It’s that time again. The time when you realize that on Sunday you have to pretend like you know what you’re talking about when you go to a Super Bowl party, but between finishing your lab reports and hoping there would be two snow days, you just haven’t had time to watch any football. Here’s a quick guide to help navigate the battle between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers at Cowboys Stadium.

The props: To distinguish the fans from each city this weekend, pay attention to their gear. People with foam blocks of cheese on their head are donning the famous “cheeseheads” seen throughout the year at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. And whatever you do, do not call those swinging yellow cloths “rally towels;” those are Pittsburgh fans with “Terrible Towels.”

How they got here (NFC): Green Bay took the toughest road in the National Football Conference to the Super Bowl this year, entering the postseason as the lowest seed and playing each of its three playoff contests on the road. Before reaching the NFC Championship, the Packers took down the No. 1 seed Atlanta Falcons, a team previously anointed a shoe-in for the NFC slot in the big game. After that impressive feat, the Pack traveled to take on their fiercest rival, the Chicago Bears. The Bears struggled on offense, using three different quarterbacks in the game. An interception run for a touchdown by defensive lineman B.J. Raji seemed to exemplify these problems (and that is probably why it has been replayed incessantly on ESPN ever since).

How they got here (AFC): The Steelers’ path to the Super Bowl in the American Football Conference was filled with rivalry stories of its own. With a first round bye, the Black and Gold watched as Public Enemy No. 1 of Pittsburgh, the Baltimore Ravens, dominated Kansas City for a spot in the Divisional Round. The Steelers trailed 21-7 after the Ravens capitalized on two turnovers in the first half, but the Ravens followed with a dismal half of their own. Held by the Steelers defense to -4 yards in the third quarter, the Ravens offense was completely ineffective. After chipping away at the Ravens lead, Pittsburgh earned a home game in the AFC championship when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown on a 58-yard touchdown pass. The following week, Pittsburgh faced the New York Jets, a team hot off a victory (and a lot of trash talking) over the AFC’s No. 1 team, the New England Patriots. Pittsburgh jumped out to a 24-0 lead in the first half and held off a second-half surge by the Jets to punch their tickets to Dallas.

The Leaders: Neither of these teams can be discussed without mentioning their quarterbacks. After spending years as Brett Favre’s backup, Aaron Rodgers progressed from understudy to starter when Favre left Green Bay for the Jets. Since then, Rodgers has proven to be a talented starter, throwing for over 4,000 yards in 2008 and 2009 and finishing the 2010 regular season with 3,922. Rodgers’ game against Atlanta was nothing short of incredible: he was 31 of 36 passing, threw for three touchdowns and ran for one more. With a performance like that, the Pack did not punt a single time against the Falcons. If Rodgers can lead the Packers to a Super Bowl victory, he will have as many Super Bowls for the Packers as Favre.

Despite already having two Super Bowls to his name, Ben Roethlisberger’s 2010 season was partially overshadowed by problems off the field. After an arrest in Georgia over the summer, Roethlisberger was suspended for four games under the NFL’s player conduct policy. In the 12 regular season games that followed, Roethlisberger and the Steelers claimed 11 victories. Roethlisberger has a way of bringing his team back into games that seem impossible to win; he set a rookie record for comeback wins in 2004 and is the statistical leader for game-winning drives and fourth quarter comebacks among quarterbacks in a comparable number of seasons. A third Super Bowl victory would tie him with Tom Brady for Super Bowl rings—a feat that would certainly do wonders in improving his image.

Best supporting actors: It doesn’t take a football expert to know that the quarterback can’t win a Super Bowl alone. On defense for the Packers, look for second-year player Clay Matthews. Matthews has 13.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception on the year, he will certainly be a concern for Steeler’s head coach Mike Tomlin and company. Watch for Greg Jennings and Donald Driver, Rodgers’ dangerous weapons at wide receiver—Green Bay wide-outs are known for their yards-after-catch capabilities.
Steelers linebacker James Harrison has paid the price to achieve his extremely rough style of play, literally. The NFL fined him $125,000 this year for illegal hits to the head. Harrison jokingly told the media that he “didn’t want to hurt nobody,” but don’t take his word for it. The Arizona Cardinals certainly wouldn’t: Harrison returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown against them in Super Bowl XLIII.