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164-692: Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2009 season . The underdog Saints defeated the Colts by a score of 31–17, earning the franchise its first Super Bowl win. The game

328-493: 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

492-618: 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. The game was televised live in the United States on CBS , capping the network's 50th season of NFL coverage (1956–93; 1998–present). This was the 17th Super Bowl telecast for CBS,

656-658: 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

820-403: A halftime period, and the first and third quarters are followed by a short break. Before the game starts, the referee and each team's captain meet at midfield for a coin toss . The visiting team can call either "heads" or "tails"; the winner of the toss chooses whether to receive or kick off the ball or which goal they wish to defend. They can defer their choice until the second half. Unless

984-576: A regular season that generally begins in September of the previous calendar year. For example, Super Bowl 50 , which was played on February 7, 2016, determined the league champion for the 2015 NFL season . The years shown below refer to the season, not the date that the Super Bowl was actually played: Although none of these teams have ever won three straight Super Bowls, two teams have won three Lombardi trophies in four years and one team twice won

1148-547: 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

1312-401: A 10-yard-long chain between them, are used to measure for a first down. The chain crew stays on the sidelines during the game, but if requested by the officials they will briefly bring the chains on to the field to measure. A typical chain crew will have at least three people—two members of the chain crew will hold either of the two sticks, while a third will hold the down marker. The down marker,

1476-531: A 53-yard drive that featured two completions from quarterback Peyton Manning to tight end Dallas Clark , as well as a 14-yard reception by wide receiver Austin Collie on 3rd-and-7. The drive ended with a 38-yard field goal by kicker Matt Stover to give Indianapolis an early 3–0 lead. At 42 years old, Stover became the oldest player in NFL history to participate in a Super Bowl. Wide receiver Courtney Roby returned

1640-704: 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

1804-525: A PAT attempt or successful field goal, the scoring team must kick the ball off to the other team. A safety is scored when the ball carrier is tackled in the carrier's own end zone. Safeties are worth two points, which are awarded to the defense. In addition, the team that conceded the safety must kick the ball to the scoring team via a free kick . Football games are played on a rectangular field that measures 120 yards (110 m) long and 53 + 1 ⁄ 3 yards (48.8 m) wide. Lines marked along

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1968-547: A bat to bunt a practice pitch from wide receiver Julian Edelman during the Boston Red Sox season opener where he was to throw the ceremonial first pitch with his former teammates. It left a baseball-sized dent in the trophy, his third overall, and his former team's sixth. The humorous documentary-style video released by the Patriots about the incident became popular, with special teamer Matthew Slater , who witnessed

2132-437: 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

2296-517: A defensive coordinator with the New York Giants and Head coach with New England Patriots, has won eight Super Bowls in his career, more than any single NFL franchise or player. The trophy has been presented on a stage constructed on the field since Super Bowl XXX in 1996. A personality from the network broadcasting the game handles the presentation ceremony. Terry Bradshaw has hosted every presentation for Fox since Super Bowl XXXI , with

2460-453: A field goal instead. A group of officials, the chain crew, keeps track of both the downs and the distance measurements. On television, a yellow line is electronically superimposed on the field to show the first down line to the viewing audience. There are two categories of kicks in football: scrimmage kicks, which can be executed by the offensive team on any down from behind or on the line of scrimmage, and free kicks. The free kicks are

2624-457: A group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they could now hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, in a game between Yale and Princeton, both teams used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records. Each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0–0 tie. This "block game" proved extremely unpopular with both teams' spectators and fans. A rule change

2788-533: A large stick with a dial on it, is flipped after each play to indicate the current down and is typically moved to the approximate spot of the ball. The chain crew system has been used for over 100 years and is considered an accurate measure of distance, rarely subject to criticism from either side. Football is a full-contact sport, and injuries are relatively common. Most injuries occur during training sessions, particularly ones that involve contact between players. To try to prevent injuries, players are required to wear

2952-408: A long circumference of 28 to 28 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches (71 to 72 cm), and a short circumference of 21 to 21 + 1 ⁄ 4 inches (53 to 54 cm). In college and high school play the ball has a long axis of 10 + 7 ⁄ 8 to 11 + 7 ⁄ 16 inches (27.6 to 29.1 cm), a long circumference of 27 + 3 ⁄ 4 to 28 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches (70 to 72 cm), and

3116-420: A minimum of 10 feet (3.0 m) on high school fields. Goal posts are padded at the base, and orange ribbons are normally placed at the tip of each upright as indicators of wind strength and direction. The football itself is a prolate spheroid leather ball, similar to the balls used in rugby or Australian rules football . To contain the compressed air within it, a pig's bladder was commonly used before

3280-499: 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 the Saints won the coin toss, Pierre Thomas's 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. The Colts' first opponent

3444-510: A modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association , although Yale did not join until 1879. Yale player Walter Camp , now regarded as the "Father of American Football", secured rule changes in 1880 that reduced the size of each team from 15 to 11 players and instituted the snap to replace the chaotic and inconsistent scrum . While the game between Rutgers and Princeton

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3608-428: A pass hits the ground without a player having caught it. A forward pass can be legally attempted only if the passer is behind the line of scrimmage; only one forward pass can be attempted per down. As in rugby, players can also pass the ball backwards at any point during a play. In the NFL, a down also ends immediately if the runner's helmet comes off. The offense is given a series of four plays, known as downs . If

3772-447: A play many consider the turning point of the game, Thomas Morstead kicked off the second half with a surprise onside kick . The Saints recovered the kick and soon got their first lead of the game with Pierre Thomas 's 16-yard touchdown reception. The Colts responded with Joseph Addai 's 4-yard touchdown run to regain the lead at 17–13. The Saints then scored 18 unanswered points, including Tracy Porter 's 74-yard interception return for

3936-583: A player being paid to participate in a game of American football , although many athletic clubs in the 1880s offered indirect benefits, such as helping players attain employment, giving out trophies or watches that players could pawn for money, or paying double in expense money. Despite these extra benefits, the game had a strict sense of amateurism at the time, and direct payment to players was frowned upon, if not prohibited outright. Over time, professional play became increasingly common, and with it came rising salaries and unpredictable player movement, as well as

4100-565: A potential game-winning field goal. With the team's playoff seed clinched, head coach Sean Payton chose to rest Brees and other starters in the final game of the season, resulting in a 23–10 loss to the Carolina Panthers . The string of defeats cast a cloud over the team's postseason chances. Still, they clinched the No. 1 NFC playoff seed and scored 76 points in their two playoff wins en route to their first ever Super Bowl. Indianapolis had

4264-427: A quarter ends, play continues until the down is completed. If certain fouls are committed during play while time has expired, the quarter may be extended through an untimed down . Games last longer than their defined length due to play stoppages—the average NFL game lasts slightly over three hours. Time in a football game is measured by the game clock. An operator is responsible for starting, stopping and operating

4428-511: A round ball. An 1875 Harvard–Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two Princeton athletes who were impressed by it. They introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to "selling refrigerators to Eskimos ". Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and Columbia then agreed to intercollegiate play using a form of rugby union rules with

4592-436: A secondary signal. Women can serve as officials; Sarah Thomas became the NFL's first female official in 2015. The seven officials (of a standard seven-man crew; lower levels of play up to the college level use fewer officials) on the field are each tasked with a different set of responsibilities: Another set of officials, the chain crew , are responsible for moving the chains. The chains, consisting of two large sticks with

4756-403: A separate sport from rugby, and the resulting five-yard lines added to the field to measure distances made it resemble a gridiron in appearance. Other major rule changes included a reduction of the field size to 110 by 53 + 1 ⁄ 3 yards (100.6 m × 48.8 m) and the adoption of a scoring system that awarded four points for a touchdown, two for a safety and a goal following

4920-634: A set of equipment. At a minimum players must wear a football helmet and a set of shoulder pads , but individual leagues may require additional padding such as thigh pads and guards, knee pads, chest protectors, and mouthguards . Most injuries occur in the lower extremities, particularly in the knee, but a significant number also affect the upper extremities. The most common types of injuries are strains , sprains , bruises , fractures , dislocations , and concussions . Vince Lombardi Trophy During lunch with NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle in 1966, Tiffany & Co. vice president Oscar Riedner made

5084-410: A short circumference of 20 + 3 ⁄ 4 to 21 + 1 ⁄ 4 inches (53 to 54 cm). Football games last for a total of 60 minutes in professional and college play and are divided into two halves of 30 minutes and four quarters of 15 minutes. High school football games are 48 minutes in length with two halves of 24 minutes and four quarters of 12 minutes. The two halves are separated by

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5248-763: A sketch on a cocktail napkin of what would become the Vince Lombardi Trophy: a football in a kicking position on a three concave sided stand. The original trophy was produced by Tiffany & Co. in Newark, New Jersey . Others have since been handcrafted by the company in Parsippany, New Jersey . As of 2017, the trophy is produced at the Tiffany & Co. Forest Hill manufacturing facility in Cumberland, Rhode Island . The first trophy, inscribed with

5412-526: 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

5576-416: A touchdown , and five for a goal from the field . Additionally, tackling below the waist was legalized, and a static line of scrimmage was instituted. Despite these new rules, football remained a violent sport. Dangerous mass-formations like the flying wedge resulted in serious injuries and deaths. A 1905 peak of 19 fatalities nationwide resulted in a threat by President Theodore Roosevelt to abolish

5740-541: A touchdown, to clinch the victory. 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 . The Saints' win was seen as a major morale boost for the city of New Orleans following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. However,

5904-460: Is a sport in which two competing teams vie for control of a ball, which can be kicked through a set of goalposts or run into the opponent's goal area to score points. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6, 1869 , between Rutgers and Princeton , two college teams. They consisted of 25 players per team and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with

6068-425: Is called on the offense. There are two main ways the offense can advance the ball: running and passing . In a typical play, the center passes the ball backwards and between their legs to the quarterback in a process known as the snap . The quarterback then either hands the ball off to a running back, throws the ball, or runs with it. The play ends when the player with the ball is tackled or goes out-of-bounds or

6232-437: Is caught or recovered behind the line of scrimmage. If it is touched or recovered by the kicking team beyond this line, it becomes dead at the spot where it was touched. The kicking team is prohibited from interfering with the receiver's opportunity to catch the ball. The receiving team has the option of signaling for a fair catch , which prohibits the defense from blocking into or tackling the receiver. The play ends as soon as

6396-516: Is commonly considered the first American football game, several years prior in 1862, the Oneida Football Club formed as the oldest known football club in the United States. The team consisted of graduates of Boston's elite preparatory schools and played from 1862 to 1865. The introduction of the snap resulted in an unexpected consequence. Before the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position. However,

6560-514: Is entirely made of sterling silver . The words "Vince Lombardi Trophy" along with the Roman numerals of that year's Super Bowl are engraved on and the NFL shield is affixed onto the base. After the trophy is awarded, it is sent back to Tiffany's to be engraved with the names of the participating teams, the date, location, and the game's final score. It is then sent back to the winning team for them to keep. Smaller replicas are made for each person on

6724-403: Is known as a two-point conversion . In general, the extra point is almost always successful, while the two-point conversion is a much riskier play with a higher probability of failure; accordingly, extra point attempts are far more common than two-point conversion attempts. A field goal (FG), worth three points, is scored when the ball is place kicked or drop kicked through the uprights and over

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6888-407: Is responsible for all kicking plays. The special teams unit of the team in control of the ball tries to execute field goal (FG) attempts, punts , and kickoffs , while the opposing team's unit will aim to block or return them. Three positions are specific to the field goal and PAT (point-after-touchdown) unit: the placekicker (K or PK), holder (H), and long snapper (LS). The long snapper's job

7052-421: Is to block members of the defensive line from tackling the ball carrier on running plays or sacking the quarterback on passing plays. The leader of the offensive line is the center, who is responsible for snapping the ball to the quarterback, blocking, and for making sure that the other linemen do their jobs during the play. On either side of the center are the guards (G), while tackles (T) line up outside

7216-437: Is to snap the football to the holder, who will catch and position it for the placekicker. There is not usually a holder on kickoffs, because the ball is kicked off a tee; however, a holder may be used in certain situations, such as if wind is preventing the ball from remaining upright on the tee. The player on the receiving team who catches the ball is known as the kickoff returner (KR). The positions specific to punt plays are

7380-551: 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

7544-589: The AFC Championship Game against the New York 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 the Jets built up a 17–6 first half lead. Yet the Colts would step up to the challenge, scoring 24 unanswered points. First, Manning completed three passes to Collie for 80 yards,

7708-776: The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) in 1997. The BCS arrangement proved to be controversial , and was replaced in 2014 by the College Football Playoff (CFP). A football game is played between two teams of 11 players each. Playing with more on the field is punishable by a penalty. Teams may substitute any number of their players between downs; this "platoon" system replaced the original system, which featured limited substitution rules, and has resulted in teams utilizing specialized offensive, defensive and special teams units. The number of players allowed on an active roster varies by league;

7872-668: The Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V . Originally, the trophy was presented inside the winning team's locker room. Since Super Bowl XXX in January 1996, it has been presented to the owner of the winning team on the field. Packers team president and CEO Bob Harlan and Mark Murphy accepted the trophy on behalf of the Green Bay community after Super Bowl XXXI and Super Bowl XLV , respectively. Unlike trophies such as

8036-457: 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

8200-550: The Stanley Cup and the Grey Cup , a new Vince Lombardi Trophy is cast every year, and the winning team maintains permanent possession of it. The one exception is the trophy won by the then- Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V , possession of which the city of Baltimore retained as part of the legal settlement after the Colts made their infamous "Midnight Mayflower" relocation to Indianapolis, Indiana , on March 29, 1984. Both

8364-421: The Super Bowl , ranks among the most-watched club sporting events globally. In 2022, the league had an annual revenue of around $ 18.6 billion, making it the most valuable sports league in the world. Other professional and amateur leagues exist worldwide, but the sport does not have the international popularity of other American sports like baseball or basketball ; the sport maintains a growing following in

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8528-412: The center (C), are allowed to line up in or cross the neutral zone until the ball is snapped. Interior offensive linemen are not allowed to move until the snap of the ball. The main backfield positions are the quarterback (QB), halfback/tailback (HB/TB), and fullback (FB). The quarterback is the leader of the offense. Either the quarterback or a coach calls the plays. Quarterbacks typically inform

8692-409: The commissioner . NCAA and NFHS teams are "strongly advised" to number their offensive players according to a league-suggested numbering scheme. Although the sport is played almost exclusively by men, women are eligible to play in high school, college, and professional football. No woman has ever played in the NFL, but women have played in high school and college football games. In 2018, 1,100 of

8856-494: The drive . Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal . The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of soccer and rugby . The first American football game was played on November 6, 1869 , between two college teams, Rutgers and Princeton , using rules based on

9020-411: The kickoff , which starts the first and third quarters and overtime and follows a try attempt or a successful field goal; the safety kick follows a safety. On a kickoff, the ball is placed at the 35-yard line of the kicking team in professional and college play and at the 40-yard line in high school play. The ball may be drop kicked or place kicked. If a place kick is chosen, the ball can be placed on

9184-407: The neutral zone was created along the width of the football before the snap. Scoring was also adjusted: points awarded for field goals were reduced to three in 1909 and points for touchdowns were raised to six in 1912. Also in 1912, the field was shortened to 100 yards (91 m) long, two 10-yard-long (9.1 m) end zones were created, and teams were given four downs instead of three to advance

9348-407: The punter (P), long snapper, upback , and gunner . The long snapper snaps the football directly to the punter, who then drops and kicks it before it hits the ground. Gunners line up split outside the line and race down the field, aiming to tackle the punt returner (PR)—the player who catches the punt. Upbacks line up a short distance behind the line of scrimmage, providing additional protection to

9512-401: 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

9676-413: The 1966 season. Once the merger was completed, it was no longer a championship game between two leagues and reverted to the NFL championship game, which came to be known as the Super Bowl . College football maintained a tradition of postseason bowl games . Each bowl game was associated with a particular conference and earning a spot in a bowl game was the reward for winning a conference. This arrangement

9840-508: 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

10004-567: The 225,000 players in Pop Warner Little Scholars youth football were girls, and around 11% of the 5.5 million Americans who report playing tackle football are female according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. The role of the offensive unit is to advance the football down the field with the ultimate goal of scoring a touchdown . The offensive team must line up in a legal formation before they can snap

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10168-481: The Cardinals scored on their first play of the game, the Saints 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 the Cardinals, 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

10332-423: The Colts back at their own 4-yard line with a 46-yard punt. American football American football , referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football , is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense , the team with possession of the oval-shaped football , attempts to advance down

10496-495: 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

10660-516: The NFL had established itself as America's premier professional football league. The dominant form of football at the time was played at the collegiate level . The upstart NFL received a boost to its legitimacy in 1925, however, when an NFL team, the Pottsville Maroons , defeated a team of Notre Dame all-stars in an exhibition game . A greater emphasis on the passing game helped professional football to distinguish itself further from

10824-570: The NFL has a 53-man roster, while NCAA Division I allows teams to have 63 scholarship players in the FCS and 85 scholarship players in the FBS, respectively. Individual players in a football game must be designated with a uniform number between 1 and 99, though some teams may "retire" certain numbers , making them unavailable to players. NFL teams are required to number their players by a league-approved numbering system, and any exceptions must be approved by

10988-531: 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 Manning , who threw for over 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

11152-871: The Patriots who played Super Bowls in three stadiums twice – Reliant/NRG Stadium in Houston, University of Phoenix/State Farm Stadium in Glendale, and the Louisiana Superdome). With Tampa as the host of Super Bowl XLIII , Super Bowl XLIV also 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

11316-550: 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

11480-588: 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). Fourteen players from the Super Bowl participants, seven from each team, had been selected but were unable to participate due to

11644-460: The advent of artificial rubber inside the leather outer shell to sustain crushing forces . At all levels of play, the football is inflated to 12 + 1 ⁄ 2 to 13 + 1 ⁄ 2  psi (86 to 93 kPa), or just under one atmosphere, and weighs 14 to 15 ounces (400 to 430 g); beyond that, the exact dimensions vary slightly. In professional play the ball has a long axis of 11 to 11 + 1 ⁄ 4 inches (28 to 29 cm),

11808-413: The advertisement, seeking US$ 100 million 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. Viewers worldwide were able to watch on

11972-427: The annual rotation between AFC and NFC teams, the Colts elected to wear their home blue uniforms with white pants, while the Saints wore their road white uniforms with old gold pants. The Saints won the coin toss and chose to receive, but their first possession resulted in a three-and-out and a punt. The Colts' offense took the field for the first time, with the ball spotted at their own 27-yard line. They put together

12136-572: The ball 10 yards (9.1 m). The roughing the passer penalty was implemented in 1914, and eligible players were first allowed to catch the ball anywhere on the field in 1918. On November 12, 1892, Pudge Heffelfinger was paid $ 500 (equivalent to $ 16,956 in 2023) to play a game for the Allegheny Athletic Association against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club . This is the first recorded instance of

12300-435: The ball is caught, and the ball may not be advanced. Officials are responsible for enforcing game rules and monitoring the clock. All officials carry a whistle and wear black-and-white striped shirts and black hats except for the referee, whose hat is white. Each carries a weighted yellow flag that is thrown to the ground to signal that a foul has been called. An official who spots multiple fouls will throw their hat as

12464-430: The ball. An offensive formation is considered illegal if there are more than four players in the backfield or fewer than five players numbered 50–79 on the offensive line. Players can line up temporarily in a position whose eligibility is different from what their number permits as long as they report the change immediately to the referee, who then informs the defensive team of the change. Neither team's players, except

12628-562: The change. The new schedule took advantage of the bye week given to the conference champions to rest and prepare for the Super Bowl. The Pro Bowl returned to Honolulu the following season and remained there until 2015, when it was played in Glendale, Arizona , a week before Super Bowl XLIX , also in Glendale. The game returned to Honolulu in 2016, and beginning in 2017 was played in Orlando permanently. This, however, changed again in 2020, when

12792-696: The city by Hurricane Katrina , forcing them to play all of their home games in 2005 elsewhere as they finished with a 3–13 record (see Effect of Hurricane Katrina on the New Orleans Saints ). But in the off-season, the team's fortunes began to turn. First, they signed free agent 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

12956-545: 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

13120-539: The college game during the late 1930s. Football, in general, became increasingly popular following the 1958 NFL Championship game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants , still referred to as the "Greatest Game Ever Played". The game, a 23–17 overtime victory by the Colts, was seen by millions of television viewers and had a major influence on the popularity of the sport. This, along with

13284-446: 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 $ 2.5million on a 30-second spot, directed by noted independent filmmaker Christopher Guest , for

13448-608: The conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. After playing McGill University using both American (known as "the Boston game ") for the first game and Canadian (rugby) rules for the second one, the Harvard players preferred the Canadian style of having only 11 men on the field, running the ball without having to be chased by an opponent, the forward pass, tackling, and using an oblong instead of

13612-551: The conservative NFL to expand to Dallas and Minnesota in an attempt to destroy the new league. Meanwhile, the AFL introduced many new features to professional football in the United States: official time was kept on a scoreboard clock rather than on a watch in the referee's pocket, as the NFL did; optional two-point conversions by pass or run after touchdowns; names on the jerseys of players; and several others, including expansion of

13776-413: The crossbars of the defense's goalposts. In practice, almost all field goal attempts are done via place kick. While drop kicks were common in the early days of the sport, the shape of modern footballs makes it difficult to reliably drop kick the ball. The last successful scoring play by drop kick in the NFL was accomplished in 2006; prior to that, the last successful drop kick had been made in 1941. After

13940-399: The defense is to prevent the offense from scoring by tackling the ball carrier or by forcing turnovers . Turnovers include interceptions (a defender catching a forward pass intended for the offense) and forced fumbles (taking possession of the ball from the ball-carrier). The defensive line (DL) consists of defensive ends (DE) and defensive tackles (DT). Defensive ends line up on

14104-430: The defensive backfield. They are divided into two types: middle linebackers (MLB) and outside linebackers (OLB). Linebackers tend to serve as the defensive leaders and call the defensive plays, given their vantage point of the offensive backfield. Their roles include defending the run, pressuring the quarterback, and tackling backs, wide receivers, and tight ends in the passing game. The defensive backfield , often called

14268-472: The ends and sides of the field are known as the end lines and sidelines . Goal lines are marked 10 yards (9.1 m) inward from each end line. Weighted pylons are placed the sidelines on the inside corner of the intersections with the goal lines and end lines. White markings on the field identify the distance from the end zone. Inbound lines, or hash marks , are short parallel lines that mark off 1-yard (0.91 m) increments. Yard lines , which can run

14432-404: The ends of the line, while defensive tackles line up inside, between the defensive ends. The primary responsibilities of defensive ends and defensive tackles are to stop running plays on the outside and inside, respectively, to pressure the quarterback on passing plays, and to occupy the line so that the linebackers can break through. Linebackers line up behind the defensive line but in front of

14596-445: The ensuing kickoff to his own 26-yard line. Approaching the 25-yard line, Roby swooped into a dive and appeared to fumble the ball, but officials ruled that he was down by contact after taking a hit by Colts cornerback Tim Jennings . This time, New Orleans managed to get a first down with a 16-yard completion from quarterback Drew Brees to running back Reggie Bush , but they were eventually forced to punt again. Thomas Morstead pinned

14760-513: The exception of Super Bowl XLVIII , when Michael Strahan substituted for him. Jim Nantz has handled the duties for CBS since Super Bowl XXXV . Dan Patrick hosted the ceremony for NBC from Super Bowl XLIII to Super Bowl LII . Mike Tirico hosted the ceremony for NBC for Super Bowl LVI . The winning owner, winning coach, winning quarterback, and (if not a quarterback) the game MVP are usually recognized. "The Lombardi Trophy Theme," composed by David Robidoux in 2005, plays during

14924-499: The feet, hands, head, or sides, with the objective being to advance it into the opponent's goal. Rutgers won the game 6–4. Collegiate play continued for several years with games played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia , Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19, 1873, to create a standard set of rules for use by all schools. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet (122 m × 76 m) were specified. Harvard abstained from

15088-412: The field by running with the ball or throwing it , while the defense , the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance the ball at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue

15252-462: 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. The 2010 Pro Bowl was played on January 31, during the off-week between the conference championships and

15416-513: 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,

15580-415: The following channels: On radio, Westwood One 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

15744-458: 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

15908-448: The game aired from 6   pm EST to 6:28   pm EST. A Spanish language broadcast was aired on the second audio program, with play-by-play announcer Armando Quintero and color analyst Benny Ricardo. With an average U.S. audience of 106.5 million viewers, this was the third most-watched Super Bowl, trailing only the 111 million viewers for Super Bowl XLV the following year and 111.3 million viewers for Super Bowl XLVI . At

16072-519: The game are professional and college football , with the other major levels being high-school and youth football. As of 2022 , nearly 1.04 million high-school athletes play the sport in the U.S., with another 81,000 college athletes in the NCAA and the NAIA . The National Football League (NFL) has the highest average attendance of any professional sports league in the world . Its championship game,

16236-419: The game clock based on the direction of the appropriate official . A separate play clock is used to show the amount of time within which the offense must initiate a play. The play clock is set to 25 seconds after certain administrative stoppages in play and to 40 seconds when play is proceeding without such stoppages. If the offense fails to start a play before the play clock reads "00", a delay of game foul

16400-655: The game unless major changes were made. In response, 62 colleges and universities met in New York City to discuss rule changes on December 28, 1905. These proceedings resulted in the formation of the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States, later renamed the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The legal forward pass was introduced in 1906, although its effect

16564-497: 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 conferences, marking 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 victories over the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets , while the Saints advanced after defeating

16728-620: The game with their 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). The Saints' radio broadcast on WWL-AM was available throughout much of the United States, since WWL is a Class A clear channel station. 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

16892-510: The game would later become controversial by the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal , when the NFL determined in 2012 that the Saints operated a slush fund between the 2009 and 2011 seasons to pay out bounties to their players for injuring their opponents. The live broadcast of the game on CBS was watched by an average U.S. audience of 106.5 million viewers, making it then the most-watched Super Bowl. The National Anthem

17056-411: 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, 2006,

17220-780: The game; Dr Pepper's ad featured KISS performing " Calling Dr. Love ", while one of Coca-Cola's three ads featured Montgomery Burns (of Fox 's 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

17384-443: The ground or a tee; a holder may be used in either case. On a safety kick, the kicking team kicks the ball from their own 20-yard line. They can punt, drop kick or place kick the ball, but a tee may not be used in professional play. Any member of the receiving team may catch or advance the ball. The ball may be recovered by the kicking team once it has gone at least ten yards and has touched the ground or has been touched by any member of

17548-434: The guards. The principal receivers are the wide receivers (WR) and the tight ends (TE). Wide receivers line up on or near the line of scrimmage, split outside the line. The main goal of the wide receiver is to catch passes thrown by the quarterback, but they may also function as decoys or as blockers during running plays. Tight ends line up outside the tackles and function both as receivers and as blockers. The role of

17712-555: The illegal payment of college players who were still in school. The National Football League (NFL), a group of professional teams that was originally established in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, aimed to solve these problems. This new league's stated goals included an end to bidding wars over players, prevention of the use of college players, and abolition of the practice of paying players to leave another team. By 1922,

17876-503: The incident first hand, saying that if anyone can get away with it, it would be the "MVP (Edelman) and the future Hall of Famer (Gronkowski)." Patriots vice president of media relations Stacey James stated that, "Maybe they’ll fix it down the road. That’s something they can always fix in the future, but at least for now, we’re going to keep the dent and tell the story." The Super Bowl is currently played in early February (the game originally took place in early to mid-January), culminating

18040-451: The innovations introduced by the new American Football League (AFL) in the early 1960s, helped football to become the most popular sport in the United States by the mid-1960s. The rival AFL arose in 1960 and challenged the NFL's dominance. The AFL began in relative obscurity but eventually thrived, with an initial television contract with the ABC television network. The AFL's existence forced

18204-663: 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 reporters . 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 EST. A kickoff show for

18368-444: 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. This was the first Super Bowl matchup in which both teams had

18532-731: The league announced that the 2021 Pro Bowl would be played at the new Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. 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. The New Orleans Saints finished

18696-709: The league selected Miami as the host city, with the formerly-named-Joe Robbie Stadium as the venue. This was the tenth time the Super Bowl has been held in the Miami Metro area at the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins : the formerly-named Joe Robbie 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 Colts franchise

18860-632: The logo, the trophy has had no significant changes made since the first Super Bowl . While no franchise possesses all four versions, the Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, New York Giants, and Pittsburgh Steelers have three of the four designs. On April 9, 2019, Rob Gronkowski (who had retired from the New England Patriots two weeks before) used the Super Bowl LIII Vince Lombardi trophy as

19024-429: The offense advances ten or more yards in the four downs, they are awarded a new set of four downs. If they fail to advance ten yards, possession of the football is turned over to the defense. In most situations, if the offense reaches their fourth down they will punt the ball to the other team, which forces them to begin their drive from farther down the field; if they are in field goal range , they might attempt to score

19188-445: The plane of the two end lines. The crossbar of these posts is 10 feet (3.0 m) above the ground, with vertical uprights at the end of the crossbar 18 feet 6 inches (5.64 m) apart for professional and collegiate play, and 23 feet 4 inches (7.11 m) apart for high school play. The uprights extend vertically 35 feet (11 m) on professional fields, a minimum of 10 yards (9.1 m) on college fields, and

19352-451: The point(s)-after-touchdown (PAT) or conversion, which is a single scoring opportunity. This is generally attempted from the two- or three-yard line, depending on the level of play. If the PAT is scored by a place kick or drop kick through the goal posts, it is worth one point, typically called the extra point. If the PAT is scored by what would normally be a touchdown, it is worth two points; this

19516-531: The previous 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

19680-548: The previous year's runners up, the Arizona Cardinals , and then overcoming the Minnesota Vikings in the Conference Championship. It was also the first time both teams started with a 13-game winning streak. This game would also mark the last Super Bowl appearance for both the Colts and Saints as of the upcoming 2024 NFL season . New Orleans was behind 10–6 at halftime of Super Bowl XLIV. During

19844-610: 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 drafted 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

20008-423: 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

20172-478: The punter. In football, the winner is the team that has scored more points at the end of the game. There are multiple ways to score in a football game. The touchdown (TD), worth six points, is the most valuable scoring play in American football. A touchdown is scored when a live ball is advanced into, caught, or recovered in the opposing team's end zone. The scoring team then attempts a try, more commonly known as

20336-401: The receiving team. The three types of scrimmage kicks are place kicks, drop kicks, and punts. Only place kicks and drop kicks can score points. The place kick is the standard method used to score points, because the pointy shape of the football makes it difficult to reliably drop kick. Once the ball has been kicked from a scrimmage kick, it can be advanced by the kicking team only if it

20500-549: The relocated Colts and their successors, the Ravens , have since earned trophies in their own right. Since Super Bowl XLV , the Vince Lombardi Trophy has been prominently featured in the Super Bowl logo design. The Vince Lombardi Trophy stands 22 inches (56 cm) tall, weighs 107.3 ounces or approximately 7 pounds (3.2 kg) and depicts a football in a kicking position on a three concave sided stand, and

20664-411: The rest of North America, Europe, Brazil, and Japan. In the United States, American football is referred to as "football". The term "football" was officially established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season , when the sport first shifted from soccer-style rules to rugby-style rules. Although it could easily have been called "rugby" at this point, Harvard, one of the primary proponents of

20828-631: The rest of the offense of the play in the huddle before the team lines up. The quarterback lines up behind the center to take the snap and then hands the ball off, throws it, or runs with it. The primary role of the halfback, also known as the running back or tailback, is to carry the ball on running plays. Halfbacks may also serve as receivers. Fullbacks tend to be larger than halfbacks and function primarily as blockers, but they are sometimes used as runners in short-yardage or goal-line situations. They are seldom used as receivers. The offensive line (OL) consists of several players whose primary function

20992-507: The role of minority players, actively recruited by the league in contrast to the NFL. The AFL also signed several star college players who had also been drafted by NFL teams. Competition for players heated up in 1965, when the AFL New York Jets signed rookie Joe Namath to a then-record $ 437,000 contract (equivalent to $ 4.23 million in 2023). A five-year, $ 40 million NBC television contract followed, which helped to sustain

21156-530: The rugby-style game, compromised and did not request the name of the sport be changed to "rugby". The terms " gridiron " or "American football" are favored in English-speaking countries where other types of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia. American football evolved from the sports of rugby and soccer . Rugby, like American football,

21320-451: The rules of soccer at the time. A set of rule changes drawn up from 1880 onward by Walter Camp , the "Father of American Football", established the snap , the line of scrimmage , eleven-player teams, and the concept of downs. Later rule changes legalized the forward pass , created the neutral zone , and specified the size and shape of the football. The sport is closely related to Canadian football , which evolved in parallel with and at

21484-458: 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

21648-435: The same time as the American game, although its rules were developed independently from those of Camp. Most of the features that distinguish American football from rugby and soccer are also present in Canadian football. The two sports are considered the primary variants of gridiron football . American football is the most popular sport in the United States in terms of broadcast viewership audience. The most popular forms of

21812-497: 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). With fullback Heath Evans out of action due to injury for most of

21976-605: 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 Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Super Bowl XXXVII after Dungy

22140-472: 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

22304-503: The season, Dave Thomas often lined up as a fullback, with tackle Zach Strief serving as an extra blocker on short yardage plays. 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

22468-621: The second half, giving the Steelers the ball to open the game). The coin used for the toss was flown into space on STS-129 before the game. The Who 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 ". For the first time since the Super Bowl XXXIV halftime show, there

22632-457: The second half, the Colts survived two interceptions from Ravens 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 in

22796-412: 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

22960-503: The secondary, consists of cornerbacks (CB) and safeties (S). Safeties are themselves divided into free safeties (FS) and strong safeties (SS). Cornerbacks line up outside the defensive formation, typically opposite a receiver to be able to cover them. Safeties line up between the cornerbacks but farther back in the secondary. Safeties tend to be viewed as "the last line of defense" and are responsible for stopping deep passing plays as well as breakout running plays. The special teams unit

23124-736: The teams' other network radio affiliates instead airing the Westwood One feed. Barenaked Ladies played the Super Bowl Saturday Night event with O.A.R. and Robert Randolph and the Family Band . Chris Daughtry , Steve Winwood and Queen Latifah performed during the Super Bowl pre-game tailgate party, which started at 2:00 p.m. Queen Latifah sang " America the Beautiful " and Carrie Underwood sang " The Star-Spangled Banner ". Underwood's performance marked

23288-805: The third straight year that an alumnus of American Idol has been invited to perform the national anthem, 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

23452-425: The time, it was 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 ", which coincidentally, also aired on CBS, and was 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

23616-487: The trophy handoff. From Super Bowl I to Super Bowl XXIX , the trophy was held by the commissioner to begin the ceremony and the commissioner then handed the trophy directly to the team owner in the winning locker room. The lone exception to this was in Super Bowl V where the trophy presentation ceremony wasn't done by the commissioner but instead by Vince Lombardi 's widow, Marie. From Super Bowl XXX to Super Bowl XXXIX and from Super Bowl LIV to Super Bowl LVII ,

23780-559: The trophy two out of three consecutive years: The Dallas Cowboys (1992, 1993, 1995) and the New England Patriots (2001, 2003, 2004) and (2014, 2016) and (2016, 2018). The Pittsburgh Steelers won four Super Bowls in six years (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979). As an individual player, Tom Brady , a former quarterback with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers , won seven Super Bowls in his career, more than any single NFL franchise. As an individual coach, Bill Belichick ,

23944-466: The trophy was set on the stage to begin the ceremony and the commissioner handed the trophy directly to the team owner on the field. From Super Bowl XL to Super Bowl LIII , and again since Super Bowl LVIII , a former NFL player, usually a past Super Bowl MVP or notable figure of the host city's franchise, brought the Lombardi Trophy to the center of the stadium, as he walked past members of

24108-411: The width of the field, are marked every 5 yards (4.6 m). A one-yard-wide line is placed at each end of the field; this line is marked at the center of the two-yard line in professional play and at the three-yard line in college play. Numerals that display the distance from the closest goal line in yards are placed on both sides of the field every ten yards. Goalposts are located at the center of

24272-408: The winning team decides to defer, the losing team chooses the option the winning team did not select—to receive, kick, or select a goal to defend to begin the second half. Most teams choose to receive or defer, because choosing to kick the ball to start the game allows the other team to choose which goal to defend. Teams switch goals following the first and third quarters. If a down is in progress when

24436-513: The winning team. For the first four championship games, both the NFL and the AFL logos were in the center of the trophy. Starting from Super Bowl V , only the NFL shield was on the front. Beginning with Super Bowl XXXVIII , the shield took on a frosted appearance. Starting with Super Bowl XLIII , the slightly redesigned NFL shield began appearing on the trophy, still with a frosted appearance. Other than

24600-609: The words "World Professional Football Championship," was awarded to the Green Bay Packers on January 15, 1967, after they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl ;I . Following the death of Vince Lombardi in September 1970 , the trophy was officially renamed in his memory. It was presented for the first time as the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the Baltimore Colts after their victory over

24764-408: The young league. The bidding war for players ended in 1966 when NFL owners approached the AFL regarding a merger, and the two leagues agreed on one that took full effect in 1970. This agreement provided for a common draft that would take place each year, and it instituted an annual World Championship game to be played between the champions of each league. This championship game began play at the end of

24928-448: 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

25092-405: Was also effective, recording 49 tackles and 4 picks with one touchdown. The Saints 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 14th 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

25256-406: Was fired. Senior offensive line coach Howard Mudd retired following the game. The Saints started off their playoff run with a dominating 45–14 win over the defending NFC champion Arizona Cardinals . The Cardinals were 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

25420-418: Was initially minimal due to the restrictions placed on its use. The idea of a 40-yard-wider field was opposed by Harvard due to the size of the new Harvard Stadium . Other rule changes introduced that year included the reduction of playing time from 70 to 60 minutes and an increase of the distance required for a first down from 5 to 10 yards (4.6 to 9.1 m). To reduce infighting and dirty play between teams,

25584-440: Was necessary to prevent this strategy from taking hold, and a reversion to the scrum was considered. However, Camp successfully proposed a rule in 1882 that limited each team to three downs , or tackles, to advance the ball 5 yards (4.6 m). Failure to advance the ball the required distance within those three downs would result in control of the ball being forfeited to the other team. This change effectively made American football

25748-480: 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". Retailers had ordered much more New Orleans Saints merchandise prior to the game than they had ordered Colts merchandise. The NFL estimated that US$ 100million worth of Super Bowl merchandise would be sold. As the designated home team in

25912-477: Was played at Sun Life Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium ) in Miami Gardens, Florida , for the fifth time (and in South Florida for the tenth time), on February 7, 2010, which was the latest calendar date for a Super Bowl until Super Bowl LVI in 2022. This was the Saints' first ever Super Bowl appearance and the fourth for the Colts franchise, and their first since Super Bowl XLI in 2007. The Saints entered

26076-522: Was playing its fourth Super Bowl, all of which were played in Miami (two at the Orange Bowl and two at then-named Sun Life Stadium). They are the only franchise to play all of its Super Bowls in the same city and the second to play two or more Super Bowls in two different stadiums (joining the Broncos who played two at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego and two at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, and

26240-556: Was profitable, but it tended to prevent the two top-ranked teams from meeting in a true national championship game, as they would normally be committed to the bowl games of their respective conferences. Several systems have been used since 1992 to determine a national champion of college football. The first was the Bowl Coalition , in place from 1992 to 1994. This was replaced in 1995 by the Bowl Alliance , which gave way to

26404-492: 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

26568-460: 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

26732-729: Was sung by American Idol season 4 winner Carrie Underwood , and the halftime show featured the British rock band The Who . Super Bowl XLIV was the last Super Bowl to have a uniquely designed logo as its predecessors had: starting with Super Bowl XLV , the logo was permanently settled to bear the Vince Lombardi Trophy and the Roman numerals denoting the edition of the game. This is also the earliest Super Bowl in which neither team has since re-appeared as of 2023. The league initially voted on March 23, 2005, that New York City host

26896-418: Was the Baltimore Ravens , a 9–7 squad that had advanced to the divisional round by defeating the New England Patriots 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

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