With the stage set in the state where everything is bigger, this year’s Super Bowl has a Texas-size amount of hype attached to it.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers come into Super Bowl XLV flaunting two of the most impressive resumes in pro football. The Steelers currently boast an NFL high of six championships, while the Packers have won three.

The question now for football fans everywhere is this: Will this game live up to the thrilling Super Bowls we have seen over the last decade?

Since 2001, the NFL has produced six or seven of the most exciting and memorable championship games in the Super Bowl era.

The set of Super Bowls that truly set off the decade were the games that included the New England Patriots. New England reached four Super Bowls in seven years and each game was decided by three points.

Led by quarterback Tom Brady, the Patriots were a relative unknown until they defeated the mighty St. Louis Rams in 2002. At the time, the Rams were known as the “Greatest Show on Turf” because of their prolific offense, featuring Kurt Warner at quarterback, Marshall Faulk at running back and Pro Bowl wide-outs Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. The first Super Bowl victory for the Patriots was clinched by kicker Adam Vinatieri with a 48-yard field goal as time expired, marking the first time in NFL history that the Super Bowl was won on the final play of the game.

New England struggled the following season, but the seeds of a football dynasty were planted in that first Super Bowl. Brady proceeded to lead the Pats to consecutive wins in Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX. In each case, there was an emphasis on an entire team effort with the Patriots, but Brady and Vinatieri sealed the victories with breathtaking drives and game-winning kicks respectively.

In Super Bowl XL, the Steelers returned to the Super Bowl after a 10-year hiatus under the direction of Head Coach Bill Cowher, who led a physical Pittsburgh team to the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl. Playing the Seattle Seahawks of the NFC, the Steelers handled their opponent, giving fan favorite Jerome “The Bus” Bettis a Super Bowl in the final game of his career. Cowher also retired after the playoffs but was able to give the Steelers franchise “One for the Thumb.”

Another great story unfolded in the following Super Bowl when perennial MVP candidate Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts won his first Super Bowl. This was also a historic Super Bowl because it marked the first time that an African-American head coach (two, in fact) participated in the game, with Tony Dungy leading the Colts and Lovie Smith patrolling the sidelines for the Chicago Bears.

In many fans’ perspectives, the defining game of the decade came in 2008, when the Patriots made a remarkable return to the Super Bowl. At 18-0, the Patriots were heavy favorites to become only the second team in NFL history to complete an undefeated season (next to the 1972 Miami Dolphins). In contrast, the New York Giants were given very little chance by analysts and prognosticators to bring down the record-setting Pats.

This game was filled with a number of memorable plays, but the play that most fans remember is the leaping, side-of-the-helmet, unbelievable catch by reserve receiver David Tyree from the arm of quarterback Eli Manning. This seemingly impossible catch led to a game-winning touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minutes of the game.

Not to be out-done, the Steelers faced off against the Arizona Cardinals in the 2009 Super Bowl, which was littered with big time plays on both offense and defense. Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison delivered the most remarkable play when he returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown as time expired in the first half. However, the game-winner was a connection between Steelers gun-slinger Ben Roethlisberger and wide-out Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds left on the clock.

Finally, last year’s match up of the Saints and the Colts was remarkable because of the amount of joy and happiness it brought to the city of New Orleans and its residents. In winning the franchise’s first title, quarterback Drew Brees and Head Coach Sean Payton will be lauded for years to come because of their respective play-making ability and tremendous leadership skills. The game was won on an interception returned for a touchdown by Saints cornerback Tracy Porter.

So the question is, can the Steelers and the Packers live up to the media-driven frenzy this week? If the past decade of title games is any indication, these historic franchises should not disappoint. But, rather than make any predictions, I’m content to sit back and watch as sports history is made.

John Balkam is a sophomore in the McDonough School of Business. Thoughts of a Homegrown Hoya appears in every other Friday edition of Hoya Sports.