Super Bowl XLII

Super Bowl XLII logo
Giants Patriots 17 14
1 2 3 4 Total Giants 3 0 0 14 17 Patriots 0 7 0 7 14
Date	February 3 2008
Stadium	University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
MVP	Eli Manning, Quarterback
Favorite	Patriots by 12 over/under 54
Referee	Mike Carey
Attendance	71,101
Ceremonies
National anthem	Jordin Sparks
Coin toss	Ronnie Lott, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, along with Bill Walsh's children, Craig and Elizabeth.
Halftime show	Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
TV in the United States
Network	FOX
Announcers	Joe Buck and Troy Aikman
Nielsen ratings	44.7 97.5 Million viewers
Market share	66 (national) 81 (Boston) 67 (New York)
Cost of 30-second commercial	$2.7 million

Super Bowl XLII was an American football game played on February 3 2008, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion following the 2007 regular season and subsequent conference playoff tournaments. In one of the most significant upsets in the modern sports era, the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New York Giants (14 wins and 6 losses) defeated the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots (18–1) by the score of 17–14.

A Patriots win in this game would have successfully completed New England's perfect season, the first since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and the only time since the league expanded to a 16-game regular season in 1978. This game was also a rematch of both teams' regular season-ending game on December 29 2007, which the Patriots won to finish the regular season 16–0, with a score of 38–35 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

New England opened the bye week as 14-point favorites, but dipped to 12-point favorites by kickoff. In the end, after falling behind late in the fourth quarter, the Giants won 17–14 on a final-minute touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress. Manning was named the Most Valuable Playerand the Giants became the first NFC wild card team ever to win a Super Bowl.

The telecast was the most watched Super Bowl in history, with 97.5 million viewers. It was also the second-most-watched TV program behind the 1983 M*A*S*H series finale. Coincidentally, the Phoenix area hosted Super Bowl XXX, the second most viewed super bowl in NFL History with 95.1 million viewers, in 1996.

Background

Host selection process

The league contemplated holding Super Bowl XLII in either New York City or Washington, D.C. as a symbol of the recovery from the September 11, 2001 attacks. However, New York City was not even considered as a finalist, because the proposed renovations to Giants Stadium were still being disputed among its stadium representatives, and the city and the New York Jets at the time still had not finalized a plan to build the new West Side Stadium; ultimately, that deal fell through. When NFL owners awarded Super Bowl XLII to Glendale during their October 2003 meeting in Chicago, Illinois, they rejected Washington because they preferred a warmer and drier climate.

Venue

Kickoff was at 4:30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. This was the first time a Super Bowl was played on a retractable natural-grass field surface, as the University of Phoenix Stadium removable surface is unique for American sports venues.

This was also the second Super Bowl played in a retractable-roof stadium (designed by Peter Eisenman and HOK Sport). During the regular season, the home team decides 90 minutes before kickoff if the roof would be open or closed, and an open roof must remain open unless weather conditions get worse. However, as a neutral site, the NFL controls the option to open or close without any restrictions. The first time this was employed was in Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium; the roof was open for pregame and halftime shows and closed during the game. However, because there was rain in the scheduled forecast, the roof was closed for the entire day's activities this time.

During a February 6, 2007 ceremony with Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, the NFL and the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee unveiled the slogan "Who Wants It More?" along with its mascot "Spike the Super Ball" (an anthropomorphized football with sunglasses and sneakers) and a large "Super Bowl XLII Countdown Clock" at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The Super Bowl XLII logo was also unveiled, featuring the shape of the state of Arizona in red. The two horizontal white stripes in the middle represent the vertical lines on the University of Phoenix Stadium. The turquoise Roman Numerals represent the Native American culture of Arizona. The red star represents the AFC and the blue star represents the NFC.

Teams

New England Patriots

Further information: 2007 New England Patriots season

The Patriots, competing in their fourth Super Bowl since the 2001 season, were already billed as one of the greatest teams in NFL history. They compiled a perfect 16-0 record (the first team to go undefeated since the NFL expanded the regular season to 16 games in 1978), and set NFL records with 589 points scored (an average of 36.8 points per game), and a net differential of +315 points (they gave up 274 points, fourth best in the league). Some experts have suggested that the Patriots 16-0 record is the culmination of a larger trend towards better records for top NFL teams since the league realignment in 2002.

The team was once again led by quarterback Tom Brady who won his first NFL MVP award, throwing for a career high 4,806 yards and an NFL record 50 touchdowns (which was 22 more than his previous best season), and just eight interceptions. His passer rating of 117.2 was the second-highest season rating in NFL history. One often-cited reason for Brady's improved numbers was the acquisition of receivers Randy Moss and Wes Welker. The Patriots acquired Moss, a nine-year veteran, from the Oakland Raiders for a fourth-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft after Moss had, statistically, the worst year of his career (with 42 receptions for 553 yards and three touchdowns). With the Patriots, though, Moss caught 98 receptions for 1,493 yards and an NFL record 23 touchdowns, and was selected a first-team All Pro. The Patriots also gave the Miami Dolphins second- and seventh-round picks for Welker; Welker tied for the league lead with 112 receptions for 1,175 yards and 8 touchdowns and was named a second-team All Pro. Welker and Moss both earned votes for Offensive Player of the Year. Other major contributors to the Patriots' passing game included Donté Stallworth, who added 697 yards and three touchdowns, and tight end Benjamin Watson, whose 36 receptions totaled 389 yards and six touchdowns.

Running back Laurence Maroney was the Patriots' top rusher, with 835 yards and six touchdowns, while Sammy Morris added 385 yards and Kevin Faulk had 265. (Morris ended up on injured reserve midway through the season, and thus could not play in the Super Bowl.) Faulk was also a reliable receiver out of the back field, catching 47 passes for 383 yards. The Patriots also a had a superb offensive line that featured three Pro Bowl selections: guard Logan Mankins, tackle Matt Light, and center Dan Koppen.

New England's defensive line was led by nose tackle Vince Wilfork, who, over the course of the 2007 season, was selected to his first Pro Bowl as well as fined four times for unnecessary roughness. The Patriots also had a superb set of veteran linebackers who shared a combined total of 16 Pro Bowl selections. Outside linebacker Mike Vrabel had his best NFL season yet, leading the team with a career high 12½ sacks and earning the first Pro Bowl selection of his career. Adalius Thomas, an offseason pickup from the Baltimore Ravens, recorded six sacks. Junior Seau, a 12-time Pro Bowler, returned for his 18th season and a chance at his first Super Bowl ring, while Tedy Bruschi contributed 92 tackles. New England's secondary featured Pro Bowl cornerback Asante Samuel, who led the team with six interceptions.

The Patriots' success was not without controversy. The Patriots were caught videotaping opponents' defensive signals in the first week of the season against the New York Jets in what was dubbed "Spygate". The episode cost head coach Bill Belichick $500,000, while the team was docked $250,000 and their first-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft.

New York Giants

Further information: 2007 New York Giants season

Unlike New England, New York didn't begin the season with many high expectations. Ever since Eli Manning, the younger brother of Super Bowl XLI MVP Peyton Manning, was selected with the first pick in the 2004 NFL draft, he had struggled to find consistency. In his three seasons as a starter he had completed less than 54% of his passes with a career passer rating of 73.4. While generally regarded as a solid quarterback, he had been unable to achieve the same level of success as fellow 2004 draftees Phillip Rivers (for whom he was traded) and Ben Roethlisberger. By the 2007 season, many sports writers were starting to question if Eli would ever live up to the expectations of someone selected with the first overall pick in a draft.

The criticism of Manning intensified as the Giants lost the first two games of the regular season, but then they recovered with 6 consecutive wins and finished the year with a 10-6 record, despite the loss of some key offensive players to injury, such as running back Derrick Ward (the team's second leading rusher) and four-time Pro Bowl tight end Jeremy Shockey. Then Manning silenced some of his critics by leading the Giants to three playoff wins on the road without throwing a single interception. Their three playoff wins gave them an NFL record 10 consecutive wins on the road.

Manning finished the 2007 season with 3,336 yards and 23 touchdowns, with 20 interceptions. His top target was Plaxico Burress, who caught 70 passes for 1,050 yards and 12 touchdowns. Receiver Amani Toomer, the Giants all-time leading receiver and one of the few players remaining from their last championship appearance in Super Bowl XXXV, was also a reliable target with 59 receptions for 760 yards. The Giants ground game was led by running back Brandon Jacobs. At 6' 4" (193 cm) and 264 pounds (118 kg), Jacobs was one of the largest starting halfbacks in the NFL, but he still had enough speed to play the position exceptionally well, finishing the season with 1,009 yards and an average of five yards per carry, while also catching 23 passes despite starting only nine games.

The Giants defense had an outstanding defensive line, led by defensive ends Osi Umenyiora, Michael Strahan, and Justin Tuck. Umenyiora was the Giants only Pro Bowl selection, leading the defense with 13 sacks and five forced fumbles. Strahan, another veteran of the Giants last Super Bowl season in 2000, finished his 15th NFL season with nine sacks, giving him a career total of 141.5 and breaking the franchise record held by Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor, while Tuck added ten sacks and 48 solo tackles. Cornerback Sam Madison and safety Gibril Wilson led the secondary with four interceptions each, along with defensive back R. W. McQuarters. Although McQuarters had not intercepted any passes during the season, he had been exceptionally effective in the playoffs, recording an interception in all three of their post-season games leading up to the Super Bowl. Probable Hall of Fame punter Jeff Feagles enjoyed his first Super Bowl in his 20 year career. This was also the last game for Giants Athletic trainer John Johnson who had been with the team for 60 years.

Playoffs

Main article: National Football League playoffs, 2007-08

The Patriots continued to set NFL records on their road to the Super Bowl. First, Brady set the NFL record for completion percentage (92.9%) with 26 of 28 completions for 268 yards and three touchdowns in their 31-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the divisional round, while safety Rodney Harrison tied an NFL record by recording an interception in his fourth consecutive postseason game. One week later, the Patriots defeated the San Diego Chargers 21-12. Although Brady threw three interceptions in the game, the Patriots defense forced two turnovers and limited San Diego to four field goals, while Maroney rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown for the second game in a row.

Meanwhile, the Giants became the third NFL team ever to advance to the Super Bowl by winning three playoff games on the road. After beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-14, the Giants upset the top seeded Dallas Cowboys 21-17 when McQuarters intercepted a pass from Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo in the end zone as time expired in the game. Then they advanced to the Super Bowl with a 23-20 win over the second seeded Green Bay Packers in overtime, with an interception by Corey Webster that set up Lawrence Tynes' game winning field goal.

Pre-game notes

New England was heavily favored to win the game and become the first NFL team to go through a 16-game season and postseason undefeated. However, others predicted that the Giants could accomplish a win. New York had already pulled off some upsets in order to make it to the Super Bowl, and their record of 10 consecutive road wins included five teams favored to beat them.

The Patriots and Giants had played against each other in the last week of the regular season. Because of the Patriots' quest for an undefeated season, this game was one of the most heavily watched games in league history, and was the first game ever to be shown on three different networks (NFL Network, CBS, and NBC). As they were favored to do, the Patriots had won the game to cement their undefeated regular season, but it was a close and competitive game. New England barely managed to win, 38–35, by overcoming a 12 point deficit in the fourth quarter, the largest deficit they had faced all season. "There is nothing but positives," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said after the game. "I told the players in playing this game everything would be positives, there would be no negatives and that is how I feel. I don't know any better way to be prepared for the playoffs than to go against a team that was 15–0."

For the third consecutive year, the arrival dates for the teams were staggered, with the Patriots arriving on Sunday, January 27 (corresponding to the traditional day that teams arrive for the game with the two-week break) and the Giants waiting to come in until Monday, January 28. A report filed by ESPN's Rachel Nichols suggested that the Giants stayed to practice more of their game plan in their home facility before arriving at the Super Bowl. The last two teams to wait an extra day to emerge in the Super Bowl city or area have won the game: the Indianapolis Colts before Super Bowl XLI and the Pittsburgh Steelers before Super Bowl XL.

The Patriots practiced at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University, while the Giants practiced at the Arizona Cardinals' practice facility, both of which are located in Tempe.

Game summary

Super Bowl XLII was described by an Associated Press reporter as "arguably one of the greatest upsets ever." The game had largely been dictated by defensive dominance throughout the first three quarters. Tom Brady was sacked five times and knocked down several more times as his offensive line was largely unable to handle the Giants' blitz. The Patriots record-setting offense was held to just 14 points and 274 yards.

After calling tails to win the coin toss, the Giants started the game with a 16-play, 77-yard drive that consumed 9 minutes, 59 seconds (the longest opening drive in Super Bowl history) and featured four third-down conversions, the most ever on the opening drive of a Super Bowl. But New England halted the drive on their own 14-yard line, forcing the Giants to settle for a 32-yard field goal from Lawrence Tynes to give New York a 3-0 lead.

New England then responded with its own scoring drive as Laurence Maroney returned the kickoff 43 yards to the Patriots' 44, after which he rushed twice for 15 yards. Tom Brady then completed three passes for 23 yards, but after two incomplete passes, New England was faced with 3rd-down-and-10 on the Giants' 17. On that play, New York linebacker Antonio Pierce committed pass interference by striking the helmet of tight end Benjamin Watson in the end zone, giving New England a 1st-and-goal at the 1. This set up Maroney's 1-yard touchdown run two plays later out of the Patriots' jumbo package on the first play of the second quarter. The two teams each only had one drive in the entire opening quarter, a Super Bowl record.

After this early action, both teams' offensive efforts stalled as the defensive units on both sides put up stellar performances for the next two quarters. The Patriots' offense was troubled by the Giants defensive line, which continually pressured Brady and prevented the team's running game from having much success. Meanwhile, on the Giants' side of the ball, Eli Manning's offense managed only five first downs in the second and third quarters. Both teams' top wide receivers—the Patriots' Randy Moss and the Giants' Plaxico Burress—were largely held in check due to this defensive struggle.

On the Giants first drive of the second quarter, on 3rd-and-7, receiver Amani Toomer hauled in a deep pass from Manning along the left sideline while dragging his feet just barely in bounds for a 38-yard gain, moving the ball to the Patriots 19-yard line. But three plays later, Manning threw a pass that bounced out of the arms of receiver Steve Smith and into the hands of cornerback Ellis Hobbs for an interception. But the Patriots' ensuing drive resulted in a three-and-out as on 3rd-and-1 James Butler and Michael Strahan tackled Laurence Maroney for a two-yard loss and New England was forced to punt. Then on the Giants' next drive, rookie Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled a Manning hand-off and it looked as though Patriots' linebacker Pierre Woods had recovered the ball at the Giants' 30. But after the officials picked through the pile, it was determined that Bradshaw had recovered the ball, though it was argued after that game that New England Coach Bill Belichick should have challenged the play as the replay indicated that Woods had recovered the ball and was down by contact. Nevertheless, the Giants maintained possession and wound up punting.

New England's next drive ended with consecutive Giants' sacks, the first by Kawika Mitchell, the second by Tuck. Then on the Giants' following drive, New York moved the ball to the New England 25, but linebacker Adalius Thomas sacked Manning and forced a fumble. Smith recovered the ball, but running back Bradshaw was penalized for illegally batting the ball forward before the recovery. The penalty pushed the Giants out of field goal range, and following an incompletion on the next play, they were forced to punt. Following the punt, two 18-yard receptions by Moss and Donte' Stallworth moved the ball to the Giants 44. But with 22 seconds left before halftime, Brady fumbled while being sacked by Tuck and defensive end Osi Umenyiora recovered it. The game then went to halftime with the Patriots leading 7-3.

On the first drive of the second half, New England had a 4th-and-2 and chose to punt. However, after the play had been run, Belichick challenged that New York had too many players on the field and the replay showed that this was in fact the case as Giants' linebacker Chase Blackburn was unable to get to the sidelines as the play was being snapped. Therefore, Carey reversed the play, the Giants were penalized for having too many players on the field, and the Patriots got a first down. Brady then led New England to the Giants' 25, but defensive tackle Michael Strahan sacked him for a 6-yard loss on third down. Then on 4th-and-13, with the ball on the Giants' 31, Belichick eschewed a 48-yard field goal attempt and tried to pick up a first down, but Brady's pass to Jabar Gaffney was incomplete as it went out of the back of the end zone and the Giants took over on downs.

The game finally broke open on the Giants first drive of the fourth quarter when Manning completed a 45-yard pass to tight end Kevin Boss. Following three runs by Bradshaw and a 17-yard reception by Smith on third down, Manning finished the 6-play, 80-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to David Tyree, giving New York a 10-7 lead.

After an exchange of punts, New England got the ball on their own 20 with 7:54 to play. Brady then completed a 5-yard pass to Wes Welker and a 10-yard pass to Randy Moss, followed by a 9-yard run by Maroney to give the Patriots a first down at their own 44. Brady then completed a 13-yard pass to Welker, a 4-yard pass to Kevin Faulk, and then a 10-yard pass to Welker for a first down at the Giants' 29. After that, Brady found Moss for an 11-yard completion and Faulk for a 12-yard completion and New England now had 1st-and-goal from the Giants' 6. Following two incomplete passes, New York cornerback Corey Webster slipped while backing into coverage, leaving Moss wide open in the end zone where Brady found him for a touchdown to give New England a 14-10 lead with 2:45 left in the game.

On the ensuing kickoff, Raymond Ventrone tackled Domenik Hixon after a 14-yard return, giving the New York the ball on their own 17-yard line with 2:39 left and all three timeouts remaining. Manning then led the Giants 83 yards in 12 plays for the go-ahead touchdown. Following two receptions by Toomer for 20 yards, Brandon Jacobs kept the drive going with a 2-yard run on 4th-and-1. On the next series of downs, Patriots' cornerback Asante Samuel nearly reeled in a game-ending interception on a ball intended for Tyree, but the ball slipped through his fingertips, thus preserving the drive. On the next play, the Giants were faced 3rd-and-5 from their own 44 with 1:15 remaining. Manning dropped back to pass and was nearly sacked, but he managed to slip away from lineman Jarvis Green and threw a 32-yard completion to Tyree, who made a leaping catch while tightly covered by Rodney Harrison and maintained possession by pinning the ball against his helmet with one hand as as he fell to the ground. Two plays later, on 3rd-and-11 at the Patriots' 25, Manning found a wide-open Smith for a 12-yard gain to the New England 13. On the next play, Manning lofted a pass to the end zone where Patriots' cornerback Randall Gay was beaten by Giants' wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who caught the ball for a touchdown to give the Giants a 17-14 lead with 35 seconds left.

New England began their next possession on their own 26 with 29 seconds remaining and three timeouts, needing a field goal to send the game into overtime. But the Giants defense didn't allow them to gain a single yard, forcing an incompletion on first down, a 10-yard sack by Jay Alford on second down, and two deep incomplete attempts to Moss, the last of which on 4th-and-20 was broken up by Giants' safety Gibril Wilson and caused a turnover on downs with one second remaining ; reporters, fans, coaches, and players crowded the field. Patriots coach Belichick hugged Tom Coughlin at midfield, then left the field for the locker room before the game clock expired - an act that was criticized as poor sportsmanship. The NFL declared the final second had to be played, which occurred once order was restored. Eli Manning took the snap, and stepped back from the line of scrimmage, allowing the game clock to reach zero without further play occurring.

Wes Welker, while not scoring, was one of the Patriots' most successful weapons in the loss, catching a Super Bowl record 11 passes for 109 yards. Despite accuracy problems, Brady still had a respectable 29/48 (60.42%) completion rate for 266 yards, 1 touchdown and no interceptions, compared to Manning's 19/34 (55.88%) for 255, 2, and 1 respectively. Brady's 29 completions gave him a career total of 100 in his four Super Bowls, surpassing the old record for Super Bowl completions (83) held by Joe Montana. Toomer was the Giants top receiver with 6 catches for 84 yards. Tuck and Thomas were the top performers on the defense of each team, each recording 5 solo tackles, 2 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. Manning, completing nine of 14 passes for 152 yards in the fourth quarter alone, became the second quarterback to throw two go-ahead touchdowns in the fourth quarter, the first being Montana.

It was the first time since the 1942 Chicago Bears, and the first time in the modern era, that a previously undefeated team lost its championship game.

Scoring summary

• 1st Quarter
  • NYG - Lawrence Tynes 32-yard field goal, 5:01. Giants 3-0. Drive: 16 plays, 63 yards, 9:59.
• 2nd Quarter
  • NE - Laurence Maroney 1-yard run (Stephen Gostkowski kick), 14:57. Patriots 7-3. Drive: 12 plays, 56 yards, 5:04
• 3rd Quarter
  • No scoring.
• 4th Quarter
  • NYG - David Tyree 5-yard pass from Eli Manning (Lawrence Tynes kick), 11:05. Giants 10-7 Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 3:47
  • NE - Randy Moss 6-yard pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick), 2:42. Patriots 14-10 Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards in 5:15
  • NYG - Plaxico Burress 13-yard pass from Eli Manning (Lawrence Tynes kick), 0:35. Giants 17-14 Drive: 12 plays, 83 yards in 2:10

Final statistics

Statistical comparison

Source:

	New York Giants	New England Patriots
First downs	17	22
Third down efficiency	8/16	7/14
Fourth down efficiency	1-1	0-2
Total yards	338	274
Passing yards	247	229
Passing – Completions-attempts	19-34	29-48
Rushing yards	91	45
Rushing attempts	26	16
Yards per rush	3.5	2.8
Penalties-yards	4-36	5-35
Sacks against	3-8	5-37
Turnovers	1	1
Fumbles-lost	2-0	1-1
Interceptions thrown	1	0
Time of possession	30:27	29:33

Individual leaders

Source:

Giants Passing
	C/ATT*	Yds	TD	INT
Eli Manning	19/34	255	2	1
Giants Rushing
	Cara	Yds	TD	LGb
Ahmad Bradshaw	9	45	0	13
Brandon Jacobs	14	42	0	7
Giants Receiving
	Recc	Yds	TD	LGb
Amani Toomer	6	84	0	38
Steve Smith	5	50	0	17
Kevin Boss	1	45	0	45
David Tyree	3	43	1	32
Plaxico Burress	2	27	1	14

Patriots Passing
	C/ATT*	Yds	TD	INT
Tom Brady	29/48	266	1	0
Patriots Rushing
	Cara	Yds	TD	LGb
Laurence Maroney	14	36	1	9
Kevin Faulk	1	7	0	7
Patriots Receiving
	Recc	Yds	TD	LGb
Wes Welker	11	103	0	19
Randy Moss	5	62	1	18
Kevin Faulk	7	52	0	14
Donté Stallworth	3	34	0	18
Laurence Maroney	2	12	0	8

^*Completions/Attempts ^aCarries ^bLong play ^cReceptions

Broadcasting

Television

United States

The game was telecast in the United States on the FOX network in 720p high definition resolution. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman called the game, while Pam Oliver (Giants) and Chris Myers (Patriots) were the sideline reporters.

This Super Bowl had an unprecedented nine hours of game-related coverage prior to kickoff on game day. Fox News started the coverage on the FOX network by pairing their preview of the Super Tuesday presidential primaries with Fox Sports' Super Bowl coverage, with the regularly scheduled Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace in the 9:00 a.m. ET hour and Fox Super Sunday with Shepard Smith from 10:00 a.m. ET to noon ET.. Following Fox Super Sunday, FOX aired the NFL Films' Road to the Super Bowl documentary followed by specials hosted by Aikman and Long from noon to 2 p.m. ET.

Official pre-game coverage began at 2:00 p.m. ET, and was handled by the FOX NFL Sunday pregame show team led by Curt Menefee, joined by Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, and Jimmy Johnson. In addition Frank Caliendo appeared in various comedic skits and Ryan Seacrest provided coverage of celebrity arrivals to the game site.

The official game broadcast began at 6:00 p.m. ET, with kickoff at 6:32 PM EST. The game was the most watched in Super Bowl history with an estimated 97.5 million viewers, surpassing NBC Sports' telecast of Super Bowl XXX twelve years earlier and the second-most watched telecast ever, but still well short of the series finale finale of M*A*S*H on February 28, 1983.

Other North American stations

In Canada, the English language audience could watch the game on CTV (and NTV, in Newfoundland and Labrador), they replaced Global Television. The French language audience had the game available on RDS. TV Azteca and Televisa both handled the Mexico production, with CTV, RDS and TV Azteca all broadcasting the game in HD.

NFL.com's "NFL.com/live" carried its own coverage of Super Bowl events leading up to and after the game, mostly simulcasting NFL Network.

International

Outside North America, Super Bowl XLII was distributed by the NFL and NFL International to an estimated one billion viewers within 223 countries and territories.

The BBC acquired the rights in the United Kingdom. The game aired live on BBC Two, carrying the NFL International feed, ending ITV Sport's coverage which began in 2005. The game was also subsequently available on the BBC's on demand service, iPlayer. Sky Sports broadcast the game in both standard and high definition using Fox's feed and announcers.

Country	Broadcaster	Channel	Notes
High Definition
Chile	VTR Globalcom	ViveHD	Fox Sports feed
Poland	Canal+ Poland	Canal+ Sport HD
Sweden	Viasat	Viasat Sport HD
Turkey	Digiturk +	FOX Sports HD	HD Satellite broadcasting
United Kingdom	BSkyB	Sky Sports HD1	Fox Sports feed
Standard Definition
Australia	SBS	SBS TV	Free-to-air, NFL International feed
	Foxtel	Fox Sports 2	Fox Sports feed
Austria	ORF	ORF1	Free-to-air, English commentary available
Brazil	Grupo Bandeirantes de Comunicação	Band Sports	Free-to-air
China	Shanghai Media Group	Sports Channel	Free-to-air
Cyprus	METV		Fox Sports feed
Croatia	Sportklub	Sportklub	IPTV & Satellite
Czech Republic	Galaxie Sport	Galaxie Sport	Cable
Denmark	Viasat	TV3+ Denmark	Cable/Satellite
Finland	MTV3	MTV3	Free-to-air
France	France Télévisions	France 2	Free-to-air
Germany	ARD	Das Erste	Free-to-air
	Premiere	NASN
Greece	NOVA Greece	SuperSport5
Hungary	SportTV	Sport1
Iceland	Sýn
India	Ten Sports
Ireland	TV3		Free-to-air
Israel	Fox Sports		Fox Sports feed
Japan	NHK BS-1
New Zealand	Sky Network Television	Sky Sports 1	Satellite
Norway	Viasat	SportN
Pakistan	Ten Sports		Cable
Philippines	Solar Sports		Cable
Poland	Canal+ Poland	Canal+ Sport
Portugal	SportTV	SportTV 1
	NASN	NASN
Romania	Sport 1
Russia	NTV Plus	НТВ-ПЛЮС Спорт (NTV Plus Sport)	Free-to-air
Serbia Slovenia	Sportklub	Sportklub	Cable
South Korea	SBS
Sweden	Modern Times Group	TV6
	Viasat	Viasat Sport 1
Turkey	Digiturk	FOX Sports	Satellite broadcasting
Thailand	TrueVisions	True Sport 4
United Kingdom	BBC	BBC Two	Free-to-air, NFL International feed
	BSkyB	Sky Sports 1	Fox Sports feed
US Armed Forces	American Forces Network	AFN sports
	Raytheon IIS		Satellite broadcast to US Navy and Marine vessels in the Pacific Ocean

United States television advertisements

The scheduled date for Super Bowl XLII was two days before Super Tuesday (Tuesday, February 5), the date in which 24 states are holding their presidential primaries or caucuses. As such, some presidential hopefuls had considered purchasing Super Bowl ads. An adviser to Republican presidential candidate John McCain said that the football audience is "a very ripe and timely target." However, Fox Television nixed the prospect of any political ads, citing equal time regulations and the fact that the ad space had already sold out before any candidates had asked for it. Instead, candidates purchased advertising time before or after the game or in two dozen local markets.

One of sixty-three thirty-second spots among thirty-seven different advertisers cost an estimated $2.7 million (excluding production costs), up from $2.6 million in 2007. However, advertisers are usually offered discounted rates below the official one. Cars.com, which had yet to buy a Super Bowl Ad, made an early announcement that it would purchase two spots.

Five automobile companies advertised during Super Bowl XLII: Audi, General Motors, Hyundai, Nissan and Toyota. Audi took the opportunity to pay homage to the decapitated horse's head scene from The Godfather using the front of a Rolls-Royce, while Hyundai, initially hesitant to air their spots, eventually gave the green light to their first Super Bowl commercials since 1989.

Following up on its Super Bowl XLI ad, which was one of several fan-created ads that year, the Doritos brand used its spot to air a brief performance by Kina Grannis, winner of an online contest which included a recording contract with Interscope Records. Among other ads that aired were for Under Armour's new "Prototype" cross-training shoe, Gatorade's new G2 low-calorie sports drink featuring Derek Jeter and Peyton Manning, Victoria's Secret, and Salesgenie.com, with all but the G2 ad done in-house.

They joined Super Bowl regulars such as Pepsi-Cola which featured Justin Timberlake in his continuing rebound from the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy four years earlier being dragged through all sorts of situations to promote a rewards program started by Pepsi, a Diet Pepsi Max commercial inspired by the Saturday Night Live "Roxbury" skits (including the iconic sketch theme "What Is Love?" by Haddaway and a cameo by Chris Kattan telling them to "stop it") and a SoBe Life Water spot featuring Naomi Campbell and 30 CGI lizards performing the Michael Jackson Thriller dance. Other returnees included GoDaddy.com (with World Wrestling Entertainment diva and spokesperson Candice Michelle along with IndyCar driver Danica Patrick); Coca-Cola spoofing balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (including a fictional Stewie Griffin balloon), as well as its Glacéau Vitaminwater brand featuring Shaquille O'Neal as a jockey; CareerBuilder.com; E-Trade; Planters with an Ugly Betty inspired female using their cashews as a sexually arousing perfume; and seven major Hollywood movie studios promoting blockbuster releases.

The winners of the 20th annual USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter were:

1. Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser brand, featuring a tribute to the Oscar winning Best Picture Rocky: a Clydesdale who narrowly missed the team that pulls the beer's iconic wagon is inspired by a personal trainer — the wagon's dalmatian.
2. A CGI FedEx ad featuring gigantic carrier pigeons gone wrong.
3. Another computer animated ad from tire manufacturer Bridgestone, with a collection of computer generated screaming animals in a forest as an oncoming car approached a squirrel.
4. A Doritos ad from last year's amateur contest called "Mousetrap", where a person dressed in a mouse costume attacks a man who places a small piece of the tortilla chip on said device.
5. A Bud Light ad with a fire-breathing date gone awry.

The NFL itself ran an ad following the third quarter's completion, featuring the winner of a fan vote in an online contest. The idea was to emphasize the personalities of NFL players. The winning ad featured Houston Texans teammates Ephraim Salaam and Chester Pitts.

The commercials aired during Super Bowl XLII were made available online after the game by YouTube, MySpace and AOL.

Internet broadcast streams

Independent Phoenix television station KTVK broadcast a live video stream from a Webcam located outside of the University of Phoenix Stadium. The camera provided millions of Internet users from around the world a chance to peer in on pre- and post-game activities, watching thousands of spectators file into and out of the stadium on Sunday, February 3. The Stadium Cam broadcast from Friday, February 1 to Monday, February 4, 2008 on the station's website.

Radio

On radio, Westwood One had the national broadcast rights to the game in the United States and Canada; Marv Albert and Boomer Esiason served as the announcing team for that network. The game was carried on BBC Radio 5 Live in the United Kingdom with Arlo White commentating.

Sirius Satellite Radio carried twelve feeds in eight languages in the United States. The following language feeds were offered:

• Westwood One (American English)
• Univision Radio/United Stations (Mexican Spanish, U.S.)
• New England Patriots Radio Network
• New York Giants Radio Network
• BBC Radio 5 Live (British English)
• Canal+ Spain (Castilian Spanish)
• France 2 (French)
• NHK Japan (Japanese)
• ARD (German)
• Telenet (Flemish Dutch)
• NTV Plus (Russian)
• SMG (Mandarin Chinese)

FieldPass, the Internet radio service provided by the league at nfl.com, carried most of these feeds online, free of charge.

Locally, Gil Santos and Gino Cappelletti called the game for the Patriots on WBCN-FM radio; Bob Papa, Dick Lynch, and Carl Banks called the Giants' radio broadcast on WFAN. By NFL rules, only WBCN, WFAN, Sirius and FieldPass carried the teams' local broadcasts, and affiliate stations instead carried the Westwood One feed. WBCN-FM, WFAN and Westwood One are all owned by CBS Radio.

Entertainment

Pre-game ceremonies

Willie Nelson performed for a NFL-sponsored pre-game tailgate party, singing a duet with Sara Evans of his hit "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" as part of FOX's pre-game show.

This year's Super Bowl entertainment had many connections to FOX's hit series American Idol. On August 16, both the NFL and FOX confirmed that Idol host Seacrest will serve as emcee for the pre-game show, with Alicia Keys as the primary performer as she sung a medley of a mixture of her songs, "Go Ahead", Fallin', If I Ain't Got You, "Teenage Love Affair", and No One as the finale. Idol Season Six winner Jordin Sparks, herself a native of Glendale and daughter of former New York Giants cornerback Phillippi Sparks, performed the National Anthem, while Phoenix College professor and theatrical interpreter A Dreamer interpreted it into American Sign Language. The anthem was followed by a flyover from the U.S. Navy precision flying team, the Blue Angels. In addition, judge Paula Abdul premiered her first music video in over a decade, Dance Like There's No Tomorrow, which she made with fellow judge Randy Jackson as part of FOX's pregame coverage to kickoff her official comeback.

The coin toss ceremony posthumously honored Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach Bill Walsh, who passed away on July 30, 2007. His former players Ronnie Lott, Jerry Rice and Steve Young joined Walsh's children, Craig and Elizabeth, at the ceremony.

Halftime

Several names were mentioned as possible performers for the halftime show. According to the entertainment publication Variety, the NFL developed a wish list for the halftime performer(s). Among those on the wish list of potential entertainers were Bruce Springsteen, Norah Jones and the Eagles. In addition, Bon Jovi expressed interest in the slot and had planned to open the U.S. leg of their Lost Highway Tour with a performance during the halftime show.

Initially, the Eagles were offered the position, but they reportedly refused. Then, on December 2, 2007, it was officially announced that Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers would be the halftime entertainment as they performed the songs "American Girl", "I Won't Back Down", "Free Fallin'" and "Runnin' Down a Dream" to kick off their 2008 world tour. Bridgestone served as the halftime show sponsor.

Post-game ceremonies

Doug Williams, MVP in Super Bowl XXII commemorating the twentieth anniversary of becoming the first African American to quarterback a team to victory in the Super Bowl, took part in the Vince Lombardi Trophy presentation ceremony after the game.

Eli Manning was awarded the Pete Rozelle Trophy for being named MVP, and also received the keys to a 2009 Cadillac Escalade hybrid SUV.

After the game, New York City erupted in celebration, with the sounds of cheers and honking horns echoing through city streets. Crowds of elated New Yorkers, many shocked by their team's victory, packed Second Avenue in Manhattan, literally stopping traffic, honking horns and cheering. [7]. Times Square was crowded with celebrating Giants fans well past midnight. Similar celebrations could be found throughout Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Staten Island, Long Island, Westchester County and Northern New Jersey, where the Giants play their home games [8]. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, witnessing the first New York sports team championship victory as mayor, praised the hometown team's upset victory, saying; "New York has come back many times in the past, and Big Blue proved tonight that you should never, ever, count us out." Many New Yorkers consider the Giants' win to be among the greatest championship victories in New York sports history. [9].

The city will give the Giants a ticker-tape victory parade up Broadway in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday, February 5, 2008. It will be the first parade along the famed Canyon of Heroes since the New York Yankees won the 2000 World Series.

Officials

Mike Carey was chosen to be the head referee for this game, marking the first time that an African American has been chosen to be the lead official in a Super Bowl. Carey also refereed the last game between the Giants and Patriots. The full officiating crew was:

• Referee: Mike Carey
• Umpire: Tony Michalek
• Head Linesman: Gary Slaughter
• Line Judge: Carl Johnson
• Field Judge: Boris Cheek
• Side Judge: Larry Rose
• Back Judge: Scott Helverson
• Replay Official: Ken Baker
• Video Operator: Jim Grant

Records

With this game, the Giants also established an unprecedented 11 consecutive victories away from home in a single season. Nine of those victories were road games, while Week 8 vs. the Miami Dolphins, and the Super Bowl, were played at a neutral site.

Punter Jeff Feagles became the oldest player in NFL history to play in a Super Bowl, at age 41.

Patriots receiver Wes Welker tied the record for most catches in a Super Bowl, with 11, during the Patriots' scoring drive in the fourth quarter.

Due to the length of the Giants' opening drive (which itself contained a record 4 third-down conversions), the first quarter featured only two possessions, a record for an opening quarter.

Quotations

"The greatest victory in the history of this franchise without a question, and I just want to say to all you Giants fans who have been supporting us for more than 30 years at Giants Stadium, for all those years at Yankee Stadium, and some of you even back to the Polo Grounds, THIS IS FOR YOU!"- Giants co-owner Steve Tisch after receiving the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Giants won.

External links

• Official site
• Future Super Bowl sites
• Official site of the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee
• Super Bowl XLII at IMDb