had never held it."


title: Galba

text: Suetonius went on to say that Galba was visited by the Roman Goddess Fortuna in his dreams twice, on the latter occasion she "withdrew her support". This happened right before his later downfall.


title: Galba

text: On 1 January 69, the day Galba and Vinius took the office of consul, the fourth and twenty-second legions of Upper Germany refused to swear loyalty to Galba. They toppled his statues, demanding that a new emperor be chosen. On the following day, the soldiers of Lower Germany also refused to swear their loyalty and proclaimed the governor of the province, Aulus Vitellius, as emperor. Galba tried to ensure his authority as emperor was recognised by adopting the nobleman Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus as his successor. Nevertheless, Galba was killed by the Praetorians on 15 January. Otho was angry that he had been passed over for adoption, and organised a conspiracy with a small number of Praetorian Guards to murder the aged emperor and elevate himself. The soldiery in the capital, composed not just of Praetorians but of Galba's legion from Spain and several detachments of men from the Roman fleet, Illyria, Britain, and Germany, were angered at not having received a donative. They also resented Galba's purges of their officers and fellow soldiers (this was especially true of the men from the fleet). Many in the Praetorian Guard were shaken by the recent murder of their Prefect Nymphidius Sabinus – some of the waverers were convinced to come over to Otho's side out of fear Galba might yet take revenge on them for their connection to Sabinus.


title: Galba

text: According to Suetonius, Galba put on a linen corset although remarking it was little protection against so many swords; when a soldier claimed to have killed Otho, Galba snapped "On what authority?" He was lured out to the scene of his assassination in the Forum by a false report of the conspirators. Galba either tried to buy his life with a promise of the withheld bounty or asked that he be beheaded. The only help for him was a centurion in the Praetorian Guard named Sempronius Densus, who was killed trying to defend Galba with a pugio; one hundred and twenty persons later petitioned Otho that they had killed Galba; they would be executed by Vitellius. A company of German soldiers to whom he had once done a kindness rushed to help him; however they took a wrong turn and arrived too late. He was killed near the Lacus Curtius. Vinius tried to run away, calling out that Otho had not ordered him killed, but was run through with a spear. Laco was banished to an island where he was later murdered by soldiers of Otho. Icelus was publicly executed. Piso was also killed; his head along with Galba's and Vinius' were placed on poles and Otho was then acclaimed as emperor. Galba's head was brought by a soldier to Otho's camp where camp boys mocked it on a lance – Galba had angered them previously by remarking his vigor was still unimpeded. Vinius' head was sold to his daughter for 2500 drachmas; Piso's head was given to his wife. Galba's head was bought for 100 gold pieces by a freeman who threw it at Sessorium where his master Patrobius Neronianus had been killed by Galba. The body of Galba was taken up by Priscus Helvidius with the permission of Otho; at night Galba's steward Argivus took both the head and body to a tomb in Galba's private gardens on the Aurelian Way.


title: Enfield poltergeist

text: The Enfield poltergeist was a claim of supernatural activity at 284 Green Street, a council house in Brimsdown, Enfield, London, England, United Kingdom, between 1977 and 1979. The alleged poltergeist activity centred around sisters Janet (11) and Margaret Hodgson (13). Some members of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), such as inventor Maurice Grosse and writer Guy Lyon Playfair, believed the haunting to be genuine, while others such as Anita Gregory and John Beloff were "unconvinced" and found evidence the girls had faked incidents for the benefit of journalists. Members of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), including stage magicians such as Milbourne Christopher and Joe Nickell, criticized paranormal investigators for being credulous whilst also identifying elements of the case as being indicative of a hoax.


title: Enfield poltergeist

text: The story attracted press coverage in British newspapers, has been mentioned in books, featured in television and radio documentaries, and dramatized in the 2016 horror film "The Conjuring 2".


title: Enfield poltergeist

text: In August 1977, single parent Peggy Hodgson called the Metropolitan Police to her rented home at 284 Green Street in Enfield, London, claiming she had witnessed furniture moving and that two of her four children had heard knocking sounds on the walls. The children included Margaret (13) and Janet (11). A woman police constable reported witnessing a chair "wobble and slide" but “could not determine the cause of the movement”. Later claims included disembodied voices, loud noises, thrown toys, overturned chairs, and children levitating.


title: Enfield poltergeist

text: Over a period of eighteen months, more than thirty people, including the Hodgsons' neighbors, psychic researchers, and journalists, said they variously saw heavy furniture moving of its own accord, objects being thrown across a room and the sisters seeming to levitate several feet off the ground. Many also heard and recorded knocking noises and a gruff voice. The story was regularly covered in the "Daily Mirror" newspaper until reports came to an end in 1979.


title: Enfield poltergeist

text: Society for Psychical Research (SPR) members Maurice Grosse and Guy Lyon Playfair reported "curious whistling and barking noises coming from Janet's general direction." Although Playfair maintained the haunting was genuine and wrote in his later book "This House Is Haunted: The True Story of a Poltergeist" (1980) that an "entity" was to blame for the Enfield disturbances, he often doubted the children's veracity and wondered if they were playing tricks and exaggerating. Still, Grosse and Playfair believed that even though some of the alleged poltergeist activity was faked by the girls, other incidents were genuine. Other paranormal investigators who studied the case included American demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren, who visited the Enfield house in 1978 and were convinced that the events had a supernatural explanation.


title: Enfield poltergeist

text: Janet was detected in trickery; a video camera in an adjoining room caught her bending spoons and attempting to bend an iron bar. Grosse had observed Janet banging a broom handle on the ceiling and hiding his tape-recorder. According to Playfair, one of Janet's voices she called "Bill" displayed a "habit of suddenly changing the topic—it was a habit Janet also had". When Janet and Margaret admitted "pranking" to journalists, Grosse and Playfair compelled the girls to retract their confession. The two men were mocked by other researchers for being easily duped.


title: Enfield poltergeist

text: The psychical researcher Renée Haynes had noted that doubts were raised about the alleged poltergeist voice at the SPR conference at Cambridge in 1978, where video cassettes from Enfield were examined. SPR investigator Anita Gregory stated the Enfield case had been "overrated", characterising several episodes of the girls' behaviour as "suspicious" and speculated that the girls had "staged" some incidents for the benefit of journalists seeking a sensational story. John Beloff, a former president of the SPR, investigated and suggested Janet was practicing ventriloquism. Both Beloff and Gregory came to the conclusion that Janet and Margaret were playing tricks on the investigators.


title: Enfield poltergeist

text: Milbourne Christopher, an American stage magician, briefly investigated the Enfield occurrences and failed to observe anything that could be called paranormal. He was dismayed by what he felt was suspicious activity on the part of Janet, later concluding that "the poltergeist was nothing more than the antics of a little girl who wanted to cause trouble and who was very, very clever." Ventriloquist Ray Alan visited the house and concluded that Janet's male voices were simply vocal tricks.


title: Enfield poltergeist

text: Skeptic Joe Nickell of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) examined the findings of paranormal investigators and criticized them for being overly credulous; when a supposedly disembodied demonic voice was heard, Playfair noted that "as always Janet's lips hardly seemed to be moving." He states that a remote-controlled still camera—the photographer was not present in the room with the girls—timed to take a picture every fifteen seconds was shown by investigator Melvin Harris to reveal "pranking" by the girls. He argues that a photo allegedly depicting Janet levitating actually shows her bouncing off the bed as if it were a trampoline. Harris called the photos examples of common "gymnastics" and said, "It's worth remembering that Janet was a school sports champion!"


title: Enfield poltergeist

text: Nickell pointed out that a tape recorder malfunction that Grosse attributed to supernatural activity and which SPR president David Fontana described as an occurrence "which appeared to defy the laws of mechanics" was a peculiar threading jam occurring with older model reel to reel tape recorders. He also said that Ed Warren was "notorious for exaggerating and even making up incidents in such cases, often transforming a 'haunting' case into one of 'demonic possession.'"


title: Enfield poltergeist

text: In 2015, Deborah Hyde commented that there was no solid evidence for the Enfield poltergeist: "The first thing to note is that the occurrences didn't happen under controlled circumstances. People frequently see what they expect to see, their senses being organised and shaped by their prior experiences and beliefs."


title: Enfield poltergeist

text: Skeptics have argued that the alleged poltergeist voice that originated from Janet was produced by false vocal cords above the larynx and had the phraseology and vocabulary of a child. In a television interview for BBC Scotland, Janet was observed to gain attention by waving her hand, and then putting her hand in front of her mouth while a claimed "disembodied" voice was heard. During the interview both girls were asked the question, "How does it feel to be haunted by a poltergeist?" Janet replied, "It's not haunted," and Margaret, in a hushed tone, interrupted, "Shut up". These factors have been regarded by skeptics as evidence against the case.


title: Enfield poltergeist

text: As a "magician experienced in the dynamics of trickery", Nickell examined Playfair's account as well as contemporary press clippings. He noted that the supposed poltergeist "tended to act only when it was not being watched" and concluded that the incidents were best explained as children's pranks.


title: Enfield poltergeist

text: Although Grosse made tape recordings of Janet and believed no trickery was involved, the magician Bob Couttie said, "He made some of the recordings available to me and, having listened to them very carefully, I came to the conclusion that there was nothing in what I had heard that was beyond the capabilities of an imaginative teenager."


title: Enfield poltergeist

text: All of the recordings have been catalogued and digitalised by the Society for Psychical Research and a book of their content was produced by Dr Melvyn Willin in 2019. (The Enfield Poltergeist Tapes: White Crow.)


title: Enfield poltergeist

text: A 2016 article by psychology professor Chris French in "Time Out" magazine described five reasons why he believed the case to have been a hoax. His reasons are:


title: Nation

text: A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those features. Some nations are equated with ethnic groups (see ethnic nationalism) and some are equated with affiliation to a social and political constitution (see civic nationalism and multiculturalism). A nation is generally more overtly political than an ethnic group. A nation has also been defined as a cultural-political community that has become conscious of its autonomy, unity and particular interests.


title: Nation

text: The consensus among scholars is that nations are socially constructed and historically contingent. Throughout history, people have had an attachment to their kin group and traditions, territorial authorities and their homeland, but nationalism – the belief that state and nation should align as a nation state – did not become a prominent ideology until the end of the 18th century. There are three notable perspectives on how nations developed. Primordialism (perennialism), which reflects popular conceptions of nationalism but has largely fallen out of favour among academics, proposes that there have always been nations and that nationalism is a natural phenomenon. Ethnosymbolism explains nationalism as a dynamic, evolving phenomenon and stresses the importance of symbols, myths and traditions in the development of nations and nationalism. Modernization theory, which has superseded primordialism as the dominant explanation of nationalism, adopts a constructivist approach and proposes that nationalism emerged due to processes of modernization, such as industrialization, urbanization, and mass education, which made national consciousness possible.


title: Nation

text: Proponents of modernization theory describe nations as "imagined communities", a term coined by Benedict Anderson. A nation is an imagined community in the sense that the material conditions exist for imagining extended and shared connections and that it is objectively impersonal, even if each individual in the nation experiences themselves as subjectively part of an embodied unity with others. For the most part, members of a nation remain strangers to each other and will likely never meet. Nationalism is consequently seen an "invented tradition" in which shared sentiment provides a form of collective identity and binds individuals together in political solidarity. A nation's foundational "story" may be built around a combination of ethnic attributes, values and principles, and may be closely connected to narratives of belonging.


title: Nation

text: The English word "nation" came from the Latin "natio", supine of verb "nascar" « to birth » (supine : "natum"), through French. In Latin, "natio" represents the children of the same birth and also a human group of same origin. By Cicero, "natio" is used for "people". Old French word "nacion" – meaning "birth" ("naissance"), "place of origin" –, which in turn originates from the Latin word "natio" ("nātĭō") literally meaning "birth".


title: Nation

text: nation, "n." (14c) 1. A large group of people having a common origin, language, and tradition and usu. constituting a political entity. • When a nation is coincident with a state, the term "nation-state" is often used...


title: Nation

text: 2. A community of people inhabiting a defined territory and organized under an independent government; a sovereign political state...