Patriots win a thriller
EDDIE PELLS, AP Sports Writer
Sunday, February 1, 2004
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(02-01) 20:04 PST HOUSTON (AP) --
Glitz and glitter off the field, a sensational game on it. This may have been the best Super Bowl Sunday of them all.
Adam Vinatieri kicked a 41-yard field goal with four seconds left to lift the New England Patriots to a 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers. These were supposed to be boring, defensive-minded teams, but this one wound up feeling as much like a backyard game between brothers as the biggest game of the year.
The teams went back and forth, back and forth, scoring a total of 37 points over the last 15 minutes, with big plays coming from the most likely and unlikely of sources.
Mike Vrabel, an unheralded linebacker, caught a touchdown. Before that, Jake Delhomme and Mushin Muhammad hooked up for an 85-yard pass, the longest in Super Bowl history, to give the Panthers a brief 22-21 lead.
Vinatieri had surely been here before. Two years ago, he kicked the game-winner in New England's 20-17 win over the St. Louis Rams to give the Patriots their first championship. By many accounts, that game was the most exciting Super Bowl ever. Now, that's up for debate, something of a surprise considering these were two teams who prided themselves on defense, slugging it out and a relatively humdrum style of play.
Their dramatics gave the 85 million or so Americans who watched the game plenty to talk about around the watercooler on Monday.
Something more, that is, than the commercials, singers and stars that make the Super Bowl not just a game, but America's biggest unofficial holiday.
Beyonce and P. Diddy showed up and shared the stage with the two Super Bowl teams, who played in a gleaming new $450 million stadium with a retractable roof. Janet Jackson was there, too, and CBS apologized when another star, Justin Timberlake, tore off part of her top at the end of the halftime show and exposed her breast.
Shortly after that, a streaker came to the middle of the field and delayed the start of the second half. He was leveled by New England linebacker Matt Chatham, then hogtied and arrested by Houston police.
It was strange stuff, but it would wind up as barely a blip on this game.
Surely, the TV ratings will hold up. CBS knew the Super Bowl was the gold standard of the Nielsen Ratings, but when a game is as close and taut and exciting as this, the numbers get even better.
Those who watched it all saw New England win its 15th straight game, a single-season streak matched only by the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who went 17-0.
The Patriots went ahead 21-10 early in the fourth quarter and the game looked routine. But the Panthers, their offense nearly dormant for three quarters, marched down for a touchdown to pull within 21-16, missing the 2-point try that would have made it a three-point game.
After getting the ball back, Delhomme saw Muhammad streaking free down the sideline and threw a beautiful, arcing pass that hit him in stride -- six more points for a 22-21 lead.
But the fun was just getting started. Brady calmly led the Patriots down for a go-ahead score, to Vrabel, the linebacker who lined up on offense, ran a short pattern and made a nice, two-handed catch with the grace of a receiver.
Carolina scored, then after a short kickoff, it was Vinatieri's turn -- again. He split the uprights, and more than made up for a pair of misses earlier in the game.
The finish and the exciting game were befitting of the party that surrounded it.
One survey showed Americans nearly double their consumption of cocktail franks during Super Bowl week, and spend $5 million more than normal on tortilla chips.
Most of that is consumed in front of the TV, where an estimated 100 million viewers would get the best view of the commercials that have become the most anticipated moments of the Super Bowl. CBS sold 30-second spots for an average of $2.3 million.
There were ads for erectile dysfunction, one where a bear dresses up like a human and passes a hot check to buy some Pepsi, Cedric the Entertainer accidentally getting his legs waxed, and so on.
There also was a more serious side to the game.
In a pregame interview on CBS, President Bush wished his best to U.S. troops who were watching the big game, and also paid tribute to the seven astronauts who died in the Columbia space shuttle explosion a year ago Sunday.
Security remained a key issue, with Houston's 5,400-person police force on full staffing, part of a 25-agency effort to protect the Super Bowl city for this, the third NFL title game since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
A Continental Airlines flight from Washington to Houston was canceled due to security concerns, although a U.S. government official said the flight cancellation was not specifically connected to the Super Bowl.
The roof on Reliant Stadium stayed closed throughout, and the stadium was heavily secured: Fans waited in long lines before going through any of the 90 metal detectors stationed around the stadium. Concrete barricades stretched for blocks and a no-fly zone was imposed over a seven-mile area above.
EDDIE PELLS, AP Sports Writer
Sunday, February 1, 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(02-01) 20:04 PST HOUSTON (AP) --
Glitz and glitter off the field, a sensational game on it. This may have been the best Super Bowl Sunday of them all.
Adam Vinatieri kicked a 41-yard field goal with four seconds left to lift the New England Patriots to a 32-29 victory over the Carolina Panthers. These were supposed to be boring, defensive-minded teams, but this one wound up feeling as much like a backyard game between brothers as the biggest game of the year.
The teams went back and forth, back and forth, scoring a total of 37 points over the last 15 minutes, with big plays coming from the most likely and unlikely of sources.
Mike Vrabel, an unheralded linebacker, caught a touchdown. Before that, Jake Delhomme and Mushin Muhammad hooked up for an 85-yard pass, the longest in Super Bowl history, to give the Panthers a brief 22-21 lead.
Vinatieri had surely been here before. Two years ago, he kicked the game-winner in New England's 20-17 win over the St. Louis Rams to give the Patriots their first championship. By many accounts, that game was the most exciting Super Bowl ever. Now, that's up for debate, something of a surprise considering these were two teams who prided themselves on defense, slugging it out and a relatively humdrum style of play.
Their dramatics gave the 85 million or so Americans who watched the game plenty to talk about around the watercooler on Monday.
Something more, that is, than the commercials, singers and stars that make the Super Bowl not just a game, but America's biggest unofficial holiday.
Beyonce and P. Diddy showed up and shared the stage with the two Super Bowl teams, who played in a gleaming new $450 million stadium with a retractable roof. Janet Jackson was there, too, and CBS apologized when another star, Justin Timberlake, tore off part of her top at the end of the halftime show and exposed her breast.
Shortly after that, a streaker came to the middle of the field and delayed the start of the second half. He was leveled by New England linebacker Matt Chatham, then hogtied and arrested by Houston police.
It was strange stuff, but it would wind up as barely a blip on this game.
Surely, the TV ratings will hold up. CBS knew the Super Bowl was the gold standard of the Nielsen Ratings, but when a game is as close and taut and exciting as this, the numbers get even better.
Those who watched it all saw New England win its 15th straight game, a single-season streak matched only by the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who went 17-0.
The Patriots went ahead 21-10 early in the fourth quarter and the game looked routine. But the Panthers, their offense nearly dormant for three quarters, marched down for a touchdown to pull within 21-16, missing the 2-point try that would have made it a three-point game.
After getting the ball back, Delhomme saw Muhammad streaking free down the sideline and threw a beautiful, arcing pass that hit him in stride -- six more points for a 22-21 lead.
But the fun was just getting started. Brady calmly led the Patriots down for a go-ahead score, to Vrabel, the linebacker who lined up on offense, ran a short pattern and made a nice, two-handed catch with the grace of a receiver.
Carolina scored, then after a short kickoff, it was Vinatieri's turn -- again. He split the uprights, and more than made up for a pair of misses earlier in the game.
The finish and the exciting game were befitting of the party that surrounded it.
One survey showed Americans nearly double their consumption of cocktail franks during Super Bowl week, and spend $5 million more than normal on tortilla chips.
Most of that is consumed in front of the TV, where an estimated 100 million viewers would get the best view of the commercials that have become the most anticipated moments of the Super Bowl. CBS sold 30-second spots for an average of $2.3 million.
There were ads for erectile dysfunction, one where a bear dresses up like a human and passes a hot check to buy some Pepsi, Cedric the Entertainer accidentally getting his legs waxed, and so on.
There also was a more serious side to the game.
In a pregame interview on CBS, President Bush wished his best to U.S. troops who were watching the big game, and also paid tribute to the seven astronauts who died in the Columbia space shuttle explosion a year ago Sunday.
Security remained a key issue, with Houston's 5,400-person police force on full staffing, part of a 25-agency effort to protect the Super Bowl city for this, the third NFL title game since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
A Continental Airlines flight from Washington to Houston was canceled due to security concerns, although a U.S. government official said the flight cancellation was not specifically connected to the Super Bowl.
The roof on Reliant Stadium stayed closed throughout, and the stadium was heavily secured: Fans waited in long lines before going through any of the 90 metal detectors stationed around the stadium. Concrete barricades stretched for blocks and a no-fly zone was imposed over a seven-mile area above.
