DALLAS (AP) - Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts get the chance next season to do what the Dallas Cowboys failed to do this time. They could become the first team to play a Super Bowl in their own stadium.
“It’s exciting. I’m sure Dallas had to deal with those questions all year,” Manning said in Dallas this week. “We have a great stadium to have the event and I know the people there are excited. Playing there, it’d be very special. … That will be the motivation, like all teams, to get to Indy.”
After the Green Bay Packers play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cowboys Stadium on Sunday, the next Super Bowl _ the 46th in NFL history _ will be played at Lucas Oil Stadium in heart of the Indianapolis.
“Last year, I remember kidding the Dallas folks that we should have a home-and-home the next two years,” Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard said. “That’s not going to happen, obviously.”
The Cowboys (6-10) didn’t even make the playoffs, getting off to such a bad start that Wade Phillips was fired midway through this season. Indianapolis won 10 games and made its record-tying ninth consecutive playoff appearance, then lost to the New York Jets.
If the Colts make it 10 playoffs in a row, they will have the opportunity for a hometown Super Bowl.
“It’s certainly possible. Peyton is still at the top of his game. His supporting cast is very, very strong. I’d love to see it,” Ballard said. “Some people say, ’Oh, no, you don’t want that because then you won’t have as many visitors.’ I don’t believe that. Look at Butler. Them being in the Final Four actually generated more interest.”
The Colts have been to the last two Super Bowls in Miami, winning the 2007 game over the Chicago Bears and then losing to the New Orleans Saints last year.
The 2013 Super Bowl will be played in the Louisiana Superdome, the home of the Saints.
“I’d like a rematch,” Ballard said.
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CENTER STARTER: Doug Legursky prepared all week like he was going to play in the Super Bowl. Good thing, because the Pittsburgh Steelers’ backup guard is making his first NFL start as a center Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.
Rookie Pro Bowl selection Maurkice Pouncey was ruled out of the Super Bowl because of a high left ankle sprain.
“I’m approaching it the same way I’ve done every game this entire year, going into it prepared as if I’m going to play,” Legursky said this week. “If I don’t do it that way and I get thrown in there, I’m not prepared. So I’m not going to make that mistake.”
Pouncey’s ankle never healed enough for him to practice this week, and he was ruled out Friday. When Pouncey got hurt in the AFC championship game, Legursky took over snapping the ball to Ben Roethlisberger.
Legursky, an undrafted free agent out of Marshall in 2008, started four games in place of injured guard Trai Essex early this season. Those are Legursky’s only starts in 24 career regular-season games.
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UNDER A DOME: The Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium will be the 13th played indoors. The NFC has a 9-3 advantage in championships settled under a dome.
Pittsburgh and Green Bay won their only indoor Super Bowls. The Steelers beat Seattle at Detroit’s Ford Field in 2006, and the Packers defeated New England at the Louisiana Superdome in 1997.
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SUPER FOOD FARE: Pasta bars, Texas chicken fried turkey sandwiches and sushi platters are just a few of the unique food options at Cowboys Stadium for the 100,000 or so fans attending the Super Bowl.
For heartier appetites, there will one-pound hamburgers topped with fried onions and smoked chopped barbecue. Or some chunky “Bent Buckle” Texas chili served in a sourdough bread bowl.
Looking for an adult beverage and a Super Bowl keepsake? Get both with a Texas-sized margarita known as a “Cowboyrita” served in a souvenir glass. The Mexican hot chocolate and hot Bloody Mary drinks will come in souvenir thermal travel mugs.
Food prep for Sunday included sauteing more than a ton of peaches for cobbler, grilling 15,000 Kobe beef sliders, peeling 70,000 pieces of fresh jumbo shrimp and training 250 chefs to work the different food stations in the stadium. There will be more than 3,000 concessions workers on duty.
Fans are expected Sunday to consume more than 12 tons of nachos, five tons of cheese steak and four tons of hot dogs. And wash it down with 15,625 gallons of soda, 8,000 gallons of bottled water and 160 tons of ice _ enough to make three hockey rinks.
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MORE CHEESE THAN TOWELS: There have more people searching for “cheesehead hats” than “Terrible Towels” leading up to the Super Bowl. At least online.
According to Yahoo!, there were 66 percent more online searches this week about the cheesehead hats worn by Green Bay Packers fans than the Terrible Towels waved by those cheering for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A very popular search question was “What does the ’G’ in the Packers logo stand for?” Easy answer: Green Bay, the team’s hometown.
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AP Pro Football Writer Jaime Aron contributed to this report.
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