Super Bowl XLIV
Encyclopedia
Super Bowl
XLIV was an American football
game between the American Football Conference
(AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts
and the National Football Conference
(NFC) champion New Orleans Saints
to decide the National Football League
(NFL) champion for the 2009 season
. The Saints (16–3) defeated the Colts (16–3) by a score of 31–17, earning their first Super Bowl win. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees
, who completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns, was named the Super Bowl MVP
. His 32 completions tied a Super Bowl record set by Tom Brady
in Super Bowl XXXVIII
. With the victory, the Saints became the fourth team to win in their only Super Bowl appearance after the New York Jets
, Baltimore Ravens
and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
.
The game was played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida
on February 7, 2010 for the fifth time (and in South Florida for the tenth time), the latest calendar date for a Super Bowl yet. The game was the Saints' first Super Bowl appearance and the fourth for the Colts franchise. All four of the Colts' Super Bowl games have been played in Miami, with their first two games in the former Miami Orange Bowl
and the last two in the current Miami stadium (which has changed names several times since its opening, most recently in January 2010).
The Saints entered the game with a 13–3 record
for the 2009 regular season, compared to the Colts' 14–2 record
. In the playoff games
, both teams placed first in their respective conferences. It was the first time since Super Bowl XXVIII
(16 years previously) that both number one seeds have reached the Super Bowl. The Colts entered the Super Bowl off of 20–3 and 30–17 victories (over the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets, respectively), while the Saints advanced with scores of 45–14 and 31–28 (in overtime), defeating last year's runners up the Arizona Cardinals
in their first game and the Minnesota Vikings
in the second. The Pittsburgh Steelers
, as defending champions, failed to make the playoffs based on tiebreakers. The Saints' head coach was Sean Payton
, having joined from the Dallas Cowboys
in 2006, while opposing head coach Jim Caldwell was appointed the Colts' head coach in 2009, having joined them in 2002 as assistant head coach.
It was the tenth time the Super Bowl has been held in Miami at the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins
: the now-Sun Life Stadium had hosted four previous Super Bowls (XXIII, XXIX, XXXIII, and XLI) and five were played in the Dolphins' now demolished former home, the Miami Orange Bowl
(II, III, V, X, XIII). The game was broadcast live on CBS
, with the National Anthem
sung by Carrie Underwood
and the halftime show
that featured the British rock band The Who
. The tagline for the game was, "Own The Moment."
The league initially voted on March 23, 2005, that New York City
host the game, contingent on the completion of the proposed West Side Stadium
being built for the New York Jets
by 2008. After New York
state government officials declined to approve $400 million for the stadium, the NFL decided to reopen the bidding for the game's site. The league reconsidered the other, unsuccessful candidates for Super Bowl XLIII
: Atlanta, Houston, and Miami. On October 6, 2008, the league selected Miami as the host city.
With Tampa
as the host of Super Bowl XLIII
, Super Bowl XLIV marked the third time that consecutive Super Bowls have been played in the same state. Super Bowls II
and III
were both played at the Orange Bowl. Super Bowls XXI
and XXII
were both played in California: XXI at Pasadena
's Rose Bowl Stadium and XXII at San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium
.
Miami became the first city to host two Super Bowls designated as a National Special Security Event
(NSSE). In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, every Super Bowl since Super Bowl XXXVI
has been designated as an NSSE. Super Bowl XLI was Miami's first Super Bowl designated as an NSSE.
was played on January 31, during the off-week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl, breaking with the precedent of scheduling the game for the Sunday after the Super Bowl. The game also changed venues from Aloha Stadium
in Honolulu, Hawaii
, where it had been held since 1979, to Sun Life Stadium in Miami (the same city and stadium hosting the Super Bowl itself). A total of 14 players from the Super Bowl participants – seven each from the Colts and the Saints – did not play in the Pro Bowl. The new schedule took advantage of the bye week given to the conference champions to rest and prepare for the Super Bowl. The NFL has indicated this may not be a permanent transition, and has discussed a possible rotating location for the Pro Bowl in the future. The game will return to Hawaii in 2011 and 2012, however.
The move also meant that the Pro Bowl, which was won by the AFC by a score of 41–34, would avoid competing against the 2010 NBA All-Star Game
, the second full day of competition in the 2010 Winter Olympics
, and the 52nd running of the Daytona 500
, as would have been the case had the game been played on February 14 per its traditional post-Super Bowl scheduling.
finished the season with an NFC best 13–3 record and went on to advance to the first Super Bowl in their 43 years as an NFL team. After joining the NFL in 1967, it took them 21 years to record their first winning season and another 13 years after that to win their first playoff game. Five years later, the New Orleans area suffered another setback when the Louisiana Superdome
was devastated with the rest of the city by Hurricane Katrina
, forcing them to play all of their home games in elsewhere as they finished with a 3–13 record
(see Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints
). But in the offseason, the team's fortunes began to turn. First, they signed pro bowl quarterback Drew Brees
, who would go on to throw for more passing yards than any other quarterback over the next four seasons. They also drafted multi-talented Heisman Trophy
winning (since vacated) running back Reggie Bush
, receiver Marques Colston
, and guard Jahri Evans
, three players who would become major contributors on the Saints' offense. The following season, New Orleans improved to 10–6 and advanced to the NFC title game for the first time, which they lost to the Chicago Bears
. Although they failed to make the playoffs over the next two seasons, they continued to sign new talent, and by 2009 they were ready to make another run at the Super Bowl.
The Saints' offense led the NFL in scoring, averaging just under 32 points per game. Brees finished the season as the NFL's top rated quarterback (109.6), completing an NFL-record 70.6% of his passes for 4,338 yards and 34 touchdowns, with just 11 interceptions. His top target was Colston, who caught 70 passes for 1,074 yards and 9 touchdowns, but he had plenty of other weapons, such as receivers Devery Henderson
(51 receptions) and Robert Meachem
(45), along with tight ends Jeremy Shockey
(48) and Dave Thomas
(35). The ground attack was led by running backs Pierre Thomas
and Mike Bell. Thomas rushed for 793 yards and caught 39 passes for 302, while Bell added 654 yards on the ground. Bush was also a major contributor, rushing for 390 yards (with a 5.6 yards per carry average), catching 47 passes for 335 yards, and adding another 130 yards returning punts. New Orleans also had a strong offensive line with three Pro Bowl selections: guard Jahri Evans
, center Jonathan Goodwin
, and tackle Jon Stinchcomb
Defensive lineman Will Smith led the team in sacks with 13. Another big weapon on defense was linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who led the team with 87 tackles and intercepted three passes. The Saints' secondary was led by 12-year veteran safety Darren Sharper
, who recorded 9 interceptions and set an NFL record by returning them for 376 yards and three touchdowns. Cornerback Tracy Porter
was also effective, recording 49 tackles and 4 picks with one touchdown.
Like the Colts, the Saints also started out the season strong, winning their first 13 games. But then they became the first 13–0 team ever to lose their last three games of the year. After losing their next game to the Dallas Cowboys
24–17, they suffered a narrow loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
(20–17 in overtime) after Garrett Hartley
missed a potential game winning field goal, and then closed out the season with a 23–10 loss to the Carolina Panthers
. Still, they clinched the #1 NFC playoff seed and scored 76 points in their two playoff wins en route to their first ever Super Bowl.
, who threw for 4,500 yards and 33 touchdowns during the season, with only 16 interceptions, earning him a 99.9 passer rating and a league record fourth National Football League Most Valuable Player Award. Under the protection of Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday
and the rest of the line, Manning had been sacked just 13 times during the regular season, the fewest in the NFL. His top targets were veteran receiver Reggie Wayne
and tight end Dallas Clark
, who both recorded 100 receptions and 10 touchdowns. Wayne led the team with 1,260 yards, while Clark was second with 1,106. Manning also had other reliable targets, such as recently acquired receivers Austin Collie
(60 receptions for 676 yards and 7 touchdowns) and Pierre Garçon
(47 receptions for 765 yards and 4 touchdowns). Running back Joseph Addai
led the Colts' ground game with 821 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, while also catching 51 passes for another 336 yards and 3 scores.
Indianapolis' defensive line was led by Pro Bowl defensive ends Robert Mathis
and Dwight Freeney
. Freeney led the team with 13.5 sacks, while Mathis added 9.5 sacks and forced 5 fumbles. Behind them, the Colts had a solid corps of linebackers featuring Clint Session
and Gary Brackett
, who each recorded 80 tackles. Pro Bowl safety Antoine Bethea
led the secondary with 70 tackles and four interceptions.
Under their new coach Jim Caldwell, the Colts started off the season with 14 consecutive wins before suffering their first loss to the New York Jets
, 29–15, a game in which Caldwell made the controversial decision to rest his starters after the team took a slim lead rather than keep them in to play for a chance at a 16–0 season. Indianapolis finished the season at 14–2 following a loss to the Buffalo Bills
, in which they rested their starters and went on to advance to the Super Bowl, making them perfect in all their games in which their starters played all four quarters.
Caldwell led the Colts to the Super Bowl the season after Tony Dungy
retired, just like in Tampa Bay when Jon Gruden led the Bucs to Super Bowl XXXVII
after Dungy was fired. Senior offensive line coach Howard Mudd
retired following the game.
33–14, forcing four turnovers from their all-pro quarterback Tom Brady
. Against the Colts however, all they could manage was a field goal on their opening drive. Indianapolis built up a 17–3 first half lead with a Matt Stover
field goal and Manning's touchdown passes to Wayne and Collie. In the second half, the Colts survived two interceptions from Baltimore safety Ed Reed
on one drive, one of which Reed fumbled, and the other which was called back by a penalty. Stover, who spent 18 years with the Modell
franchise
, finished the drive with his second field goal to make final score 20–3, as their defense put the game away by forcing two consecutive turnovers.
Their next opponent was the Jets, who had made the playoffs in part due to Caldwell's decision to bench his starters in their Week 16 meeting. This time, the Colts would have to mount a comeback, as New York built up a 17–6 first half lead. Yet Indianapolis would step up to the challenge, scoring 24 unanswered points. First, Manning completed three passes to Collie for 80 yards, the last one a 16-yard touchdown completion to cut the score to 17–13 at the end of the half. Manning added two more touchdown passes in the second half, one to Garçon and one to Clark, and Stover added a 21-yard field goal to close out the scoring. Manning finished the game with 377 passing yards and three touchdowns, while Garçon and Collie had over 100 receiving yards each.
Meanwhile, New Orleans started off their playoff run with a dominating 45–14 win over the defending NFC champion Arizona Cardinals
. Arizona was coming off a 51–45 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers
in which they racked up 531 yards against a defense ranked second in the league in total yards allowed. However, although Arizona scored on their first play of the game, New Orleans dominated the Cardinals with 35 points in the first half. First, Lynell Hamilton
scored on a 1-yard run. Then, Sharper recovered a fumble from Arizona, setting up Brees' touchdown pass to Shockey. Following a punt, Bush scored on a franchise playoff record 46-yard run. In the second quarter, Brees added two more touchdown passes, one to Henderson on a flea flicker
and the other to Colston that was set up by a Will Smith interception, giving them a 35–14 first half lead before adding 10 more points in the second half on a Hartley field goal and Bush's 83-yard punt return. Bush racked up 217 all-purpose yards, while Brees threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns.
Their opponent in the NFC championship game was the Minnesota Vikings
, led by 11-time Pro Bowl quarterback Brett Favre
, who had thrown four touchdown passes in their divisional round win over the Dallas Cowboys
. Even though the Saints' offense could only muster 257 total yards, their defense made up for it by forcing five turnovers. Additionally, the Saints outgained the Vikings in punt and kickoff return yards 166 to 50. The key play of the game occurred late in the fourth quarter with the score tied 28–28 and the Vikings driving for a potential game-winning field goal. With less than a minute left, they reached the Saints 33-yard line. But after two runs for no gain and a penalty that pushed them back to the 38, Porter picked off a pass from Favre to send the game into overtime. After New Orleans won the coin toss, Pierre Thomas' 40-yard kickoff return set up a 10-play, 39-yard drive that ended with a game winning 40-yard field goal by Hartley, sending the Saints to their first ever Super Bowl.
This is the first Super Bowl matchup in which both teams had a first-round bye
since Super Bowl XXXIX
. All four of the Super Bowls in between had one team that played all three rounds (two of which were wild-card
teams), with three of those teams (including the Colts in Super Bowl XLI
) winning it all.
, capping the network's 50th season of NFL coverage (1956–93; 1998–present). This was the 17th Super Bowl telecast for CBS, the largest total among the "big four" US television networks. CBS had also broadcast the previous Super Bowl held in South Florida (XLI
). Play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz
and color commentator
Phil Simms
were in the broadcast booth, with Steve Tasker
and Solomon Wilcots
serving as sideline reporter
s. The game was preceded by The Super Bowl Today, a four-hour pregame show hosted by James Brown and featuring analysts Dan Marino
, Boomer Esiason
, Shannon Sharpe
and Bill Cowher
along with several other commentators, which started at 2 pm US EST. A kickoff show for the game aired from 6 pm US EST to 6:28 pm US EST.
With an average US audience of 106.5 million viewers, this was the second most-watched Super Bowl, trailing only the 111 million viewers for Super Bowl XLV
the following year, as well as the most-watched program of any kind in American television history, beating the 27-year-long record previously held by the final episode of M*A*S*H, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", watched by 105.97 million viewers. An estimated 153.4 million total viewers watched all or part of the game. The game drew a national Nielsen rating of 45.0 with a 68 share, the highest for a Super Bowl since Super Bowl XXX
in 1996 (46.0/68). The telecast drew a 56.3 rating in New Orleans and a 54.2 rating in Indianapolis, first and fourth respectively among local markets.
Perennial Super Bowl advertisers Anheuser–Busch InBev
and CareerBuilder
stated their commitment to advertise in Super Bowl XLIV, showing eight and two different spots during the game, respectively. A 30-second spot cost US $
2.8 million with several advertisers getting discounts, down from last year's $3 million. All advertising slots were sold out on February 1, 2010, six days before the game. Pepsi-Cola had previously stated their commitment to advertise, but then said they would not be buying any commercial time, marking the first time in 23 years that Pepsi did not run an ad during the Super Bowl itself. FedEx
also stated that they would not buy ad time. Both Pepsi and FedEx are official NFL sponsors. Coca-Cola
and Dr Pepper Snapple Group
capitalized on Pepsi's absence by buying ads in the game; Dr Pepper's ad featured KISS
performing "Calling Dr. Love
," while one of Coca-Cola's three ads featured Montgomery Burns
(of The Simpsons
) losing everything he owns. Also for the second straight year, one of the Big Three American automobile makers — General Motors
— did not have a commercial in the game. Ford
had one commercial for the Ford Edge featuring Mike Rowe
. Chrysler
's Dodge
brand did advertise this year for its Dodge Charger
, narrated by Michael C. Hall
.
Frito-Lay
's Doritos
brand, in turn owned by PepsiCo, had four consumer-created advertisements scheduled. The first three ads – running in the first quarter – featured a sly dog using an anti-bark collar to his advantage to steal a man's Doritos, a fast-handed boy defending his Doritos and his mother from a potential suitor, and a man faking his death for free Doritos. The fourth ad, featuring an angry gym rat who was overprotective for his Doritos being stolen, aired in the fourth quarter. Had three of the ads topped the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter
rankings, the commercial's creators would have won a total of US $5 million ($1 million for first, $600,000 for second and $400,000 for third, plus a $1 million bonus for each of the three finalists). The previous year, Joe and David Herbert's "Free Doritos" ad topped the survey and won $1 million. The United States Census Bureau
spent $2.5 million on a 30-second spot, directed by noted independent filmmaker Christopher Guest
, for the 2010 United States Census, which urged Americans to answer its questionnaires that will be sent out in the next few weeks. McDonald's
aired a commercial, updating a famous ad from the early 1990s, in which NBA superstars LeBron James
and Dwight Howard
(replacing Michael Jordan
and Larry Bird
) play an otherworldly game of H-O-R-S-E, with a McDonald's lunch going to the winner – however, they soon look over and see that Bird has helped himself to it. Mars Chocolate
returned three years after its controversial Snickers
ad that was protested by gay groups with two men kissing one another that was pulled one day following the game (see Super Bowl XLI: Commercials). The commercial – winner of the annual Ad Meter survey – featured veteran actors Betty White
and Abe Vigoda
playing full-contact backyard football
.
The rest of the Top Five:
The YouTube Top Five of their "2010 Ad Blitz" were:
ADBOWL
results reflected the following ranking:
Internet domain registrar GoDaddy, which created a racy ad the year after the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy
, bought two ads in the Super Bowl for the sixth consecutive year. Advertising Age reported that Paramount Pictures
bought a Super Bowl spot for the upcoming films Iron Man 2
and The Last Airbender
. A trailer for the HBO miniseries
The Pacific
was also aired.
Other advertisers for 2010 included Homeaway
Inc.,, paying tribute to National Lampoon's Vacation
with their stars Chevy Chase
and Beverly D'Angelo
, and Diamond Foods, who returned to promote both its Emerald Nuts brand and Pop Secret
popcorn, which they bought from General Mills
two years before. Boost Mobile
aired a special ad, celebrating the 25th Anniversary of The Super Bowl Shuffle, featuring many of the 1985 Chicago Bears to advertise their US $50 per month service. Also, in a CBS-produced promo for the Late Show with David Letterman
, the eponymous host
and his longtime talk show rival, Jay Leno
, appeared together with Oprah Winfrey
.
Three advertisers in particular raised eyebrows with their choice to advertise during the Super Bowl. One new advertiser, Focus on the Family
, aired a commercial featuring 2007 Heisman Trophy
winner Tim Tebow
and his mother that elicited criticism from some women's groups who demanded CBS cancel the ad because they claimed it would be divisive, under the impression that it would mention Tebow's mother was advised, for health issues, to abort
her son Tim, but she chose to give birth to him. In the first quarter, CBS aired the advertisement, which had not been pre-released to the public. Per a statement released earlier, the ad did not mention the topic of abortion explicitly.
One proposed sponsor, ManCrunch
, a gay dating site that bills itself as a place "where many many many men come out to play," had expressed interest in purchasing a 30-second advertisement. The ManCrunch advertisement would have depicted a male Green Bay Packers
fan and a male Minnesota Vikings
fan reaching into the same bowl of potato chips at the same time and, after a brief pause, begin to passionately kiss. ManCrunch's ad, which has since been released to the public, was initially put on a waiting list before the network outright rejected it due to it violating CBS's broadcast standards. ManCrunch immediately accused CBS of discrimination. Some observers suspect that their advertisement was an attempt at ambush marketing
and free publicity. Another ad that was rejected by CBS for failure to meet standards was for the texting service kgb
, which focuses on two men with CGI-enhanced images bent over with their heads in their posteriors, while an actor, Sean Gunn
, portraying an agent stated that "They had their head up their [backsides]". kgb instead aired an ad with two people who had to find the Japanese word for "I surrender" before being run over by a sumo wrestler. Another ad for Bud Light which was rejected showed workers stripping down for a charity clothes drive in exchange for free beer. All of the rejected ads were shown on YouTube
.
Among other rejected or modified ads were one for Electronic Arts
' Dante's Inferno
, which had to be edited for content (the closing phrase, originally intended to read "go to Hell," was replaced with "Hell awaits"), and GoDaddy's originally planned advertisement. Career Builder's ad, showing people dressed too casually for "Casual Friday" and a Dockers
ad to promote a free pair of their pants with men in shirts but sans trousers aired back-to-back early in the second quarter.
An E*TRADE advertisement, continuing their theme of talking babies on a Web cam, featured a boyfriend-stealing, "milkaholic" baby girl named "Lindsay." Actress Lindsay Lohan
, who has a history of alcoholism and was noted for having tried in the early 2000s to date popular young men who were already dating other women, attempted to sue E*TRADE over the advertisement, seeking US$100,000,000 in damages, under the impression that the advertisement defamed her via subliminal messaging and violated her personality rights
. E*TRADE denied the allegations and stated the name "Lindsay" came from a member of the accounting staff. Lohan and E*TRADE settled the lawsuit in September 2010; the terms were confidential.
had the national English-language broadcast rights to the game in the United States and Canada. Marv Albert
(play-by-play) and Boomer Esiason
(color commentator) called the game for the network; it was the last broadcast Albert would do for Westwood One, due to his desire to focus on his basketball coverage duties. The teams' flagship stations also carried the game with their respective local announcers: WLHK-FM
and WFNI-AM
in Indianapolis (with Bob Lamey
and Will Wolford
announcing) and WWL-FM
/AM in New Orleans (with Jim Henderson
and Hokie Gajan
announcing). Univision Radio
aired a Spanish-language feed for Hispanophone American listeners (with Clemson Smith-Muñiz and David Crommett announcing).
Sirius XM Satellite Radio carried 14 game feeds in ten languages to Sirius
subscribers, as well as to XM
subscribers with the "Best of Sirius" package. In addition to the four US feeds mentioned above, Sirius carried the following international feeds:
FieldPass, the subscription Internet radio service provided by the league at NFL.com, also carried most of these feeds. Due to contractual restrictions, only Sirius XM and FieldPass were permitted to carry the local team broadcasts along with WLHK, WFNI and WWL, with the teams' other network radio affiliates instead airing the Westwood One feed.
played the Super Bowl Saturday Night event with O.A.R.
and Robert Randolph & The Family Band
.
The instrumental for the songs "Misguided Ghosts" and "Playing God" off Paramore
's latest album Brand New Eyes
played during the introduction of players and during an excerpt of Drew Brees' patronage to the city of New Orleans.
Chris Daughtry
, Steve Winwood
and Queen Latifah
performed during the Super Bowl pre-game tailgate party, which started at 2 p.m.
Carrie Underwood
sang the National Anthem
and Queen Latifah sang "America the Beautiful
." Underwood's selection marks the third straight year that an alumnus of American Idol
has been chosen to perform "The Star-Spangled Banner," joining Jordin Sparks
at Super Bowl XLII
and Jennifer Hudson
a year later
. Translation of both songs into American Sign Language
was provided by Kinesha Battles, a student at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
.
To commemorate the 15th anniversary of the San Francisco 49ers
' fifth Super Bowl victory, which took place at this stadium, Jerry Rice
, who had also been MVP of Super Bowl XXIII
, another Super Bowl played at this stadium, joined the coin toss ceremonies. Rice had just been named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Class of 2010. The rest of the class – Rickey Jackson
, Dick LeBeau
, Floyd Little
, Russ Grimm
, John Randle
, and Emmitt Smith
– were named the day before. The Saints won the coin toss, marking the 13th straight Super Bowl the NFC won the toss (the Cardinals won the toss in Super Bowl XLIII
but elected to defer to the second half, giving the Steelers the ball to open the game).
The Saints entered the Sun Life Stadium field first, to The Alan Parsons Project
's "Sirius", which was made famous for team introductions by the Chicago Bulls
.
The Colts entered last, as they were the "home" team, to "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who, which coincidentally would be performed by the band during the halftime show.
performed at the Super Bowl XLIV halftime show. The band played a medley of their hits, consisting of "Pinball Wizard
", "Baba O'Riley
", "Who Are You
", "See Me, Feel Me
", and "Won't Get Fooled Again
" (three of these songs are also the themes for the CSI TV series, which air on CBS, just like Super Bowl XLIV did). For the first time since the Super Bowl XXXIV halftime show, there was no crowd of fans surrounding the halftime stage. This performance was also released as downloadable content for the Rock Band
series, named "The Who Super Bowl S-mashup".
merchandise prior to the game than they had ordered Colts merchandise. The NFL estimates that US $
100 million worth of Super Bowl
merchandise will be sold this year.
The Colts offense took the field for the first time, with the ball spotted at their own 27 yard line. The Colts put together a drive that went 53 yards and resulted in a 38-yard field goal by kicker Matt Stover
. At 42 years old, Stover became the oldest person in NFL history to play in a Super Bowl.
Following the game's first score, Courtney Roby
returned the ensuing kickoff to the New Orleans 26 yard line. Approaching the 25-yard line, Roby swooped into a dive and appeared to fumble the ball, but he was ruled down by contact. This time, the Saints managed to get a first down with a 16-yard completion from Drew Brees
to Reggie Bush
, but they were eventually forced to punt again. Punter Thomas Morstead
pinned the Colts back at their own 4-yard line with a 46-yard kick.
Indianapolis responded with a 96-yard scoring drive, tying the record for the longest drive in Super Bowl history. Joseph Addai
rushed three times for 53 yards on the drive, while Manning completed three passes for 35 yards, the last one a 19-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garçon
, increasing the Colts lead to 10–0.
, forcing New Orleans to settle for a 46-yard field goal from Garrett Hartley
.
In the final two minutes of the first half, the Saints drove to a 1st-and-goal at the Colts' 3 yard line. A false start penalty set them back to the 8, and after getting a yard away from the end zone, they attempted 3rd and 4th down runs. They failed to convert both times. The Colts ran three straight running plays in an effort to wind down the clock and go to halftime with a seven point lead, but the Saints kept the Colts from getting another first down. Following Bush's 4-yard punt return to the New Orleans 48, with only one timeout left to use in the half, the Saints got back into field goal territory, and Hartley hit a 44-yard field goal as time expired, with the Colts still leading 10–6. This was the first 10–6 halftime score in Super Bowl history.
. This was the first onside kick attempted before the fourth quarter in Super Bowl history, a play the Saints referred to as "Ambush." Thomas Morstead
kicked the ball to his left, and after traveling almost 15 yards, the ball bounced off the facemask of the Colts' Hank Baskett
, who failed to make a clean recovery. Several players dove for the loose ball, creating a pile that took over a minute for the officiating crew to separate. When the dust finally cleared, linebacker Jonathan Casillas
of New Orleans was officially credited with the recovery on the 42-yard line, but Casillas and other Saints players insisted that it was actually safety Chris Reis
who came up with the football. The Saints' offense took over and stormed down the field on an effective 58-yard drive in which they never faced a third down. Brees completed five consecutive passes for 58 yards on the drive and capped it off with a screen pass
to Pierre Thomas
on the right side, who took it 16 yards to the end zone behind blocks from Jonathan Goodwin
, Jahri Evans
, Devery Henderson
, Kyle Eckel
, Carl Nicks
and Jeremy Shockey
, to give the Saints their first lead of the game at 13–10.
Manning and the Colts answered with their own touchdown drive, moving the ball 76 yards in ten plays. Clark caught 3 passes for 45 yards, while Joseph Addai finished the drive off with a 4-yard touchdown run to put the Colts back on top 17–13 with 6:05 remaining in the quarter. For just the second time in Super Bowl history both teams scored touchdowns on their initial possessions of the second half; the only other time occurred in Super Bowl XIV
.
Hartley would bring the Saints to within one point of tying the game at 17–16, with his third field goal, launched from 47 yards away. In doing so he became the first kicker in Super Bowl history to score three field goals of 40 or more yards in one game.
This was the first one-point lead after the third quarter in Super Bowl history and second closest game after three quarters, behind Super Bowl XXXIX
which was tied between the New England Patriots
and Philadelphia Eagles
.
caught a pass on the Colts' 36-yard line. Following an 8-yard catch and run by Bush, Brees completed passes to Colston, Robert Meachem
and tight end David Thomas
, moving the ball to the 5-yard line. After a 3-yard run by Pierre Thomas, Brees threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jeremy Shockey
. Rather than settle for a six point lead, and risk a potential Colts game-winning touchdown, the Saints chanced a two-point conversion. Lance Moore
received a pass and attempted to stretch the ball out over the goal line as he fell to the ground and rolled over on his head. The ball was kicked away from his hands by defender Jacob Lacey
, and the play was ruled an incomplete pass, prompting a coach's challenge from Sean Payton. After the review, the ruling on the field was overturned when it was determined that Moore maintained possession of the ball long enough and the ball had crossed the plane of the goal line for a successful conversion, giving the Saints a 24–17 advantage.
On the ensuing drive, Manning led the Colts into Saints territory; however, Tracy Porter
intercepted a pass by Manning at the Saints 26 for the first takeaway of the game and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown; following the successful extra point, the Saints lead grew to 31–17 with 3:12 remaining. Porter's interception return for a touchdown improved teams to 10–0 in Super Bowls when returning an interception for a touchdown.
Now down by two possessions, the Colts needed a touchdown on their next drive to stay alive, though they still had all three of their timeouts to use. They were able to drive to the New Orleans 3 yard line. When an offensive pass interference penalty on 1st and goal pushed them back 10 yards, the Colts got those 10 yards back on the next play. The next three plays saw a tipped pass that went off of the goal post and incomplete, a loss of two yards on a rushing play, and a pass that went through the hands of wide receiver Reggie Wayne
and incomplete, effectively sealing the win for the Saints. Brees knelt the ball with 0:44 left on the clock, ending Super Bowl XLIV and winning the Saints' first league championship in franchise history.
was named Super Bowl MVP
for tying a Super Bowl record by completing 32 of 39 passes, with 288 passing yards and two touchdowns. After the game, Brees said, "Four years ago, who ever thought this would be happening when 85 percent of the city was under water? Most people left not knowing if New Orleans would ever come back, or if the organization would ever come back. We just all looked at one another and said, 'We are going to rebuild together. We are going to lean on each other.' This is the culmination in all that belief."
aCarries
bLong play
cReceptions
tTackles
gForced Fumble
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
XLIV was an American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
game between the American Football Conference
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
(AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
and the National Football Conference
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...
(NFC) champion New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
to decide the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) champion for the 2009 season
2009 NFL season
The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at...
. The Saints (16–3) defeated the Colts (16–3) by a score of 31–17, earning their first Super Bowl win. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees
Drew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees is a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue....
, who completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns, was named the Super Bowl MVP
Super Bowl MVP
The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is an award presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship game. The winner is chosen by a fan vote during the game and by a panel of 16 American football writers and...
. His 32 completions tied a Super Bowl record set by Tom Brady
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.He has played in four Super Bowls,...
in Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game played on February 1, 2004 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas to decide the National Football League champion following the 2003 regular season....
. With the victory, the Saints became the fourth team to win in their only Super Bowl appearance after the New York Jets
Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl". This game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history...
, Baltimore Ravens
Super Bowl XXXV
Super Bowl XXXV was played on January 28, 2001 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 2000 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Baltimore Ravens defeated the National Football Conference champion New York...
and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game played on January 26, 2003 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 2002 regular season...
.
The game was played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens, Florida
Miami Gardens is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city name comes from one of the major roadways through the area, Miami Gardens Drive. According to the 2010 U.S...
on February 7, 2010 for the fifth time (and in South Florida for the tenth time), the latest calendar date for a Super Bowl yet. The game was the Saints' first Super Bowl appearance and the fourth for the Colts franchise. All four of the Colts' Super Bowl games have been played in Miami, with their first two games in the former Miami Orange Bowl
Miami Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl, formerly Burdine Stadium, was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, west of downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team...
and the last two in the current Miami stadium (which has changed names several times since its opening, most recently in January 2010).
The Saints entered the game with a 13–3 record
2009 New Orleans Saints season
The 2009 New Orleans Saints season is the franchise's 43rd season in the National Football League and the most successful in franchise history in which they won Super Bowl XLIV. The Saints recorded a franchise record 13 victories, an improvement on their 8–8 record and fourth place finish in the...
for the 2009 regular season, compared to the Colts' 14–2 record
2009 Indianapolis Colts season
The 2009 Indianapolis Colts season was the 57th season for the team in the National Football League and the 26th in Indianapolis. It was the first season since 2002 that the Colts did not have Tony Dungy on their coaching staff, due to his retirement from coaching...
. In the playoff games
2009–10 NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs for the 2009 season began on January 9, 2010 and led up to Super Bowl XLIV on February 7, 2010 at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida...
, both teams placed first in their respective conferences. It was the first time since Super Bowl XXVIII
Super Bowl XXVIII
Super Bowl XXVIII was an American football game played on January 30, 1994, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1993 regular season. The National Football Conference champion Dallas Cowboys defeated the American Football...
(16 years previously) that both number one seeds have reached the Super Bowl. The Colts entered the Super Bowl off of 20–3 and 30–17 victories (over the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets, respectively), while the Saints advanced with scores of 45–14 and 31–28 (in overtime), defeating last year's runners up the Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in their first game and the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
in the second. The Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, as defending champions, failed to make the playoffs based on tiebreakers. The Saints' head coach was Sean Payton
Sean Payton
Patrick Sean Payton is the current head coach of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. Payton was a quarterback at Naperville Central High School and Eastern Illinois University and played professionally in 1987 and 1988...
, having joined from the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
in 2006, while opposing head coach Jim Caldwell was appointed the Colts' head coach in 2009, having joined them in 2002 as assistant head coach.
It was the tenth time the Super Bowl has been held in Miami at the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
: the now-Sun Life Stadium had hosted four previous Super Bowls (XXIII, XXIX, XXXIII, and XLI) and five were played in the Dolphins' now demolished former home, the Miami Orange Bowl
Miami Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl, formerly Burdine Stadium, was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, west of downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team...
(II, III, V, X, XIII). The game was broadcast live on CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
, with the National Anthem
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
sung by Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...
and the halftime show
Halftime show
A halftime show is a performance given during halftime, the period between the first and second halves, or the second and third quarters, of a sporting event. Halftime shows are not given for sports with an irregular or indeterminate number of divisions , or for sports that do not have an extended...
that featured the British rock band The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
. The tagline for the game was, "Own The Moment."
Host selection process
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
host the game, contingent on the completion of the proposed West Side Stadium
West Side Stadium
The West Side Stadium was a proposed football stadium to be built on a platform over the rail yards on the West Side of Manhattan in New York City....
being built for the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
by 2008. After New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
state government officials declined to approve $400 million for the stadium, the NFL decided to reopen the bidding for the game's site. The league reconsidered the other, unsuccessful candidates for Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
: Atlanta, Houston, and Miami. On October 6, 2008, the league selected Miami as the host city.
With Tampa
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
as the host of Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
, Super Bowl XLIV marked the third time that consecutive Super Bowls have been played in the same state. Super Bowls II
Super Bowl II
The second AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later to be known as Super Bowl II, was played on January 14, 1968 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida....
and III
Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl". This game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history...
were both played at the Orange Bowl. Super Bowls XXI
Super Bowl XXI
Super Bowl XXI was an American football game played on January 25, 1987 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1986 regular season. The National Football Conference champion New York Giants won their first Super Bowl by defeating...
and XXII
Super Bowl XXII
Super Bowl XXII was an American football game played on January 31, 1988 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1987 regular season...
were both played in California: XXI at Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
's Rose Bowl Stadium and XXII at San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium
Qualcomm Stadium
Qualcomm Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in San Diego, California, in the Mission Valley area....
.
Miami became the first city to host two Super Bowls designated as a National Special Security Event
National Special Security Event
A National Special Security Event is an event of national or international significance deemed by the United States Department of Homeland Security to be a potential target for terrorism or other criminal activity...
(NSSE). In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, every Super Bowl since Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI
Super Bowl XXXVI was an American football game played on February 3, 2002 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 2001 regular season. The American Football Conference champion New England Patriots won their first Super...
has been designated as an NSSE. Super Bowl XLI was Miami's first Super Bowl designated as an NSSE.
Pro Bowl changes
The 2010 Pro Bowl2010 Pro Bowl
The 2010 AFC–NFC Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2009 season. It took place at 8:00 PM EST on Sunday, January 31, 2010, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host site of Super Bowl XLIV...
was played on January 31, during the off-week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl, breaking with the precedent of scheduling the game for the Sunday after the Super Bowl. The game also changed venues from Aloha Stadium
Aloha Stadium
Aloha Stadium is a stadium located in the Halawa CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Currently Aloha Stadium is home to the University of Hawaii Warriors football team...
in Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
, where it had been held since 1979, to Sun Life Stadium in Miami (the same city and stadium hosting the Super Bowl itself). A total of 14 players from the Super Bowl participants – seven each from the Colts and the Saints – did not play in the Pro Bowl. The new schedule took advantage of the bye week given to the conference champions to rest and prepare for the Super Bowl. The NFL has indicated this may not be a permanent transition, and has discussed a possible rotating location for the Pro Bowl in the future. The game will return to Hawaii in 2011 and 2012, however.
The move also meant that the Pro Bowl, which was won by the AFC by a score of 41–34, would avoid competing against the 2010 NBA All-Star Game
2010 NBA All-Star Game
The 2010 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game between players selected from the National Basketball Association 's Western Conference and the Eastern Conference that was played on February 14, 2010 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. This game was the 59th edition...
, the second full day of competition in the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
, and the 52nd running of the Daytona 500
2010 Daytona 500
The 2010 Daytona 500 was the 52nd running of "The Great American Race", and it kicked off the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season on February 14 at the 2.5 mile Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Fox telecast the race while radio coverage was handled by Sirius XM Radio...
, as would have been the case had the game been played on February 14 per its traditional post-Super Bowl scheduling.
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans SaintsNew Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
finished the season with an NFC best 13–3 record and went on to advance to the first Super Bowl in their 43 years as an NFL team. After joining the NFL in 1967, it took them 21 years to record their first winning season and another 13 years after that to win their first playoff game. Five years later, the New Orleans area suffered another setback when the Louisiana Superdome
Louisiana Superdome
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, previously known as the Louisiana Superdome and colloquially known as the Superdome, is a sports and exhibition arena located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA...
was devastated with the rest of the city by Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, forcing them to play all of their home games in elsewhere as they finished with a 3–13 record
2005 New Orleans Saints season
The 2005 New Orleans Saints season began with the team trying to improve from their 8–8 record from 2004. The Saints played two preseason games in the Louisiana Superdome before being forced to evacuate New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina...
(see Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints
Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints
After Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans on August 29, 2005 and caused extensive damage to the Louisiana Superdome, the New Orleans Saints were not able to play any home games there for the entire 2005 NFL season...
). But in the offseason, the team's fortunes began to turn. First, they signed pro bowl quarterback Drew Brees
Drew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees is a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue....
, who would go on to throw for more passing yards than any other quarterback over the next four seasons. They also drafted multi-talented Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winning (since vacated) running back Reggie Bush
Reggie Bush
Reginald Alfred "Reggie" Bush II is an American football running back for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
, receiver Marques Colston
Marques Colston
Marques Colston is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL. He was selected in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft as a supplemental compensatory pick. Following the trade of receiver Donté Stallworth, Colston was inserted into the starting lineup for week 1 of...
, and guard Jahri Evans
Jahri Evans
-New Orleans Saints:Evans was signed to a three-year contract by the Saints on July 25, 2006. He emerged as a consistent performer in training camp and preseason, and won the starting job after the projected starter, Jermane Mayberry, was injured in training camp and ultimately retired. In his...
, three players who would become major contributors on the Saints' offense. The following season, New Orleans improved to 10–6 and advanced to the NFC title game for the first time, which they lost to the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Although they failed to make the playoffs over the next two seasons, they continued to sign new talent, and by 2009 they were ready to make another run at the Super Bowl.
The Saints' offense led the NFL in scoring, averaging just under 32 points per game. Brees finished the season as the NFL's top rated quarterback (109.6), completing an NFL-record 70.6% of his passes for 4,338 yards and 34 touchdowns, with just 11 interceptions. His top target was Colston, who caught 70 passes for 1,074 yards and 9 touchdowns, but he had plenty of other weapons, such as receivers Devery Henderson
Devery Henderson
-New Orleans Saints:On November 5, 2006, Devery had his best day as a professional in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he caught 3 passes for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns. Henderson had 158 receiving yards on 5 catches, including a 76 yard touchdown, against the Atlanta Falcons on November...
(51 receptions) and Robert Meachem
Robert Meachem
Robert Meachem is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Saints 27th overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tennessee....
(45), along with tight ends Jeremy Shockey
Jeremy Shockey
Jeremy Charles Shockey is an American football tight end for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Giants 14th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft...
(48) and Dave Thomas
David Thomas (American football)
John David Thomas is an American football tight end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
(35). The ground attack was led by running backs Pierre Thomas
Pierre Thomas (American football)
Charles Pierre Thomas Jr. is an American football running back for the New Orleans Saints in the National Football League.- Early years :...
and Mike Bell. Thomas rushed for 793 yards and caught 39 passes for 302, while Bell added 654 yards on the ground. Bush was also a major contributor, rushing for 390 yards (with a 5.6 yards per carry average), catching 47 passes for 335 yards, and adding another 130 yards returning punts. New Orleans also had a strong offensive line with three Pro Bowl selections: guard Jahri Evans
Jahri Evans
-New Orleans Saints:Evans was signed to a three-year contract by the Saints on July 25, 2006. He emerged as a consistent performer in training camp and preseason, and won the starting job after the projected starter, Jermane Mayberry, was injured in training camp and ultimately retired. In his...
, center Jonathan Goodwin
Jonathan Goodwin (American football)
Jonathan Scott Goodwin is an American football center for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the New York Jets in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft...
, and tackle Jon Stinchcomb
Jon Stinchcomb
Jon Stinchcomb is a former American football offensive tackle who played eight seasons in the National Football League. He was drafted in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints...
Defensive lineman Will Smith led the team in sacks with 13. Another big weapon on defense was linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who led the team with 87 tackles and intercepted three passes. The Saints' secondary was led by 12-year veteran safety Darren Sharper
Darren Sharper
Darren Mallory Sharper is an American football safety who currently is a free agent. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at William & Mary....
, who recorded 9 interceptions and set an NFL record by returning them for 376 yards and three touchdowns. Cornerback Tracy Porter
Tracy Porter
Tracy O'Neil Porter is an American football cornerback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Saints in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Indiana....
was also effective, recording 49 tackles and 4 picks with one touchdown.
Like the Colts, the Saints also started out the season strong, winning their first 13 games. But then they became the first 13–0 team ever to lose their last three games of the year. After losing their next game to the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
24–17, they suffered a narrow loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
(20–17 in overtime) after Garrett Hartley
Garrett Hartley
Garrett Hartley is an American football placekicker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2008...
missed a potential game winning field goal, and then closed out the season with a 23–10 loss to the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
. Still, they clinched the #1 NFC playoff seed and scored 76 points in their two playoff wins en route to their first ever Super Bowl.
Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis had the NFL best 14–2 record, winning seven games by less than a touchdown, on their way to earning their second Super Bowl appearance in the last four years. Once again, the Colts boasted a powerful offense led by 10-time Pro Bowl quarterback Peyton ManningPeyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...
, who threw for 4,500 yards and 33 touchdowns during the season, with only 16 interceptions, earning him a 99.9 passer rating and a league record fourth National Football League Most Valuable Player Award. Under the protection of Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday
Jeff Saturday
Jeffrey Bryant Saturday is an American football center for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He played college football at North Carolina. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the National Football League Players' Association.-Early years:Saturday attended...
and the rest of the line, Manning had been sacked just 13 times during the regular season, the fewest in the NFL. His top targets were veteran receiver Reggie Wayne
Reggie Wayne
Reginald "Reggie" Wayne is a professional American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. Wayne was selected in the 1st round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Colts...
and tight end Dallas Clark
Dallas Clark
Dallas Dean Clark is an American football tight end for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Colts 24th overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Iowa...
, who both recorded 100 receptions and 10 touchdowns. Wayne led the team with 1,260 yards, while Clark was second with 1,106. Manning also had other reliable targets, such as recently acquired receivers Austin Collie
Austin Collie
Austin Kirk Collie is a Canadian-American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Colts in the fourth round in the 2009 NFL Draft...
(60 receptions for 676 yards and 7 touchdowns) and Pierre Garçon
Pierre Garcon
Pierre Garçon is an American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Colts in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio. Garcon is of Haitian descent.- High school career...
(47 receptions for 765 yards and 4 touchdowns). Running back Joseph Addai
Joseph Addai
Joseph Addai, Jr. is an American football running back for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was selected in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Louisiana State University.-Early years:Addai's family hails from Ghana in West Africa...
led the Colts' ground game with 821 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, while also catching 51 passes for another 336 yards and 3 scores.
Indianapolis' defensive line was led by Pro Bowl defensive ends Robert Mathis
Robert Mathis
Robert Nathan Mathis is an American football defensive end who currently plays for the NFL's Indianapolis Colts.-Early years:Mathis attended McNair High School in Atlanta, Georgia....
and Dwight Freeney
Dwight Freeney
Dwight Jason Freeney is an American football defensive end who currently plays for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 1st round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Syracuse University.-Early years:Freeney attended Bloomfield High School...
. Freeney led the team with 13.5 sacks, while Mathis added 9.5 sacks and forced 5 fumbles. Behind them, the Colts had a solid corps of linebackers featuring Clint Session
Clint Session
Clint Session is an American football linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Colts in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Pittsburgh...
and Gary Brackett
Gary Brackett
Gary Lawrence Brackett is an American football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football at Rutgers.-Early years:Brackett attended Glassboro High School in Glassboro, New Jersey....
, who each recorded 80 tackles. Pro Bowl safety Antoine Bethea
Antoine Bethea
Antoine Bethea is a professional American football safety for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Colts...
led the secondary with 70 tackles and four interceptions.
Under their new coach Jim Caldwell, the Colts started off the season with 14 consecutive wins before suffering their first loss to the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, 29–15, a game in which Caldwell made the controversial decision to rest his starters after the team took a slim lead rather than keep them in to play for a chance at a 16–0 season. Indianapolis finished the season at 14–2 following a loss to the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, in which they rested their starters and went on to advance to the Super Bowl, making them perfect in all their games in which their starters played all four quarters.
Caldwell led the Colts to the Super Bowl the season after Tony Dungy
Tony Dungy
Anthony Kevin "Tony" Dungy [DUN-jee] is a former professional American football player and coach in the National Football League. Dungy was head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 to 2001, and head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2002 to 2008...
retired, just like in Tampa Bay when Jon Gruden led the Bucs to Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game played on January 26, 2003 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 2002 regular season...
after Dungy was fired. Senior offensive line coach Howard Mudd
Howard Mudd
Howard Edward Mudd is an American football offensive line coach for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League and a former offensive lineman in the NFL. From 1998–2009, he was the offensive line coach for the Indianapolis Colts...
retired following the game.
Playoffs
Indianapolis' first opponent was the Baltimore Ravens, a 9–7 squad that had advanced to the divisional round by blowing out the New England PatriotsNew England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
33–14, forcing four turnovers from their all-pro quarterback Tom Brady
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.He has played in four Super Bowls,...
. Against the Colts however, all they could manage was a field goal on their opening drive. Indianapolis built up a 17–3 first half lead with a Matt Stover
Matt Stover
John Matthew "Matt" Stover is a former American Football placekicker. As of the start of the 2009 NFL season, he was the third most accurate kicker in the history of the National Football League. He is of Greek origin. He has played for the New York Giants, the Cleveland Browns, and the Baltimore...
field goal and Manning's touchdown passes to Wayne and Collie. In the second half, the Colts survived two interceptions from Baltimore safety Ed Reed
Ed Reed
Edward Earl Reed Jr. is an American football free safety for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Ravens 24th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft...
on one drive, one of which Reed fumbled, and the other which was called back by a penalty. Stover, who spent 18 years with the Modell
Art Modell
Arthur B. Modell is an American businessman, entrepreneur and former National Football League team owner. He owned the Cleveland Browns franchise from 1961–1995 and the Baltimore Ravens franchise from 1996–2004. Modell is the grandson of the late Morris Modell who founded the northeast...
franchise
Cleveland Browns relocation controversy
The Cleveland Browns relocation controversy was the decision by then Browns owner Art Modell to move the National Football League team from its longtime home of Cleveland, Ohio to Baltimore, Maryland for the 1996 NFL season...
, finished the drive with his second field goal to make final score 20–3, as their defense put the game away by forcing two consecutive turnovers.
Their next opponent was the Jets, who had made the playoffs in part due to Caldwell's decision to bench his starters in their Week 16 meeting. This time, the Colts would have to mount a comeback, as New York built up a 17–6 first half lead. Yet Indianapolis would step up to the challenge, scoring 24 unanswered points. First, Manning completed three passes to Collie for 80 yards, the last one a 16-yard touchdown completion to cut the score to 17–13 at the end of the half. Manning added two more touchdown passes in the second half, one to Garçon and one to Clark, and Stover added a 21-yard field goal to close out the scoring. Manning finished the game with 377 passing yards and three touchdowns, while Garçon and Collie had over 100 receiving yards each.
Meanwhile, New Orleans started off their playoff run with a dominating 45–14 win over the defending NFC champion Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. Arizona was coming off a 51–45 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
in which they racked up 531 yards against a defense ranked second in the league in total yards allowed. However, although Arizona scored on their first play of the game, New Orleans dominated the Cardinals with 35 points in the first half. First, Lynell Hamilton
Lynell Hamilton
Lynell Hamilton is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2008...
scored on a 1-yard run. Then, Sharper recovered a fumble from Arizona, setting up Brees' touchdown pass to Shockey. Following a punt, Bush scored on a franchise playoff record 46-yard run. In the second quarter, Brees added two more touchdown passes, one to Henderson on a flea flicker
Flea flicker (American football)
A flea flicker is an unorthodox play in American football designed to fool the defensive team into thinking that a play is a run instead of a pass...
and the other to Colston that was set up by a Will Smith interception, giving them a 35–14 first half lead before adding 10 more points in the second half on a Hartley field goal and Bush's 83-yard punt return. Bush racked up 217 all-purpose yards, while Brees threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns.
Their opponent in the NFC championship game was the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
, led by 11-time Pro Bowl quarterback Brett Favre
Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
, who had thrown four touchdown passes in their divisional round win over the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
. Even though the Saints' offense could only muster 257 total yards, their defense made up for it by forcing five turnovers. Additionally, the Saints outgained the Vikings in punt and kickoff return yards 166 to 50. The key play of the game occurred late in the fourth quarter with the score tied 28–28 and the Vikings driving for a potential game-winning field goal. With less than a minute left, they reached the Saints 33-yard line. But after two runs for no gain and a penalty that pushed them back to the 38, Porter picked off a pass from Favre to send the game into overtime. After New Orleans won the coin toss, Pierre Thomas' 40-yard kickoff return set up a 10-play, 39-yard drive that ended with a game winning 40-yard field goal by Hartley, sending the Saints to their first ever Super Bowl.
This is the first Super Bowl matchup in which both teams had a first-round bye
Bye (sports)
A bye, in sports and other competitive activities, most commonly refers to the practice of allowing a player or team to advance to the next round of a playoff tournament without playing...
since Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played on February 6, 2005, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 2004 regular season...
. All four of the Super Bowls in between had one team that played all three rounds (two of which were wild-card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...
teams), with three of those teams (including the Colts in Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
) winning it all.
United States
The game was televised live in the United States on CBSNFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
, capping the network's 50th season of NFL coverage (1956–93; 1998–present). This was the 17th Super Bowl telecast for CBS, the largest total among the "big four" US television networks. CBS had also broadcast the previous Super Bowl held in South Florida (XLI
Super Bowl XLI
Super Bowl XLI was an American football game that featured the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion Chicago Bears to decide the National Football League champion for the 2006 season...
). Play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz
Jim Nantz
James William Nantz, III is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his work with CBS Sports television.-Early life:...
and color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...
Phil Simms
Phil Simms
Phillip Martin "Phil" Simms is a former American football quarterback, and currently a television sportscaster for the CBS network. After a standout career at Morehead State University, Simms was drafted in the first round by the New York Giants of the National Football League with the number...
were in the broadcast booth, with Steve Tasker
Steve Tasker
Steven Jay Tasker is a broadcaster for CBS Sports, who previously was a wide receiver/gunner in the National Football League. He was drafted in the ninth round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers. He played college football at Northwestern...
and Solomon Wilcots
Solomon Wilcots
Solomon Wilcots is a former American football defensive back in the NFL. Wilcots played sixs in the league for the Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota Vikings, and Pittsburgh Steelers.-Broadcasting:...
serving as sideline reporter
Sideline reporter
A sideline reporter, also known as a field reporter, courtside reporter , clubhouse reporter or dugout reporter , rinkside reporter or inside-the-glass reporter , on-court reporter , hole reporter , or boundary rider , is a member of the...
s. The game was preceded by The Super Bowl Today, a four-hour pregame show hosted by James Brown and featuring analysts Dan Marino
Dan Marino
Daniel Constantine "Dan" Marino, Jr. is a retired American football quarterback who played for the Miami Dolphins in the National Football League...
, Boomer Esiason
Boomer Esiason
Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason is a former American football quarterback and current network color commentator. He played for the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, and Arizona Cardinals before working as an analyst for ABC and HBO...
, Shannon Sharpe
Shannon Sharpe
Shannon Sharpe is a former American Football tight end who played for the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. Sharpe is known for his creative commentary and trash talking. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and inducted on August 6, 2011...
and Bill Cowher
Bill Cowher
William Laird "Bill" Cowher is a former American football coach and player. Cowher resigned after 15 seasons as the Steelers' coach on January 5, 2007, 11 months to the day after winning 2005–06's Super Bowl XL...
along with several other commentators, which started at 2 pm US EST. A kickoff show for the game aired from 6 pm US EST to 6:28 pm US EST.
With an average US audience of 106.5 million viewers, this was the second most-watched Super Bowl, trailing only the 111 million viewers for Super Bowl XLV
Super Bowl XLV
Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League champion for the 2010 season. The game was held at Cowboys Stadium in...
the following year, as well as the most-watched program of any kind in American television history, beating the 27-year-long record previously held by the final episode of M*A*S*H, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", watched by 105.97 million viewers. An estimated 153.4 million total viewers watched all or part of the game. The game drew a national Nielsen rating of 45.0 with a 68 share, the highest for a Super Bowl since Super Bowl XXX
Super Bowl XXX
Super Bowl XXX was an American football game played on January 28, 1996 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona to decide the National Football League champion following the 1995 regular season...
in 1996 (46.0/68). The telecast drew a 56.3 rating in New Orleans and a 54.2 rating in Indianapolis, first and fourth respectively among local markets.
Notable returnees and absences
Perennial Super Bowl advertisers Anheuser–Busch InBev
Anheuser–Busch InBev
Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V. is a Belgian-Brazilian publicly-traded company, based in Leuven, Belgium. It is the largest global brewer with nearly 25% global market share and one of the world's top five consumer products companies by EBITA....
and CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder
CareerBuilder.com is the largest online employment website in the United States, with more than 23 million unique visitors each month and a 34% market share of help-wanted web sites in the United States. CareerBuilder.com provides online career search services for more than 1,900 partners as of...
stated their commitment to advertise in Super Bowl XLIV, showing eight and two different spots during the game, respectively. A 30-second spot cost US $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
2.8 million with several advertisers getting discounts, down from last year's $3 million. All advertising slots were sold out on February 1, 2010, six days before the game. Pepsi-Cola had previously stated their commitment to advertise, but then said they would not be buying any commercial time, marking the first time in 23 years that Pepsi did not run an ad during the Super Bowl itself. FedEx
FedEx
FedEx Corporation , originally known as FDX Corporation, is a logistics services company, based in the United States with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee...
also stated that they would not buy ad time. Both Pepsi and FedEx are official NFL sponsors. Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
and Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group
Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. is an American soft drink company, based in Plano, Texas.It was spun off from Britain's Cadbury Schweppes, on May 5, 2008, with trading in its shares starting on May 7, 2008...
capitalized on Pepsi's absence by buying ads in the game; Dr Pepper's ad featured KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
performing "Calling Dr. Love
Calling Dr. Love
"Calling Dr. Love" is a song by the American hard rock band Kiss, originally released on their 1976 album Rock and Roll Over. The song was written by Kiss bassist/lead vocalist Gene Simmons at a Holiday Inn in Evansville, Indiana. It was the second single released from the album, and the group's...
," while one of Coca-Cola's three ads featured Montgomery Burns
Montgomery Burns
Charles Montgomery "Monty" Burns, usually referred to as Mr. Burns, is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons, who is voiced by Harry Shearer and previously Christopher Collins. Burns is the evil owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant and is Homer...
(of The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
) losing everything he owns. Also for the second straight year, one of the Big Three American automobile makers — General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
— did not have a commercial in the game. Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
had one commercial for the Ford Edge featuring Mike Rowe
Mike Rowe
Mike Rowe may refer to:*Michael Rowe, television writer for Futurama*Mike Rowe , host of the Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs* Mike Rowe , retired Canadian professional ice hockey player...
. Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
's Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
brand did advertise this year for its Dodge Charger
Dodge Charger
The Dodge Charger is an American automobile manufactured by the Dodge division of Chrysler. There have been several different Dodge vehicles, built on three different platforms and sizes, all bearing the Charger nameplate...
, narrated by Michael C. Hall
Michael C. Hall
Michael Carlyle Hall is an American actor whose television roles include David Fisher on the HBO drama series Six Feet Under and Dexter Morgan on the Showtime series Dexter. In 2009, Hall won a Golden Globe award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his role in Dexter.-Early life:Hall was born in...
.
What aired
Frito-Lay
Frito-Lay
Frito-Lay North America is the division of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets and sells corn chips, potato chips and other snack foods. The primary snack food brands produced under the Frito-Lay name include Fritos corn chips, Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, Doritos and Tostitos tortilla chips,...
's Doritos
Doritos
Doritos is a brand of seasoned tortilla chips created by Arch West and produced since 1964 by the American food company Frito-Lay ....
brand, in turn owned by PepsiCo, had four consumer-created advertisements scheduled. The first three ads – running in the first quarter – featured a sly dog using an anti-bark collar to his advantage to steal a man's Doritos, a fast-handed boy defending his Doritos and his mother from a potential suitor, and a man faking his death for free Doritos. The fourth ad, featuring an angry gym rat who was overprotective for his Doritos being stolen, aired in the fourth quarter. Had three of the ads topped the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter
USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter
The USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter is an annual survey taken of television commercials by the USA Today newspaper in a live poll during the telecast in the United States of the annual professional American football championship game of the National Football League...
rankings, the commercial's creators would have won a total of US $5 million ($1 million for first, $600,000 for second and $400,000 for third, plus a $1 million bonus for each of the three finalists). The previous year, Joe and David Herbert's "Free Doritos" ad topped the survey and won $1 million. The United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
spent $2.5 million on a 30-second spot, directed by noted independent filmmaker Christopher Guest
Christopher Guest
Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is an American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational "mockumentary" films that...
, for the 2010 United States Census, which urged Americans to answer its questionnaires that will be sent out in the next few weeks. McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
aired a commercial, updating a famous ad from the early 1990s, in which NBA superstars LeBron James
LeBron James
LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a...
and Dwight Howard
Dwight Howard
Dwight David Howard is an American basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association . Howard, who usually plays center but can also play power forward, had an outstanding high school career at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy...
(replacing Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
and Larry Bird
Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...
) play an otherworldly game of H-O-R-S-E, with a McDonald's lunch going to the winner – however, they soon look over and see that Bird has helped himself to it. Mars Chocolate
Mars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated is a worldwide manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products with US$30 billion in annual sales in 2010, and is ranked as the 5th largest privately held company in the United States by Forbes. Headquartered in McLean, unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia,...
returned three years after its controversial Snickers
Snickers
Snickers is a brand name chocolate bar made by Mars, Incorporated. It consists of peanut nougat topped with roasted peanuts and caramel, enrobed in milk chocolate. Snickers has annual global sales of $2 billion....
ad that was protested by gay groups with two men kissing one another that was pulled one day following the game (see Super Bowl XLI: Commercials). The commercial – winner of the annual Ad Meter survey – featured veteran actors Betty White
Betty White
Betty White Ludden , better known as Betty White, is an American actress, comedienne, singer, author, and former game show personality. With a career spanning seven decades since 1939, she is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and...
and Abe Vigoda
Abe Vigoda
Abe Vigoda is an American movie and television actor. Vigoda is well known for his portrayal of Sal Tessio in The Godfather, and for his portrayal of Detective Sgt. Phil Fish on the sitcom television series Barney Miller from 1975–1977 and on its spinoff show Fish that aired from February 1977 to...
playing full-contact backyard football
Street football (American)
Street football, also known as backyard football or sandlot football, is a simplified variant of American football primarily played informally by youth...
.
The rest of the Top Five:
- 2. The aforementioned Doritos' amateur ad featuring a dog strapped to an anti-bark collar getting revenge on a teasing man.
- 3. A Bud Light ad with a house completely made of beer cans of the sponsor's product.
- 4. A Budweiser ad featuring the relationship between a ClydesdaleClydesdaleClydesdale was formerly one of nineteen local government districts in the Strathclyde region of Scotland.The district was formed by the Local Government Act 1973 from part of the former county of Lanarkshire: namely the burghs of Biggar and Lanark and the First, Second and Third Districts...
and a LonghornTexas longhorn (cattle)The Texas Longhorn is a breed of cattle known for its characteristic horns, which can extend to tip to tip for steers and exceptional cows, and tip to tip for bulls. Horns can have a slight upward turn at their tips or even triple twist. Texas Longhorns are known for their diverse coloring...
steer. - 5. Coca Cola's man walking through an AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n savannaSavannaA savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
in the middle of the night.
The YouTube Top Five of their "2010 Ad Blitz" were:
-
- Another Doritos ad that showed a kid slapping his mom's suitor.
- E-Trade's baby with his girlfriend.
- The Doritos dog collar ad.
- The Snickers Betty White/Abe Vigoda ad.
- The Doritos commercial with the gym rat.
ADBOWL
ADBOWL
ADBOWL is an online, real-time website that tracks what consumers think of the commercials that air during major television events such as the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards...
results reflected the following ranking:
- Snickers: You’re Not You – Betty White & Abe Vigoda
- Doritos: House Rules
- VolkswagenVolkswagenVolkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
: “Punch Dub” Game - GoogleGoogleGoogle Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
: Parisian Love - Doritos: Underdog
Internet domain registrar GoDaddy, which created a racy ad the year after the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy
Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy
Super Bowl XXXVIII, which was broadcast live on February 1, 2004 from Houston, Texas on the CBS television network in the United States, was noted for a controversial halftime show in which Janet Jackson's breast, adorned with a nipple shield, was exposed by Justin Timberlake for about half a...
, bought two ads in the Super Bowl for the sixth consecutive year. Advertising Age reported that Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
bought a Super Bowl spot for the upcoming films Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2 is a 2010 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Iron Man, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is the sequel to 2008's Iron Man, the second film in a planned trilogy and is a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Jon...
and The Last Airbender
The Last Airbender
The Last Airbender is a 2010 American fantasy adventure film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It is a live-action film adaptation of the first season to the Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender....
. A trailer for the HBO miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
The Pacific
The Pacific (miniseries)
The Pacific is a 2010 television series produced by HBO, Seven Network Australia, Sky Movies, Playtone and DreamWorks that premiered in the United States on March 14, 2010....
was also aired.
Other advertisers for 2010 included Homeaway
HomeAway
HomeAway, Inc. is an online vacation rental marketplace. HomeAway connects homeowners and property managers who advertise their properties available for rent with travelers who choose these alternative accommodations instead of hotels....
Inc.,, paying tribute to National Lampoon's Vacation
National Lampoon's Vacation
Vacation, sometimes referred as National Lampoon's Vacation, is a 1983 comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Dana Barron and Anthony Michael Hall...
with their stars Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
and Beverly D'Angelo
Beverly D'Angelo
Beverly Heather D'Angelo is an American actress and singer.-Early life:D'Angelo was born in Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of Priscilla , a violinist, and Gene D'Angelo, a bass player and television station manager. She is of part Italian ancestry...
, and Diamond Foods, who returned to promote both its Emerald Nuts brand and Pop Secret
Pop Secret
Pop Secret is a brand of popcorn produced by Diamond Foods who bought it from General Mills in September 2008. It was launched to the public in 1984.Previously it was manufactured by Weaver Mills....
popcorn, which they bought from General Mills
General Mills
General Mills, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 corporation, primarily concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green...
two years before. Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile
Boost Mobile is a brand of wireless prepay service run by Sprint Nextel, operating within the Sprint Prepaid Group along with Virgin Mobile USA, Assurance Wireless, and payLo by Virgin Mobile. Boost Mobile uses GSMand iDEN networks...
aired a special ad, celebrating the 25th Anniversary of The Super Bowl Shuffle, featuring many of the 1985 Chicago Bears to advertise their US $50 per month service. Also, in a CBS-produced promo for the Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
, the eponymous host
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
and his longtime talk show rival, Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
, appeared together with Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
.
Controversies
Three advertisers in particular raised eyebrows with their choice to advertise during the Super Bowl. One new advertiser, Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family is an American evangelical Christian tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 1977 by psychologist James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s...
, aired a commercial featuring 2007 Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winner Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow
Timothy Richard "Tim" Tebow is an American football player who is currently the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Broncos as the 25th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft...
and his mother that elicited criticism from some women's groups who demanded CBS cancel the ad because they claimed it would be divisive, under the impression that it would mention Tebow's mother was advised, for health issues, to abort
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
her son Tim, but she chose to give birth to him. In the first quarter, CBS aired the advertisement, which had not been pre-released to the public. Per a statement released earlier, the ad did not mention the topic of abortion explicitly.
One proposed sponsor, ManCrunch
ManCrunch
ManCrunch is an online dating website specifically aimed at male homosexual relationships, owned by the Toronto-based Avid Life Media, the same company responsible for the Ashley Madison adultery service and other similarly unconventional dating sites...
, a gay dating site that bills itself as a place "where many many many men come out to play," had expressed interest in purchasing a 30-second advertisement. The ManCrunch advertisement would have depicted a male Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
fan and a male Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
fan reaching into the same bowl of potato chips at the same time and, after a brief pause, begin to passionately kiss. ManCrunch's ad, which has since been released to the public, was initially put on a waiting list before the network outright rejected it due to it violating CBS's broadcast standards. ManCrunch immediately accused CBS of discrimination. Some observers suspect that their advertisement was an attempt at ambush marketing
Ambush marketing
Ambush marketing can be defined as a marketing strategy wherein the advertisers associate themselves with, and therefore capitalize on, a particular event without paying any sponsorship fee. The Macmillan English Dictionary defines ambush marketing as a marketing strategy in which a competing...
and free publicity. Another ad that was rejected by CBS for failure to meet standards was for the texting service kgb
Knowledge Generation Bureau
kgb is a privately held, New York-based company that provides directory assistance and enhanced information services across Europe and North America. It describes itself as "the world’s largest independent provider of directory assistance and enhanced information services." Founded in 1992 by...
, which focuses on two men with CGI-enhanced images bent over with their heads in their posteriors, while an actor, Sean Gunn
Sean Gunn
Sean Gunn is an American actor, most famous for his role as Kirk Gleason on the television show Gilmore Girls .-Early life:...
, portraying an agent stated that "They had their head up their [backsides]". kgb instead aired an ad with two people who had to find the Japanese word for "I surrender" before being run over by a sumo wrestler. Another ad for Bud Light which was rejected showed workers stripping down for a charity clothes drive in exchange for free beer. All of the rejected ads were shown on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
.
Among other rejected or modified ads were one for Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
' Dante's Inferno
Dante's Inferno (video game)
Dante's Inferno is a 2010 action-adventure video game developed by Visceral Games and published by Electronic Arts for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles. The game was also released on the PlayStation Portable and was developed by Artificial Mind and Movement...
, which had to be edited for content (the closing phrase, originally intended to read "go to Hell," was replaced with "Hell awaits"), and GoDaddy's originally planned advertisement. Career Builder's ad, showing people dressed too casually for "Casual Friday" and a Dockers
Dockers
Dockers is a brand of khaki garments from Levi Strauss & Co.Levi Strauss & Co., then specialized in denim, introduced the Dockers brand in 1986. Dockers became a leading brand of business casual clothing for men led by Bob Siegel. In 1987, Dockers introduced a women's line...
ad to promote a free pair of their pants with men in shirts but sans trousers aired back-to-back early in the second quarter.
An E*TRADE advertisement, continuing their theme of talking babies on a Web cam, featured a boyfriend-stealing, "milkaholic" baby girl named "Lindsay." Actress Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan is an American actress, pop singer and model. She began her career as a child fashion model before making her motion picture debut in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap at the age of 11...
, who has a history of alcoholism and was noted for having tried in the early 2000s to date popular young men who were already dating other women, attempted to sue E*TRADE over the advertisement, seeking US$100,000,000 in damages, under the impression that the advertisement defamed her via subliminal messaging and violated her personality rights
Personality rights
"Personality rights" is a common or casual reference to the proper term of art "Right of Publicity". The Right of Publicity can be defined simply as the right of an individual to control the commercial use of his or her name, image, likeness or other unequivocal aspects of one's identity...
. E*TRADE denied the allegations and stated the name "Lindsay" came from a member of the accounting staff. Lohan and E*TRADE settled the lawsuit in September 2010; the terms were confidential.
International telecasts
Viewers worldwide were able to watch on the following channels:- North America:
Canada: CTVCTV television networkCTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
(English) and RDSRéseau des sportsRéseau des sports , is a Canadian French language Category C specialty channel showing sports and sport-related shows. It is available in 2.5 million homes, and is owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc....
(French) (subject to simsub due to CRTC mandatesCanadian contentCanadian content refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requirements that radio and television broadcasters must air a certain percentage of content that was at least partly written, produced, presented, or otherwise contributed to by persons from...
all cable/satellite providers to replace the American feed.)
Mexico: TelevisaTelevisaTelevisa is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate, the largest mass media company in Latin America and in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a major international entertainment business, with much of its programming airing in the United States on Univision, with which it has an exclusive contract...
, TV AztecaTV AztecaAzteca, is the second largest Mexican television entertainment. It was established in 1983 as the state-owned Instituto Mexicano de la Televisión , a holding of the national TV networks channel 13 and 7 and was privatized under its current name in 1993 and now is part of Grupo Salinas...
(broadcasting in HD).
Belize: Tropical Vision LimitedTropical Vision LimitedTropical Vision Limited, or as it is locally known, Channel 7, is a Belize City based television station operating since 1981.Its Managing Director is Nestor Vasquez.- Schedule :Weekdays...
, Great Belize TelevisionGreat Belize TelevisionGreat Belize Television, or as it is locally known, Channel 5, is a Belize City-based local television station established in December of 1991. Channel 5 airs mostly American and Caribbean programs, as well as a variety of locally produced programs...
.
Costa Rica: ESPNESPN Latin AmericaESPN Latin America is an ESPN channel that broadcasts in Latin America, not to be confused with ESPN Deportes, which is another channel which broadcasts in the United States in Spanish. ESPN Latin America is not available in the U.S., because is not authorized to air most of the programming seen on...
, Fox Sports Latin America.
Guatemala: ESPNESPN Latin AmericaESPN Latin America is an ESPN channel that broadcasts in Latin America, not to be confused with ESPN Deportes, which is another channel which broadcasts in the United States in Spanish. ESPN Latin America is not available in the U.S., because is not authorized to air most of the programming seen on...
, Fox Sports Latin America.
Panama: ESPNESPN Latin AmericaESPN Latin America is an ESPN channel that broadcasts in Latin America, not to be confused with ESPN Deportes, which is another channel which broadcasts in the United States in Spanish. ESPN Latin America is not available in the U.S., because is not authorized to air most of the programming seen on...
, Fox Sports Latin America.
- Oceania
Australia: Fox Sports 3Fox Sports (Australia)Fox Sports is an Australia group of sports channels. They are owned by the Premier Media Group, which is in turn owned by News Corporation, and Consolidated Media Holdings. Its main competitors are ESPN, which has little local content and the free-to-air digital channel One HD...
, ESPNESPN AustraliaESPN Australia is a 24 hour sports channel offered in Australia and New Zealand.Initially, ESPN was known as Sports ESPN on the Optus Vision cable television system, and focused on sports aired by its home network in the United States, including American football, baseball, and basketball...
, Channel Ten and One HD
New Zealand: Sky Sport 2 and ESPNESPN AustraliaESPN Australia is a 24 hour sports channel offered in Australia and New Zealand.Initially, ESPN was known as Sports ESPN on the Optus Vision cable television system, and focused on sports aired by its home network in the United States, including American football, baseball, and basketball...- Europe:
Austria: Puls 4Puls 4Puls 4 is a terrestrial television channel in Austria. As its name implies, it is the fourth Austrian-wide full-service television channel, behind ORF eins, ORF 2, and ATV.-History:...
started at 23:30 (CETCentral European TimeCentral European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
)
Belgium: Prime Sport
Denmark: TV3+/TV3+ HDTV3+ HDTV3+ HD is a Danish high-definition television channel from Modern Times Group. The channel broadcasts high-definition simulcasts of TV3+, showing material available in HD in true HD, and upscaling the rest of the content....
starting at 22:00 (CETCentral European TimeCentral European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
)
Europe: ESPN America.
Finland: Nelonen Sport Pro and on Viasat SportViasat SportViasat Sport is the common brand of several sports channels targeting the Nordic, Baltic and Eastern European countries owned by Modern Times Group.Viasat Sport is also the name of one tv-channel in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the Baltics...
/Viasat Sport HD started at 00:00 (CETCentral European TimeCentral European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
)
Early Modern France: W9
Germany: ARDARD (broadcaster)ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
Das ErsteDas ErsteErstes Deutsches Fernsehen , marketed as Das Erste , is the principal publicly owned television channel in Germany...
started at 23:35 (CETCentral European TimeCentral European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
)
Greece : Nova Sports started 01:30 (EETEastern European TimeEastern European Time is one of the names of UTC+02:00 time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in some European countries that also use Eastern European Summer Time as a summer daylight saving time.- Usage :...
)
Hungary: Sport 1Sport 1Sport 1 is a European sports channel which is currently available in Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania broadcasting in different languages...
Italy: Rai Sport PiùRai Sport PiùRai Sport 1 is an Italian sports TV channel, launched in 1999 by the state-owned RAI television network. It broadcast Italian and international sports events in Italy on DTT channel 57 on Mux Rai B...
started at 22:00 (CETCentral European TimeCentral European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
), Rai DueRai DueRai 2 is one of the three main television channels broadcast by Italian public television company RAI alongside with Rai 1 and Rai 3. Rai 2 first started transmissions on November 4, 1961...
started at 00:15 (CETCentral European TimeCentral European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
), broadcast also in HD in selected areas.
Norway: NRK1NRK1NRK1 is the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's main television channel. Test broadcasts started on 12 January 1954, regular test broadcasts started on 13 April 1958 and regular broadcasts started in 20 August 1960. It is Norway's oldest and largest television channel...
started at 23:15 (CETCentral European TimeCentral European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
) and on Viasat SportViasat SportViasat Sport is the common brand of several sports channels targeting the Nordic, Baltic and Eastern European countries owned by Modern Times Group.Viasat Sport is also the name of one tv-channel in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the Baltics...
/Viasat Sport HD
Poland: Polsat SportPolsat SportPolsat Sport is a Polish sports channel owned by Polsat. It launched on 11 August 2000 and is available via satellite on Cyfrowy Polsat.-Logo History:-See also:* Polsat Sport HD* Polsat Sport Extra* Polsat Futbol...
/Polsat Sport HD started at 00:00 (CETCentral European TimeCentral European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
)
Portugal: SportTV 2Sport TVSportTV is the brand name for a group of seven Portuguese sports-oriented television channels. SportTV is the dominant subscription television sports brand in Portugal. The first channel, then known as only SportTV, was launched on 16 September 1998 and is produced by ZON Multimédia and...
and on SportTV HDSport TVSportTV is the brand name for a group of seven Portuguese sports-oriented television channels. SportTV is the dominant subscription television sports brand in Portugal. The first channel, then known as only SportTV, was launched on 16 September 1998 and is produced by ZON Multimédia and...
started at 23:00 (WETWestern European TimeWestern European Time , defined legally as Greenwich Mean Time in the United Kingdom, is the time zone covering parts of western and northwestern Europe, and includes the following countries and regions:...
)
Kingdom of Romania: Sport 1Sport 1Sport 1 is a European sports channel which is currently available in Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania broadcasting in different languages...
started 01:00 (EETEastern European TimeEastern European Time is one of the names of UTC+02:00 time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in some European countries that also use Eastern European Summer Time as a summer daylight saving time.- Usage :...
)
Russia: NTV PlusNTV PlusNTV Plus is the brand name for the Russian digital satellite television service from NTV, transmitted from Eutelsat's W4 satellite at 36.0°E & from Bonum 1 at 56.0°E...
Slovenia: Šport TV 1Šport TV (Slovenia)Šport TV is Slovenia's first sport only public broadcasting channel. Based in the country's capital, Ljubljana. Television was launched on October 14, 2006....
Spain: Canal+
Sweden: TV6 No longer available on TV6. Super Bowl is broadcast on TV10TV10 (Sweden)TV10 is a television channel owned by Modern Times Group broadcasting to Sweden. It specializes in sports and documentaries. The channel started broadcasting on 7 September 2010....
and on Viasat SportViasat SportViasat Sport is the common brand of several sports channels targeting the Nordic, Baltic and Eastern European countries owned by Modern Times Group.Viasat Sport is also the name of one tv-channel in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and the Baltics...
/Viasat Sport HD started at 00:00 (CETCentral European TimeCentral European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
).
Turkey: TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
′′′: Fox Sports [Turkey] Spormax HD started 01.00 (EETEastern European TimeEastern European Time is one of the names of UTC+02:00 time zone, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in some European countries that also use Eastern European Summer Time as a summer daylight saving time.- Usage :...
)
United Kingdom and 
Republic of Ireland: BBC OneBBC OneBBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
and on Sky SportsSky SportsSky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
1 and HD 1 at 10:55 pm and 11 pm (GMTGreenwich Mean TimeGreenwich Mean Time is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It is arguably the same as Coordinated Universal Time and when this is viewed as a time zone the name Greenwich Mean Time is especially used by bodies connected with the United...
)- South America:
Argentina: ESPNESPN Latin AmericaESPN Latin America is an ESPN channel that broadcasts in Latin America, not to be confused with ESPN Deportes, which is another channel which broadcasts in the United States in Spanish. ESPN Latin America is not available in the U.S., because is not authorized to air most of the programming seen on...
Brazil: ESPNESPN Latin AmericaESPN Latin America is an ESPN channel that broadcasts in Latin America, not to be confused with ESPN Deportes, which is another channel which broadcasts in the United States in Spanish. ESPN Latin America is not available in the U.S., because is not authorized to air most of the programming seen on...
, BandsportsBandSportsBandSports is a Brazilian cable television network that has its programming based on all sports, launched in 2002 by Grupo Bandeirantes de Comunicação....
– live started at 21:00 (Brazilian Summer TimeTime in BrazilBrazil has three time zones. Daylight saving time is also observed by the Southern, Southeast and Central-Western Brazilian states. A proposal to switch the entire country to a single UTC offset is under consideration....
) and Rede BandeirantesRede BandeirantesRede Bandeirantes , officially nicknamed Band or Band Network, is a television network from Brazil, based in São Paulo. Part of the Grupo Bandeirantes de Comunicação , it aired for the first time in 1967...
– condensed version aired at 00:30 BRST
Chile and 
Peru: ESPNESPN Latin AmericaESPN Latin America is an ESPN channel that broadcasts in Latin America, not to be confused with ESPN Deportes, which is another channel which broadcasts in the United States in Spanish. ESPN Latin America is not available in the U.S., because is not authorized to air most of the programming seen on...
, Fox Sports Latin America
Paraguay: ESPNESPN Latin AmericaESPN Latin America is an ESPN channel that broadcasts in Latin America, not to be confused with ESPN Deportes, which is another channel which broadcasts in the United States in Spanish. ESPN Latin America is not available in the U.S., because is not authorized to air most of the programming seen on...
Uruguay: ESPNESPN Latin AmericaESPN Latin America is an ESPN channel that broadcasts in Latin America, not to be confused with ESPN Deportes, which is another channel which broadcasts in the United States in Spanish. ESPN Latin America is not available in the U.S., because is not authorized to air most of the programming seen on...
- Asia:
Mainland China: CCTV-5CCTV-5CCTV-5 , also known as the Sports Channel, part of the China Central Television family of networks, is the main sports broadcaster in the People's Republic of China. CCTV-5 began broadcasting on 1 January 1995...
, G-SportsShanghai Media GroupShanghai Media Group , under the Shanghai Media & Entertainment Group , is a multimedia television and radio broadcasting, news and Internet company...
, Guangdong SportsGuangdong TVGuangdong Television is a television network owned by Southern Media Corporation in Guangzhou, Guangdong province in China. Guangdong TV is the oldest television station in Guangdong province, based in Guangzhou, near the Guangzhou TV Station. The station covers Guangdong and Guangxi provinces...
, Sina TVSina.comSINA is an online media company for China and Chinese communities around the world. SINA operates four major business lines: Sina Weibo, SINA Mobile, SINA Online, and SINA.net. SINA has over 100 million registered users worldwide...
Hong Kong: ATVAsia Television LimitedAsia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...
Japan: NHKNHKNHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
, NTVNippon Televisionis a television network based in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and is controlled by the Yomiuri Shimbun publishing company. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is commonly known as , contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX".-Offices:*The Headquarters : 6-1,...
Radio
On radio, Westwood OneNFL on Westwood One
The NFL on Westwood One is the brand name given to weekly National Football League games carried on the radio over the Dial Global Radio Network...
had the national English-language broadcast rights to the game in the United States and Canada. Marv Albert
Marv Albert
Marv Albert is an American television and radio sportscaster. Honored for his work as a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, he is commonly referred to as "the voice of basketball." From 1967–2004, he was also known as "the voice of the New York Knicks."Including Super Bowl XLII, Marv has called...
(play-by-play) and Boomer Esiason
Boomer Esiason
Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason is a former American football quarterback and current network color commentator. He played for the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, and Arizona Cardinals before working as an analyst for ABC and HBO...
(color commentator) called the game for the network; it was the last broadcast Albert would do for Westwood One, due to his desire to focus on his basketball coverage duties. The teams' flagship stations also carried the game with their respective local announcers: WLHK-FM
WLHK
WLHK -- "97-1 Hank FM" -- is an FM radio station owned by Emmis Communications in Indianapolis, Indiana. The station operates on the FM radio frequency of 97.1 mHz, FM channel 246. The studios are located on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. The transmitters, according to the FCC, are...
and WFNI-AM
WFNI
WFNI, known as 1070 The Fan, is a radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana owned by Emmis Communications. The station operates on the AM radio frequency of 1070 kHz. The studios are located at 40 Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis...
in Indianapolis (with Bob Lamey
Bob Lamey
Bob Lamey is an American sportscaster, currently the radio play-by-play announcer for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League...
and Will Wolford
Will Wolford
William Charles Wolford is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Pittsburgh Steelers....
announcing) and WWL-FM
WWL-FM
WWL-FM is a simulcast of news/talk WWL in the New Orleans, Louisiana radio market, licensed to the New Orleans suburb of Kenner. The Entercom station broadcasts at 105.3 MHz with an ERP of 96 kW.-History:...
/AM in New Orleans (with Jim Henderson
Jim Henderson (Sportscaster)
Jim Henderson is an American sportscaster, currently employed with the New Orleans television station WWL-TV Since May 1, 1978. He covers a range of output, from sports coverage to fishing. He is also the radio voice of the New Orleans Saints....
and Hokie Gajan
Hokie Gajan
Howard Lee "Hokie" Gajan is a former American football running back who played five seasons in the National Football League. He was drafted out of Louisiana State University by the New Orleans Saints in the 1981 NFL Draft...
announcing). Univision Radio
Univision Radio
Univision Radio is the radio division of media giant Univision Communications, Inc., which also ownsthe Univision television network. The company was formerly known as Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation. It is the eighth largest radio company in the United States, and the largest Hispanic radio...
aired a Spanish-language feed for Hispanophone American listeners (with Clemson Smith-Muñiz and David Crommett announcing).
Sirius XM Satellite Radio carried 14 game feeds in ten languages to Sirius
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
subscribers, as well as to XM
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
subscribers with the "Best of Sirius" package. In addition to the four US feeds mentioned above, Sirius carried the following international feeds:
- United Kingdom: BBC Radio 5 LiveBBC Radio 5 LiveBBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
(English; Arlo WhiteArlo WhiteArlo White is an English sports presenter and commentator, originally from Leicester.-Early career:He began broadcasting at the age of 27, after gaining experience covering non-league Football for Radio Derby and also while travelling in Australia....
announcing) - Spain: Canal+Canal+Canal+ is a French premium pay television channel launched in 1984. It is 80% owned by the Canal+ Group, which in turn is owned by Vivendi SA. The channel broadcasts several kinds of programming, mostly encrypted...
Spain (Spanish) - Russia: NTV PlusNTV PlusNTV Plus is the brand name for the Russian digital satellite television service from NTV, transmitted from Eutelsat's W4 satellite at 36.0°E & from Bonum 1 at 56.0°E...
(Russian) - Early Modern France: W9 (French)
- Japan: NHKNHKNHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
(Japanese) - Germany: ARDARD (broadcaster)ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
(German) - Italy: RAIRAIRAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
(Italian) - Hungary: Sport1Sport1Sport1 is a Dutch premium television service owned by Chellomedia, the European content division of Liberty Global. Sport1 launched together with its sister service Film1 on February 1, 2006 and replaced the Canal+ Netherlands channels. At launch the service consisted of two main channels, six...
(Hungarian) 
Netherlands: Prime Sport (Dutch)- Denmark: ViasatViasatViasat is a DBS distributor and TV broadcaster, owned by the Swedish media conglomerate Modern Times Group. Broadcasting from London, the target markets are in the Nordic and the Baltic Countries...
(Danish)
FieldPass, the subscription Internet radio service provided by the league at NFL.com, also carried most of these feeds. Due to contractual restrictions, only Sirius XM and FieldPass were permitted to carry the local team broadcasts along with WLHK, WFNI and WWL, with the teams' other network radio affiliates instead airing the Westwood One feed.
Pregame
Barenaked LadiesBarenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
played the Super Bowl Saturday Night event with O.A.R.
O.A.R.
O.A.R. is an American rock band composed of Marc Roberge , Chris Culos , Richard On , Benj Gershman , and Jerry DePizzo...
and Robert Randolph & The Family Band
Robert Randolph & the Family Band
Robert Randolph and the Family Band is a multicultural American funk and soul band led by pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph. Other band members include drummer Marcus Randolph, bass guitarist Danyel Morgan, vocalist Lenesha Randolph, keyboardist and guitarist Brett Andrew Haas, and one of...
.
The instrumental for the songs "Misguided Ghosts" and "Playing God" off Paramore
Paramore
Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis, and guitarist Taylor York...
's latest album Brand New Eyes
Brand New Eyes
Brand New Eyes is the third album by North American rock band Paramore, released September 29, 2009 through Fueled by Ramen in the United States and Canada. It debuted at number two on Billboard 200....
played during the introduction of players and during an excerpt of Drew Brees' patronage to the city of New Orleans.
Chris Daughtry
Chris Daughtry
Christopher Adam "Chris" Daughtry is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Daughtry and as the fourth-place finalist on the fifth season of American Idol, from which he was eliminated on May 10, 2006...
, Steve Winwood
Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
and Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...
performed during the Super Bowl pre-game tailgate party, which started at 2 p.m.
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Marie Underwood is an American country singer-songwriter and actress who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol, in 2005...
sang the National Anthem
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
and Queen Latifah sang "America the Beautiful
America the Beautiful
"America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song. The lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and the music composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward....
." Underwood's selection marks the third straight year that an alumnus of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
has been chosen to perform "The Star-Spangled Banner," joining Jordin Sparks
Jordin Sparks
Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...
at Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
and Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Kate Hudson is an American recording artist, actress and spokesperson. She came to prominence in 2004 as one of the finalists on the third season of American Idol coming in seventh place...
a year later
Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
. Translation of both songs into American Sign Language
American Sign Language
American Sign Language, or ASL, for a time also called Ameslan, is the dominant sign language of Deaf Americans, including deaf communities in the United States, in the English-speaking parts of Canada, and in some regions of Mexico...
was provided by Kinesha Battles, a student at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
Florida School for the Deaf and Blind
The Florida School for the Deaf and Blind is a state-supported boarding school for deaf and blind children established in 1885, in St. Augustine, Florida, USA.-History:...
.
To commemorate the 15th anniversary of the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
' fifth Super Bowl victory, which took place at this stadium, Jerry Rice
Jerry Rice
Jerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history...
, who had also been MVP of Super Bowl XXIII
Super Bowl XXIII
Super Bowl XXIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1989 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1988 regular season. This was the first Super Bowl hosted in the Miami area in 10 years, and the first in Miami not held...
, another Super Bowl played at this stadium, joined the coin toss ceremonies. Rice had just been named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
Class of 2010. The rest of the class – Rickey Jackson
Rickey Jackson
Rickey Anderson Jackson is a former American football linebacker in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers . In 1997, Jackson was inducted into the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame. Jackson won a Super Bowl ring with the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX one year before retiring...
, Dick LeBeau
Dick LeBeau
Charles Richard “Dick” LeBeau is a National Football League Hall of Fame defensive back. He is currently the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator and is considered to be one of the greatest defensive coordinators of all time. He spent 14 years in the NFL as a player with the Detroit Lions and...
, Floyd Little
Floyd Little
Floyd Douglas Little is a Pro Football Hall of Fame running back, and was a three-time American football All-American running back at Syracuse University. In 1967 he was the 6th selection of the first common AFL-NFL draft...
, Russ Grimm
Russ Grimm
Russell Scott Grimm is a former American football guard for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. As a collegian, he was an All-American center at the University of Pittsburgh. As a professional, Grimm had multi-selections to both the All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams, and was...
, John Randle
John Randle
John Anthony Randle played defensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL. On February 6, 2010 he was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Born in Mumford, Texas, Randle was raised poor, and worked odd jobs when he was young. His brother Ervin Randle played as...
, and Emmitt Smith
Emmitt Smith
Emmitt James Smith, III is a retired American football player who was a running back in the National Football League for fifteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. Smith played college football for the University of Florida, where he was an All-American; thereafter, he played professionally for...
– were named the day before. The Saints won the coin toss, marking the 13th straight Super Bowl the NFC won the toss (the Cardinals won the toss in Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII
Super Bowl XLIII was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Arizona Cardinals to decide the National Football League champion for the 2008 season. The game was played on February 1, 2009,...
but elected to defer to the second half, giving the Steelers the ball to open the game).
The Saints entered the Sun Life Stadium field first, to The Alan Parsons Project
The Alan Parsons Project
The Alan Parsons Project was a British progressive rock band, active between 1975 and 1990, consisting of singer Eric Woolfson and keyboardist Alan Parsons surrounded by a varying number of session musicians....
's "Sirius", which was made famous for team introductions by the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
.
The Colts entered last, as they were the "home" team, to "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who, which coincidentally would be performed by the band during the halftime show.
Halftime
The WhoThe Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
performed at the Super Bowl XLIV halftime show. The band played a medley of their hits, consisting of "Pinball Wizard
Pinball Wizard
"Pinball Wizard" is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by the English rock band The Who, and featured on their 1969 rock opera album Tommy. The original recording was released as a single in 1969 and reached No. 4 in the UK charts and No. 19 on the U.S...
", "Baba O'Riley
Baba O'Riley
"Baba O'Riley" is a song written by Pete Townshend for the English rock band The Who. Roger Daltrey sings most of the song, with Pete Townshend singing the middle eight: "Don't cry/don't raise your eye/it's only teenaged wasteland"...
", "Who Are You
Who Are You (song)
"Who Are You", composed by Pete Townshend, is the title track on The Who's 1978 release, Who Are You, the last album released before drummer Keith Moon's death in September 1978. It was released as a double-A sided single with the John Entwistle composition "Had Enough", also featured on the album...
", "See Me, Feel Me
See Me, Feel Me
"See Me Feel Me" is a portion of the song "We're Not Gonna Take It" written by Pete Townshend of The Who. The song is the finale of the Tommy album. "See Me Feel Me", followed by the refrain of "Listening To You" was performed at the 1969 Woodstock Festival as the sun was rising and almost half a...
", and "Won't Get Fooled Again
Won't Get Fooled Again
"Won't Get Fooled Again" is a song by the rock band The Who which was written by Pete Townshend The original version of the song appears as the final track on the album Who's Next...
" (three of these songs are also the themes for the CSI TV series, which air on CBS, just like Super Bowl XLIV did). For the first time since the Super Bowl XXXIV halftime show, there was no crowd of fans surrounding the halftime stage. This performance was also released as downloadable content for the Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
series, named "The Who Super Bowl S-mashup".
Merchandising
Retailers had ordered much more New Orleans SaintsNew Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
merchandise prior to the game than they had ordered Colts merchandise. The NFL estimates that US $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
100 million worth of Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
merchandise will be sold this year.
First quarter
The Saints won the toss and chose to receive, but their first possession resulted in a punt after going three-and-out.The Colts offense took the field for the first time, with the ball spotted at their own 27 yard line. The Colts put together a drive that went 53 yards and resulted in a 38-yard field goal by kicker Matt Stover
Matt Stover
John Matthew "Matt" Stover is a former American Football placekicker. As of the start of the 2009 NFL season, he was the third most accurate kicker in the history of the National Football League. He is of Greek origin. He has played for the New York Giants, the Cleveland Browns, and the Baltimore...
. At 42 years old, Stover became the oldest person in NFL history to play in a Super Bowl.
Following the game's first score, Courtney Roby
Courtney Roby
Courtney Eugene Roby is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the third round of the 2005 NFL Draft...
returned the ensuing kickoff to the New Orleans 26 yard line. Approaching the 25-yard line, Roby swooped into a dive and appeared to fumble the ball, but he was ruled down by contact. This time, the Saints managed to get a first down with a 16-yard completion from Drew Brees
Drew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees is a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue....
to Reggie Bush
Reggie Bush
Reginald Alfred "Reggie" Bush II is an American football running back for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
, but they were eventually forced to punt again. Punter Thomas Morstead
Thomas Morstead
Thomas Morstead is an American football punter. He was a fifth-round draft choice of the New Orleans Saints, 164th overall, in the 2009 NFL Draft. He was the second punter taken overall. He played college football at SMU...
pinned the Colts back at their own 4-yard line with a 46-yard kick.
Indianapolis responded with a 96-yard scoring drive, tying the record for the longest drive in Super Bowl history. Joseph Addai
Joseph Addai
Joseph Addai, Jr. is an American football running back for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was selected in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Louisiana State University.-Early years:Addai's family hails from Ghana in West Africa...
rushed three times for 53 yards on the drive, while Manning completed three passes for 35 yards, the last one a 19-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garçon
Pierre Garcon
Pierre Garçon is an American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Colts in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio. Garcon is of Haitian descent.- High school career...
, increasing the Colts lead to 10–0.
Second quarter
The Saints' next drive carried over from the previous quarter. Brees completed three passes for 36 yards as the Saints advanced to the Colts' 22-yard line. But on third down, Brees was sacked for a 7-yard loss by Dwight FreeneyDwight Freeney
Dwight Jason Freeney is an American football defensive end who currently plays for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 1st round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Syracuse University.-Early years:Freeney attended Bloomfield High School...
, forcing New Orleans to settle for a 46-yard field goal from Garrett Hartley
Garrett Hartley
Garrett Hartley is an American football placekicker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2008...
.
In the final two minutes of the first half, the Saints drove to a 1st-and-goal at the Colts' 3 yard line. A false start penalty set them back to the 8, and after getting a yard away from the end zone, they attempted 3rd and 4th down runs. They failed to convert both times. The Colts ran three straight running plays in an effort to wind down the clock and go to halftime with a seven point lead, but the Saints kept the Colts from getting another first down. Following Bush's 4-yard punt return to the New Orleans 48, with only one timeout left to use in the half, the Saints got back into field goal territory, and Hartley hit a 44-yard field goal as time expired, with the Colts still leading 10–6. This was the first 10–6 halftime score in Super Bowl history.
Third quarter
The Colts were set to receive the ball to start the second half, but were caught by surprise when the Saints executed an onside kickOnside kick
In American and Canadian football, an onside kick is a type of kick used at a kickoff or other free kick, or scrimmage kick or other kick during play, in which the ball is kicked favorably for the kicking team to avoid giving away the ball...
. This was the first onside kick attempted before the fourth quarter in Super Bowl history, a play the Saints referred to as "Ambush." Thomas Morstead
Thomas Morstead
Thomas Morstead is an American football punter. He was a fifth-round draft choice of the New Orleans Saints, 164th overall, in the 2009 NFL Draft. He was the second punter taken overall. He played college football at SMU...
kicked the ball to his left, and after traveling almost 15 yards, the ball bounced off the facemask of the Colts' Hank Baskett
Hank Baskett
Henry Randall "Hank" Baskett III is a wide receiver who is currently a free agent. Baskett has played for three NFL teams, the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts....
, who failed to make a clean recovery. Several players dove for the loose ball, creating a pile that took over a minute for the officiating crew to separate. When the dust finally cleared, linebacker Jonathan Casillas
Jonathan Casillas
Jonathan Casillas is a NFL linebacker for the New Orleans Saints. He went undrafted in the 2009 NFL Draft, but was later signed as a free agent...
of New Orleans was officially credited with the recovery on the 42-yard line, but Casillas and other Saints players insisted that it was actually safety Chris Reis
Chris Reis
Chris Reis Chris Reis Chris Reis (born September 19, 1983 in Roswell, Georgia played as an American football safety for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2006. He played college football at Georgia Tech and...
who came up with the football. The Saints' offense took over and stormed down the field on an effective 58-yard drive in which they never faced a third down. Brees completed five consecutive passes for 58 yards on the drive and capped it off with a screen pass
Screen pass
A screen pass is a type of play in American football. During a screen pass, a number of things happen concurrently in order to fool the defense into thinking a long pass is being thrown, when in fact the pass is merely a short one, just beyond the defensive linemen. Screens are usually deployed...
to Pierre Thomas
Pierre Thomas (American football)
Charles Pierre Thomas Jr. is an American football running back for the New Orleans Saints in the National Football League.- Early years :...
on the right side, who took it 16 yards to the end zone behind blocks from Jonathan Goodwin
Jonathan Goodwin (American football)
Jonathan Scott Goodwin is an American football center for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the New York Jets in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft...
, Jahri Evans
Jahri Evans
-New Orleans Saints:Evans was signed to a three-year contract by the Saints on July 25, 2006. He emerged as a consistent performer in training camp and preseason, and won the starting job after the projected starter, Jermane Mayberry, was injured in training camp and ultimately retired. In his...
, Devery Henderson
Devery Henderson
-New Orleans Saints:On November 5, 2006, Devery had his best day as a professional in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he caught 3 passes for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns. Henderson had 158 receiving yards on 5 catches, including a 76 yard touchdown, against the Atlanta Falcons on November...
, Kyle Eckel
Kyle Eckel
Kyle Eckel is an American football fullback in the National Football League, who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2005...
, Carl Nicks
Carl Nicks (American football)
Carl Nicks, Jr. is an offensive guard for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 5th round of the 2008 NFL Draft...
and Jeremy Shockey
Jeremy Shockey
Jeremy Charles Shockey is an American football tight end for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Giants 14th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft...
, to give the Saints their first lead of the game at 13–10.
Manning and the Colts answered with their own touchdown drive, moving the ball 76 yards in ten plays. Clark caught 3 passes for 45 yards, while Joseph Addai finished the drive off with a 4-yard touchdown run to put the Colts back on top 17–13 with 6:05 remaining in the quarter. For just the second time in Super Bowl history both teams scored touchdowns on their initial possessions of the second half; the only other time occurred in Super Bowl XIV
Super Bowl XIV
Super Bowl XIV was an American football game played on January 20, 1980 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1979 regular season...
.
Hartley would bring the Saints to within one point of tying the game at 17–16, with his third field goal, launched from 47 yards away. In doing so he became the first kicker in Super Bowl history to score three field goals of 40 or more yards in one game.
This was the first one-point lead after the third quarter in Super Bowl history and second closest game after three quarters, behind Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX
Super Bowl XXXIX was an American football game played on February 6, 2005, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 2004 regular season...
which was tied between the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
and Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Fourth quarter
Indianapolis responded with a drive to the New Orleans 33-yard line, only to have Stover miss a 51-yard field goal attempt, giving the ball back to the Saints with good field position on their 41-yard line. After that, Brees led the Saints on another touchdown drive featuring seven different players getting the ball. Bush started off the drive with a 12-yard run, and then Devery HendersonDevery Henderson
-New Orleans Saints:On November 5, 2006, Devery had his best day as a professional in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he caught 3 passes for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns. Henderson had 158 receiving yards on 5 catches, including a 76 yard touchdown, against the Atlanta Falcons on November...
caught a pass on the Colts' 36-yard line. Following an 8-yard catch and run by Bush, Brees completed passes to Colston, Robert Meachem
Robert Meachem
Robert Meachem is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Saints 27th overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Tennessee....
and tight end David Thomas
David Thomas (American football)
John David Thomas is an American football tight end for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
, moving the ball to the 5-yard line. After a 3-yard run by Pierre Thomas, Brees threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jeremy Shockey
Jeremy Shockey
Jeremy Charles Shockey is an American football tight end for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Giants 14th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft...
. Rather than settle for a six point lead, and risk a potential Colts game-winning touchdown, the Saints chanced a two-point conversion. Lance Moore
Lance Moore
Lance Andrew Moore is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2005...
received a pass and attempted to stretch the ball out over the goal line as he fell to the ground and rolled over on his head. The ball was kicked away from his hands by defender Jacob Lacey
Jacob Lacey
Jacob Lacey is an American football cornerback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2009...
, and the play was ruled an incomplete pass, prompting a coach's challenge from Sean Payton. After the review, the ruling on the field was overturned when it was determined that Moore maintained possession of the ball long enough and the ball had crossed the plane of the goal line for a successful conversion, giving the Saints a 24–17 advantage.
On the ensuing drive, Manning led the Colts into Saints territory; however, Tracy Porter
Tracy Porter
Tracy O'Neil Porter is an American football cornerback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Saints in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Indiana....
intercepted a pass by Manning at the Saints 26 for the first takeaway of the game and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown; following the successful extra point, the Saints lead grew to 31–17 with 3:12 remaining. Porter's interception return for a touchdown improved teams to 10–0 in Super Bowls when returning an interception for a touchdown.
Now down by two possessions, the Colts needed a touchdown on their next drive to stay alive, though they still had all three of their timeouts to use. They were able to drive to the New Orleans 3 yard line. When an offensive pass interference penalty on 1st and goal pushed them back 10 yards, the Colts got those 10 yards back on the next play. The next three plays saw a tipped pass that went off of the goal post and incomplete, a loss of two yards on a rushing play, and a pass that went through the hands of wide receiver Reggie Wayne
Reggie Wayne
Reginald "Reggie" Wayne is a professional American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. Wayne was selected in the 1st round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Colts...
and incomplete, effectively sealing the win for the Saints. Brees knelt the ball with 0:44 left on the clock, ending Super Bowl XLIV and winning the Saints' first league championship in franchise history.
Box score
Statistics
Drew BreesDrew Brees
Drew Christopher Brees is a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue....
was named Super Bowl MVP
Super Bowl MVP
The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is an award presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's championship game. The winner is chosen by a fan vote during the game and by a panel of 16 American football writers and...
for tying a Super Bowl record by completing 32 of 39 passes, with 288 passing yards and two touchdowns. After the game, Brees said, "Four years ago, who ever thought this would be happening when 85 percent of the city was under water? Most people left not knowing if New Orleans would ever come back, or if the organization would ever come back. We just all looked at one another and said, 'We are going to rebuild together. We are going to lean on each other.' This is the culmination in all that belief."
| Source: NFL.com | New Orleans Saints | Indianapolis Colts |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 20 | 23 |
| Third down efficiency | 3/9 | 6/13 |
| Fourth down efficiency | 0/1 | 1/2 |
| Total yards | 332 | 432 |
| Passing yards | 281 | 333 |
| Passing – completions/attempts | 32/39 | 31/45 |
| Rushing yards | 51 | 99 |
| Rushing attempts | 18 | 19 |
| Yards per rush | 2.8 | 5.2 |
| Penalties–yards | 3–19 | 5–45 |
| Sacks against–yards | 1–7 | 0–0 |
| Fumbles–lost | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Interceptions thrown | 0 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 30:11 | 29:49 |
Individual leaders
*Completions/AttemptsaCarries
bLong play
cReceptions
tTackles
gForced Fumble
Super Bowl records
- New Orleans recorded the first successful onside kick attempt in a Super Bowl outside of the fourth quarter.
- Indianapolis' place kicker Matt StoverMatt StoverJohn Matthew "Matt" Stover is a former American Football placekicker. As of the start of the 2009 NFL season, he was the third most accurate kicker in the history of the National Football League. He is of Greek origin. He has played for the New York Giants, the Cleveland Browns, and the Baltimore...
became the oldest player to participate, as well as to score, in a Super Bowl at 42 years and 11 days of age. - New Orleans' place kicker Garrett HartleyGarrett HartleyGarrett Hartley is an American football placekicker for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2008...
became the first kicker in Super Bowl history to kick three field goals of 40 or more yards. - New Orleans' victory marked the sixth straight win by the team wearing its white jersey.
- New Orleans quarterback Drew BreesDrew BreesDrew Christopher Brees is a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue....
had the second highest completion percentage in Super Bowl history (Phil SimmsPhil SimmsPhillip Martin "Phil" Simms is a former American football quarterback, and currently a television sportscaster for the CBS network. After a standout career at Morehead State University, Simms was drafted in the first round by the New York Giants of the National Football League with the number...
in Super Bowl XXISuper Bowl XXISuper Bowl XXI was an American football game played on January 25, 1987 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1986 regular season. The National Football Conference champion New York Giants won their first Super Bowl by defeating...
has the highest.) Brees also tied the mark for most completions in a Super Bowl, with 32. - This was the first Super Bowl played in Sun Life Stadium not to have a kickoff returned for a touchdown; because the Colts did not have a return TD, they also became the 1st team ever to lose a Super Bowl at Sun Life without achieving that.
- New Orleans became the second team to win the Super Bowl after trailing at halftime AND failing to score a first-half touchdown. The New York GiantsNew York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
in Super Bowl XLIISuper Bowl XLIISuper Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
are the only other team to do so; both the Giants and Saints were trailing by one point at halftime. - The Saints' 25 points in the second half is the fourth highest total in Super Bowl history. The New York GiantsNew York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
scored 30 in Super Bowl XXISuper Bowl XXISuper Bowl XXI was an American football game played on January 25, 1987 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1986 regular season. The National Football Conference champion New York Giants won their first Super Bowl by defeating...
while 28 was scored by both the San Francisco 49ersSan Francisco 49ersThe San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
in Super Bowl XXIVSuper Bowl XXIVSuper Bowl XXIV was an American football game played on January 28, 1990 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1989 regular season...
and the Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
in Super Bowl XXXVIISuper Bowl XXXVIISuper Bowl XXXVII was an American football game played on January 26, 2003 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 2002 regular season...
. - The Saints also became the seventh team to win a Super Bowl after trailing to start the fourth quarter. The others to do so were: the Giants in Super Bowl XLIISuper Bowl XLIISuper Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
, the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIIISuper Bowl XXIIISuper Bowl XXIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1989 at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 1988 regular season. This was the first Super Bowl hosted in the Miami area in 10 years, and the first in Miami not held...
, the Washington RedskinsWashington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
in Super Bowl XVIISuper Bowl XVIISuper Bowl XVII was an American football game played on January 30, 1983 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the strike-shortened 1982 regular season...
, the Pittsburgh SteelersPittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
in Super Bowls X and XIV and the Colts in Super Bowl V. - Brees and Peyton ManningPeyton ManningPeyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...
combined for a Super Bowl record 75% completion rate (63 of 84). They also accounted for the most combined pass completions in a Super Bowl, with 63. - The Colts became just the fifth team to score 10 or more points in the first quarter and lose the game, joining the Miami DolphinsMiami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in Super Bowl XIXSuper Bowl XIXSuper Bowl XIX was an American football game played on January 20, 1985 at Stanford Stadium, on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1984 regular season...
, the Denver BroncosDenver BroncosThe Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in both Super Bowls XXISuper Bowl XXISuper Bowl XXI was an American football game played on January 25, 1987 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1986 regular season. The National Football Conference champion New York Giants won their first Super Bowl by defeating...
and XXIISuper Bowl XXIISuper Bowl XXII was an American football game played on January 31, 1988 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1987 regular season...
, and the New England PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
in Super Bowl XXXISuper Bowl XXXISuper Bowl XXXI was an American football game played on January 26, 1997, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1996 regular season. The National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers defeated the American... - Having been down 10 points in the first quarter, the Saints tied a record for the biggest comeback win in Super Bowl history, set in Super Bowl XXIISuper Bowl XXIISuper Bowl XXII was an American football game played on January 31, 1988 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1987 regular season...
when the Washington RedskinsWashington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
faced a 10-point first quarter deficit of their own. - The Saints are the 9th team to win the Super Bowl on their first attempt. The others are the Green Bay PackersGreen Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
of Super Bowl ISuper Bowl IThe First AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later known as Super Bowl I and referred to in some contemporary reports as the Supergame, was played on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.The National Football League ...
, the Pittsburgh SteelersPittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
of Super Bowl IXSuper Bowl IXSuper Bowl IX was an American football game played on January 12, 1975 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1974 regular season. It would be the last pro game at legendary Tulane Stadium...
, the New York JetsNew York JetsThe New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
of Super Bowl IIISuper Bowl IIISuper Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl". This game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history...
, the San Francisco 49ersSan Francisco 49ersThe San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
of Super Bowl XVISuper Bowl XVISuper Bowl XVI was an American football game played on January 24, 1982, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan to decide the National Football League champion following the 1981 regular season. It marked the first time that a Super Bowl was held at a cold-weather city...
, the Chicago BearsChicago BearsThe Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
of Super Bowl XXSuper Bowl XXSuper Bowl XX was an American football championship game played on January 26, 1986 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1985 regular season...
, the New York GiantsNew York GiantsThe New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
of Super Bowl XXISuper Bowl XXISuper Bowl XXI was an American football game played on January 25, 1987 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1986 regular season. The National Football Conference champion New York Giants won their first Super Bowl by defeating...
, the Baltimore RavensBaltimore RavensThe Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
of Super Bowl XXXVSuper Bowl XXXVSuper Bowl XXXV was played on January 28, 2001 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida to decide the National Football League champion following the 2000 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Baltimore Ravens defeated the National Football Conference champion New York...
, and the Tampa Bay BuccaneersTampa Bay BuccaneersThe Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
of Super Bowl XXXVIISuper Bowl XXXVIISuper Bowl XXXVII was an American football game played on January 26, 2003 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 2002 regular season...
.
Starting lineups
| New Orleans | Position | Position | Indianapolis |
|---|---|---|---|
| OFFENSE | |||
| Marques Colston Marques Colston Marques Colston is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL. He was selected in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft as a supplemental compensatory pick. Following the trade of receiver Donté Stallworth, Colston was inserted into the starting lineup for week 1 of... |
WR | Reggie Wayne Reggie Wayne Reginald "Reggie" Wayne is a professional American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. Wayne was selected in the 1st round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Colts... |
|
| Jermon Bushrod Jermon Bushrod Jermon Bushrod is an American football offensive lineman for the New Orleans Saints in the National Football League . He was the Saints' starting left tackle in the team's successful run to the Super Bowl XLIV Championship... |
LT | Charlie Johnson Charlie Johnson (offensive tackle) Charlie Johnson is an American football offensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft... |
|
| Carl Nicks Carl Nicks (American football) Carl Nicks, Jr. is an offensive guard for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 5th round of the 2008 NFL Draft... |
LG | Ryan Lilja Ryan Lilja Ryan Matthew Lilja is an American football guard for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was signed by the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2004... |
|
| Jonathan Goodwin Jonathan Goodwin (American football) Jonathan Scott Goodwin is an American football center for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the New York Jets in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft... |
C | Jeff Saturday Jeff Saturday Jeffrey Bryant Saturday is an American football center for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He played college football at North Carolina. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the National Football League Players' Association.-Early years:Saturday attended... |
|
| Jahri Evans Jahri Evans -New Orleans Saints:Evans was signed to a three-year contract by the Saints on July 25, 2006. He emerged as a consistent performer in training camp and preseason, and won the starting job after the projected starter, Jermane Mayberry, was injured in training camp and ultimately retired. In his... |
RG | Kyle DeVan Kyle DeVan Kyle DeVan is an American football guard who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played college football at Oregon State.... |
|
| Jon Stinchcomb Jon Stinchcomb Jon Stinchcomb is a former American football offensive tackle who played eight seasons in the National Football League. He was drafted in the second round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints... |
RT | Ryan Diem Ryan Diem Ryan Diem is a starting offensive tackle for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. Ryan Diem stands 6'6" tall and weighs 305 pounds... |
|
| Jeremy Shockey Jeremy Shockey Jeremy Charles Shockey is an American football tight end for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New York Giants 14th overall in the 2002 NFL Draft... |
TE | Dallas Clark Dallas Clark Dallas Dean Clark is an American football tight end for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Colts 24th overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Iowa... |
|
| Devery Henderson Devery Henderson -New Orleans Saints:On November 5, 2006, Devery had his best day as a professional in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he caught 3 passes for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns. Henderson had 158 receiving yards on 5 catches, including a 76 yard touchdown, against the Atlanta Falcons on November... |
WR | Pierre Garcon Pierre Garcon Pierre Garçon is an American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Colts in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio. Garcon is of Haitian descent.- High school career... |
|
| Drew Brees Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees is a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue.... |
QB | Peyton Manning Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the... |
|
| Pierre Thomas Pierre Thomas (American football) Charles Pierre Thomas Jr. is an American football running back for the New Orleans Saints in the National Football League.- Early years :... |
RB | Joseph Addai Joseph Addai Joseph Addai, Jr. is an American football running back for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was selected in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Louisiana State University.-Early years:Addai's family hails from Ghana in West Africa... |
|
| Reggie Bush Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred "Reggie" Bush II is an American football running back for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft... |
RB | FB | Gijon Robinson Gijon Robinson Gijon Robinson is an American football tight end and fullback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Missouri Western State. He currently resides in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and attended high... |
| DEFENSE | |||
| Bobby McCray Bobby McCray Bobby L. McCray, Jr. is an American football defensive end who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft... |
LE | Robert Mathis Robert Mathis Robert Nathan Mathis is an American football defensive end who currently plays for the NFL's Indianapolis Colts.-Early years:Mathis attended McNair High School in Atlanta, Georgia.... |
|
| Sedrick Ellis Sedrick Ellis -New Orleans Saints:Ellis was drafted by the New Orleans Saints seventh overall in the 2008 NFL Draft. The Saints original draft spot was 10th, but they traded up with the New England Patriots. The teams swapped first round picks, the Saints gave up their third round selection and the Pats gave... |
DT | LDT | Daniel Muir Daniel Muir -Green Bay Packers:Muir was undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft but was signed by the Green Bay Packers on May 4, 2007. In 2007, he played in three games, after becoming the only undrafted rookie to make the roster out of training camp. He recorded eight tackes, four solo for the season. He played for... |
| Will Smith | RE | RDT | Antonio Johnson |
| Marvin Mitchell Marvin Mitchell Marvin Mitchell is an American football linebacker for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft... |
ILB | RE | Dwight Freeney Dwight Freeney Dwight Jason Freeney is an American football defensive end who currently plays for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 1st round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Syracuse University.-Early years:Freeney attended Bloomfield High School... |
| Scott Fujita Scott Fujita Scott Anthony Fujita is an American football linebacker for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft... |
LOLB | Philip Wheeler Philip Wheeler Philip Gregory Wheeler is an American football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Colts in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft... |
|
| Jonathan Vilma | ILB | Gary Brackett Gary Brackett Gary Lawrence Brackett is an American football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football at Rutgers.-Early years:Brackett attended Glassboro High School in Glassboro, New Jersey.... |
|
| Scott Shanle Scott Shanle -St. Louis Rams:Shanle made his NFL debut against the New York Giants on September 7, 2003. He also saw special teams action in six games for St. Louis. He was waived by the Rams on December 9, 2003.-Dallas Cowboys:... |
ROLB | Clint Session Clint Session Clint Session is an American football linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Colts in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Pittsburgh... |
|
| Jabari Greer Jabari Greer Jabari Amin Greer is an American football cornerback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played college football at Tennessee.... |
LCB | Kelvin Hayden Kelvin Hayden Kelvin Darnell Hayden, Jr. is an American football cornerback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft out of the University of Illinois. He returned a Rex Grossman interception 56 yards for a... |
|
| Tracy Porter Tracy Porter Tracy O'Neil Porter is an American football cornerback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Saints in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Indiana.... |
RCB | Jacob Lacey Jacob Lacey Jacob Lacey is an American football cornerback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was signed by the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2009... |
|
| Roman Harper Roman Harper Roman Harper is an American football safety with the New Orleans Saints of the NFL. He was drafted in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Alabama... |
SS | Melvin Bullitt Melvin Bullitt Melvin Terry Bullitt is an American football defensive back for the NFL's Indianapolis Colts.-Early years:... |
|
| Darren Sharper Darren Sharper Darren Mallory Sharper is an American football safety who currently is a free agent. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft. He played college football at William & Mary.... |
FS | Antoine Bethea Antoine Bethea Antoine Bethea is a professional American football safety for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Colts... |
|
Officials
- Referee – Scott GreenScott Green (American football official)Scott H. Green is an American football official in the National Football League since the 1991 NFL season. He has officiated Super Bowls XXXVI in 2002, XXXVIII in 2004, and was the referee for XLIV in 2010....
(#19) - Umpire – Undrey Wash (#96)
- Head Linesman – John McGrath (#5)
- Line Judge – Jeff Seeman (#45)
- Field Judge – Rob Vernatchi (#75)
- Side Judge – Greg Meyer (#78)
- Back Judge – Greg Steed (#12)
- Alt. referee – Gene SteratoreGene SteratoreGene Steratore is an American football official in the National Football League since 2003. He began in the league as a field judge and was promoted to referee at the start of the 2006 NFL season, one of two new referees for that season, following the retirements of Bernie Kukar and Tom White...
(#114)
Game time and weather conditions
- Kickoff was at 6:32 p.m. ESTEastern Standard TimeEastern Standard Time may refer to:*North American Eastern Time Zone, UTC-5*Australian Eastern Standard Time, UTC+10*An album by Hip Hop group Kooley High...
(23:32 UTCCoordinated Universal TimeCoordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
). - Weather at kickoff was 66 °F (18.9 °C), clear.
- Game length was 3 hrs. 14 min.