Super Bowl XXXVIII field was the crew of STS-114, the "Return to Flight" Space Shuttle mission that eventually launched "Space Shuttle Discovery" on July 26, 2005. Houston-native Beyoncé then sang the national anthem. Aerosmith performed Baby, Please Don't Go and Dream On as part of the pre-show ceremony. The coin toss ceremony featured former NFL players and Texas natives Earl Campbell, Ollie Matson, Don Maynard, Y. A. Tittle, Mike Singletary, Gene Upshaw. Tittle tossed the coin. The NFL logo was painted at midfield for the first time since Super Bowl XXX, and the Super Bowl XXXVIII logo was placed on the 25-yard lines.
Super Bowl XL 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 1997–2003. He was inactive for Super Bowl XL, which, like Bettis, turned out to be his final NFL game before retiring that offseason. The chart below provides a comparison of regular season statistics in key categories (overall rank amongst 32 teams in parentheses). The