Remembering Super Bowl XLV: A Different, Icier Time
DALLAS-FORT WORTH AREA (CBSDFW.COM) – What a difference a year makes.
One year ago, The Dallas-Fort Worth Area was wrapping its weeklong service as the NFL's host region for the Super Bowl – it's not fair to say city, as events sprawled across both Dallas and Tarrant Counties.
Temperatures were a good 30 to 40 degrees lower than they are today, prompting The Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers to move their practices indoors.
North Texas residents eyed renting their homes out for the week, while NFL and Cowboys staffers hurriedly prepared Cowboys Stadium for the largest sporting event of the year.
But all the talk tended to gravitate toward the bitter winter weather. Chief Meteorologist Larry Mowry warned of arctic blasts, while ice and snow cascading off the roof of Cowboys Stadium sent six people to the hospital.
The snow, however, didn't dampen much of the excitement across North Texas. Music acts as diverse as Willie Nelson to The Flaming Lips held well-attended concerts. And lest we forget the food-oriented events in Dallas and Fort Worth.
Celebrities like Gene Simmons moved forward with their own parties. The NFL Experience brought thousands to the Dallas Convention Center downtown during its weeklong stay.
While NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell praised the North Texas Host Committee for a job well done, hundreds of ticketholders were left without seats during Super Bowl XLV. They found that tidbit of information when they tried to enter the stadium before the game.
The weeks that followed contained news of class-action lawsuits filed against the NFL, and unearthed records that showed the Cowboys franchise waited months to seek permits to build the temporary seats – a fiasco that bookended coverage of Super Bowl XLV.
But on the evening of Feb. 6, 2011, Aaron Rodgers led his team to a 31-25 victory over the Steelers. Chunks of confetti still poured down from the top of Cowboys Stadium and, finally, the Super Bowl again had control over the conversation.
