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Super Bowl XLIV

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DateFebruary 7, 2010
StadiumSun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
MVPDrew Brees, Quarterback [1]
FavoriteColts by 4[2]
RefereeScott Green
Attendance74,059
Ceremonies
National anthemCarrie Underwood[3]
Coin tossPro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010
(led by Emmitt Smith)
Halftime showThe Who
TV in the United States
NetworkCBS
AnnouncersJim Nantz and Phil Simms
Cost of 30-second commercial≈ $2.5 – $2.8 million [4]

Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Indianapolis Colts against the National Football Conference (NFC) champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2009 season. The New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts by a score of 31–17, earning their first Super Bowl win. Saints 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 game was played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, and the game's kickoff took place at 6:28 p.m. EST (23:28 UTC) on February 7, 2010, the latest calendar date for a Super Bowl yet. The game was the Saints' first Super Bowl appearance and the fourth for the Colts franchise. Coincidentally, all four of the Colts' Super Bowl games have been played in Miami, with their first two games in the former Miami Orange Bowl and the last two in the current Miami stadium (which has changed names several times since its opening, most recently in January 2010).

The Saints entered the game with a 13–3 record for the 2009 regular season, compared to the Colts' 14–2 record. In the playoff games, both teams had a 1st round bye. The Colts entered the Super Bowl off of 20–3 and 30–17 victories, while the Saints advanced with scores of 45–14 and 31–28 (in overtime), defeating last year's runners up the Arizona Cardinals in their first game. The Pittsburgh Steelers, as defending champions, failed to make the playoffs based on tiebreakers. It was the first time since Super Bowl XXVIII (16 years previously) that both number one seeds have reached the Super Bowl. The Saints' head coach was Sean Payton, having joined from the Dallas Cowboys in 2006, while his opposing head coach Jim Caldwell was appointed the Colts head coach in 2009 having joined them in 2002 as assistant head coach.

It was the tenth time the Super Bowl has been held in Miami at the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins: the now-Sun Life Stadium had hosted four previous Super Bowls (XXIII, XXIX, XXXIII, and XLI) and five were played in the Dolphins' now demolished former home, the Miami Orange Bowl (II, III, V, X, XIII). The game was broadcast live on CBS, and the halftime show featured the English rock band The Who.

Per convention as an even numbered Super Bowl, the Colts as the AFC representatives had the home team designation, wearing blue jerseys with white pants, while the Saints (who wore their white jerseys in several home games this year) wore white jerseys with gold pants.[5] The Saints victory extended the white jersey winning streak to six, dating back to Super Bowl XXXIX, while the Colts dropped to 0–2 all-time wearing their blue jerseys, the other loss being their infamous loss to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III.

The victory made the Saints the first NFC team to win a Super Bowl following a Super Bowl win by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Oakland Raiders (twice, in 1977 and 1981), the Colts in Super Bowl XLI, and the Steelers themselves in 1976 and 1980 were the other such winners.

Game summary

Wikinews has related news:

The weather forecast for the Miami area on Sunday, February 7 was for a high temperature of approximately 68 °F (20 °C) with mostly clear skies.[6]

First quarter

New Orleans first drive

Kickoff occurred at 6:28 p.m. EST (23:28 UTC), with New Orleans catching it for a 20 yard return by Courtney Roby, followed by a 8 yard gain by Pierre Thomas. The drive was concluded after a missed 3rd down with a 42 yard punt by Thomas Morstead, with no return due to the receiver being covered by Courtney Roby.

Indianapolis first drive

With the ball on Indianapolis's 27 yard line, the Colts started a drive consisting of an 18 yard pass to Dallas Clark, a 6 yard rush by Joseph Addai,another 6 yard pass to Dallas Clark, a 3 yard run by Pierre Garcon, a 19 yard pass to Austin Collie, and another 3 yard run by Addai. A penalty was called by referee Scott Green, for a false start by Kyle DeVan, resulting in a 5 yard loss for the Colts. The drive continued, with a 7 yard run by Addai. On the subsequent third down, Peyton Manning overthrew his pass to Pierre Garcon. Indianapolis place kicker Matt Stover, the oldest Super Bowl player ever, kicked the ball 38 yards for a field goal, making the score 3–0.[7]

New Orleans second drive

Courtney Roby returned the Colts's 68 yard kickoff for a gain of 26 yards. Approaching the 25-yard line, Roby swooped into a dive and fumbled the ball, however it was recovered by Chris Reis. The drive continued with a 4 yard pass to Marques Colston, a 16 yard pass to Reggie Bush, and a 3-yard run by Reggie Bush, which were followed by two balls that were just barely missed by Marques Colston. On 4th down and seven yards to go, the Saints punted, a 46-yard kick that was downed at Indianapolis's 4 yard line.

Indianapolis second drive

Starting from their position on their 4 yard line, Peyton Manning passed the ball to Donald Brown, who ran for 11 yards. This play was followed by an incomplete pass to Brown, a 15-yard run by Addai, an incomplete pass by Manning (to avoid a sack), a 12 yard rush by Addai, a 5 yard pass to Reggie Wayne, a 4 yard rush by Brown, and a 26-yard run by Addai. This was his longest of the season and his first 25+ yard rush since Christmas Eve of 2006. After an incomplete pass to Wayne and a a 4-yard run by Brown, the 10-play drive culminated in a 19-yard pass to Pierre Garcon for a touchdown. This elevated the Colts' lead to 9–0, and Matt Stover's extra point gave the Colts a 10–0 lead.

Second quarter

The Saints responded with a drive for a 40-yard field goal by Garrett Hartley, to score their first points of the game and narrow the Colts lead to 10–3. In the final two minutes of the first half, the Saints drove to a first-and-goal at the Colts 3-yard line. But a false start penalty set them back to the 8, and they attempted 3rd and 4th down runs from the 1-yard line. This failed, and the Colts moved the ball somewhat before punting back to the Saints. After a short drive to the Colts 27, Hartley kicked another field goal as time expired. The score at halftime stood at Colts 10, Saints 6, the first 10–6 halftime score in Super Bowl history.

Third quarter

The Saints successfully recovered a surprise onside kick to gain possession of the ball at the beginning of the half,[8] finishing the unexpected drive with a touchdown to take the lead 13–10. Manning and the Colts answered with their own touchdown drive. With 6:21 left in the quarter, Joseph Addai scored from the 4-yard line to put the Colts back on top 17–13.

Hartley would bring the Saints to within one point, 17-16, with his third field goal of the game, this one from 47 yards. In doing so he became the first kicker in Super Bowl history with three field goals of 40+ yards in one game.

Fourth quarter

Jeremy Shockey (who did not play in Super Bowl XLII with the Giants due to injury) caught a touchdown pass to give the Saints their first lead of the game. Brees then completed a two-point conversion pass to Lance Moore to give the Saints a 24-17 lead.

On the ensuing drive, Peyton Manning led the Colts into Saints territory; however, Tracy Porter intercepted a Manning pass at the Saints 26 and returned it 74 yards for a Saints touchdown.[9] Porter's interception return for a touchdown continued the Super Bowl trend that a team scoring on an interception return wins the championship game.

Scoring summary

Scoring Play Score
1st Quarter
IND – Matt Stover 38 yard field goal, 7:29 IND 3–0
IND – Pierre Garçon 19 yard pass from Peyton Manning (Matt Stover kick), 0:36 IND 10–0
2nd Quarter
NO – Garrett Hartley 46 yard field goal, 9:34 IND 10–3
NO – Garrett Hartley 44 yard field goal, 0:00 IND 10–6
3rd Quarter
NO – Pierre Thomas 16 yard pass from Drew Brees (Garrett Hartley kick), 11:41 NO 13–10
IND – Joseph Addai 4 yard run (Matt Stover kick), 6:05 IND 17–13
NO – Garrett Hartley 47 yard field goal, 2:01 IND 17–16
4th Quarter
NO – Jeremy Shockey 2 yard pass from Drew Brees (Drew Bress pass to Lance Moore), 5:42 NO 24–17
NO – Tracy Porter 74 yard interception return (Garrett Hartley kick), 3:12 NO 31–17

Background

Host selection process

Sun Life Stadium, the venue of Super Bowl XLIV

The league initially voted on March 23, 2005, that New York City host the game, contingent on the completion of the proposed West Side Stadium being built for the New York Jets by 2008. After New York state government officials declined to approve $400 million for the stadium, the NFL decided to reopen the bidding for the game's site.[10] The league reconsidered the other, unsuccessful candidates for Super Bowl XLIII: Atlanta, Houston, and Miami. On October 6, 2008, the league selected Miami as the host city.

With Tampa as the host of Super Bowl XLIII, Super Bowl XLIV will mark 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 will become 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 Gardens' first Super Bowl designated as an NSSE.

Pro Bowl changes

Main article: 2010 Pro Bowl

The 2010 Pro Bowl was played on January 31, during the off-week between the conference championships and the Super Bowl, breaking with the precedent of scheduling the game for the Sunday after the Super Bowl. The game also changed venues from Aloha Stadium in ʻAiea, Hawaii, where it had been held since 1979, to Sun Life Stadium in Miami (the same city and stadium hosting the Super Bowl itself). A total of 14 players from the Super Bowl participants – seven each from the Colts and the Saints – did not play in the Pro Bowl. The new schedule took advantage of the bye week given to the conference champions to rest and prepare for the Super Bowl. The NFL has indicated this may not be a permanent transition, and has discussed a possible rotating location for the Pro Bowl in the future. The game will return to Hawaii in 2011 and 2012, however.

The move also meant that the Pro Bowl, which was won by the AFC by a score of 41–34, would avoid competing against the 2010 NBA All-Star Game, the second full day of competition in the 2010 Winter Olympics, and the 52nd running of the Daytona 500, as would have been the case had the game been played on February 14 per its traditional post-Super Bowl scheduling.

Teams

New Orleans Saints

Main article: 2009 New Orleans Saints season

The New Orleans Saints finished the season with an NFC best 13–3 record and went on to advance to the first Super Bowl in their 43 years as an NFL team. It had been a long journey for New Orleans. After joining the NFL in 1967, it took them 21 years to record their first winning season and another 13 years after that to win their first playoff game. Five years later, the New Orleans area suffered another setback when the Louisiana Superdome was devastated with the rest of the city by Hurricane Katrina, forcing them to play all of their home games in 2005 elsewhere as they finished with a 3–13 record. But in the offseason, the team's fortunes began to turn. First, they signed pro bowl quarterback Drew Brees, who would go on to throw for more passing yards than any other quarterback over the next four seasons. They also drafted multi-talented Heisman Trophy winning running back Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston, two players who would become major contributors on the Saints offense. The following season, New Orleans improved to 10–6 and advanced to the NFC title game for the first time, which they lost to the Chicago Bears. Although they failed to make the playoffs over the next two seasons, they continued to sign new talent, and by 2009 they were ready to make another run at the Super Bowl.

The Saints offense led the NFL in scoring, averaging just under 32 points per game. Brees finished the season as the NFL's top rated quarterback (109.6), completing an NFL-record 70.6% of his passes for 4,338 yards and 34 touchdowns, with just 11 interceptions. His top target was Colston, who caught 70 passes for 1,074 yards and 9 touchdowns, but he had plenty of other weapons, such as receivers Devery Henderson (51 receptions), Robert Meachem (45), along with tight ends Jeremy Shockey (48) and Dave Thomas (35). The ground attack was led by running backs Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell. Thomas rushed for 793 yards and caught 39 passes for 302, while Bell added 654 yards on the ground. Bush was also a major contributor, rushing for 390 yards (with a 5.6 yards per carry average), catching 47 passes for 335 yards, and adding another 130 yards returning punts. New Orleans also had a strong offensive line with three pro bowl selections: guard Jahri Evans, center Jonathan Goodwin, and tackle Jon Stinchcomb

Pro Bowl defensive lineman Will Smith led the team in sacks with 13. Another big weapon on defense was linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who led the team with 87 tackles and intercepted three passes. The Saints secondary was led by 12-year veteran safety Darren Sharper, who recorded 9 interceptions and set an NFL record by returning them for 376 yards and three touchdowns. Cornerback Tracy Porter was also effective, recording 49 tackles and 4 picks.

Like the Colts, the Saints also started out the season strong, winning their first 13 games. But then they became the first 13–0 team ever to lose their last three games of the year. After losing their next game to the Dallas Cowboys 24–17, they suffered a narrow loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime after Garrett Hartley missed a potential game winning field goal, and then closed out the season with a 23–10 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Still, they clinched the #1 NFC playoff seed and scored 76 points in their two playoff wins en route to their first ever Super Bowl.

Indianapolis Colts

Main article: 2009 Indianapolis Colts season

Indianapolis stormed to an NFL best 14–2 record 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 4,500 yards and 33 touchdowns during the season, with only 16 interceptions, earning him a 99.9 passer rating and a league record fourth National Football League Most Valuable Player Award. Under the protections of pro bowl center Jeff Saturday and the rest of the line, Manning had been sacked just 13 times during the regular season, the fewest in the NFL. His top targets were veteran receiver Reggie Wayne and tight end Dallas Clark, who both recorded 100 receptions and 10 touchdowns. Wayne led the team with 1,260 yards, while Clark was second with 1,106. Manning also had other reliable targets, such as recently acquired receivers Austin Collie (60 receptions for 676 yards and 7 touchdowns) and Pierre Garçon (47 receptions for 756 yards). Running back Joseph Addai led the Colts ground game with 821 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, while also catching 51 passes for another 336 yards and 3 scores.

Indianapolis's defensive line was led by pro bowl defensive ends Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney. Freeney led the team with 13.5 sacks, while Mathis added 9.5 sacks and forced 5 fumbles. Behind them, the Colts had a solid corps of linebackers featuring Clint Session and Gary Brackett, who each recorded 80 tackles. Pro bowl safety Antoine Bethea led the secondary with 70 tackles and four interceptions.

Under their new coach Jim Caldwell, the Colts started off the season with 14 consecutive wins before suffering their first loss to the New York Jets, 29–15, a game in which Caldwell made the controversial decision to rest his starters after the team took a slim lead rather than keep them in to play for a chance at a 16–0 season. Indianapolis finished the season at 14–2 following another loss 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 leads the Colts to the Super Bowl the season after Tony Dungy retired, just like in Tampa Bay when Jon Gruden led the Bucs to Super Bowl XXXVII after Dungy was fired. Senior offensive line coach Howard Mudd will retire following the game.[11]

Playoffs

Main article: 2009–10 NFL playoffs

Indianapolis's first opponent was the Baltimore Ravens, a 9–7 squad that had advanced to the divisional round by blowing out 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 the second half, the Colts survived two interceptions from Baltimore safety Ed Reed on one drive, one of which Reed fumbled, and the other which was called back by a penalty. Stover, who spent 18 years with the Modell franchise, finished the drive with his second field goal to make final score 20–3, as their defense put the game away by forcing two consecutive turnovers.

Their next opponent was the Jets, who had made the playoffs in part due to Caldwell's decision to bench his starters in their Week 16 meeting. This time, the Colts would have to mount a comeback, as New York built up a 17–6 first half lead. Yet Indianapolis would step up to the challenge, scoring 24 unanswered points. First, Manning completed three passes to Collie for 80 yards, the last one a 16-yard touchdown completion to cut the score to 17–13 at the end of the half. Manning added two more touchdown passes in the second half, one to Garcon 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 Garcon and Collie had over 100 receiving yards each.

Meanwhile, New Orleans started off their playoff run with a 45–14 win over the defending NFC champion Arizona Cardinals. Arizona was coming off a 51–45 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers in which they racked up 531 yards against a defense ranked second in the league in total yards allowed. However, although Arizona scored on their first play of the game, New Orleans dominated the Cardinals with 35 points in the first half. First, Lynell Hamilton scored on a 1-yard run. Then, Sharper recovered a fumble from Arizona, setting up Brees' touchdown pass to Shockey. Following a punt, Bush scored on a franchise playoff record 46-yard run. In the second quarter, Brees added two more touchdown passes, one to Henderson on a flea flicker and the other to Colston that was set up by a Will Smith interception, giving them a 35–14 first half lead before added 10 more points in the second half on a Hartley field goal and Bush's 83-yard punt return. Bush racked up 217 all-purpose yards, while Brees threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns.

Their opponent in the NFC championship game was the Minnesota Vikings, led by 11-time pro bowl quarterback Brett Favre, who had thrown four touchdown passes in their divisional round win over the Dallas Cowboys. Even though the Saints offense could only muster 257 total yards, their defense made up for it by forcing five turnovers. The key play of the game occurred late in the fourth quarter with the score tied 28–28 and the Vikings were driving for a potential game-winning field goal. With less than a minute left, they reached the Saints 33-yard line. But after a two runs for no gain and a penalty that pushed them back to the 38, Porter picked off a pass from Favre to send the game into overtime. After New Orleans won the coin toss, Pierre Thomas' 40-yard kickoff return set up 10-play, 39-yard drive that ended with a game winning 40-yard field goal by Hartley, sending the Saints to their first ever Super Bowl.

This is the first Super Bowl matchup in which both teams had a first-round bye since Super Bowl XXXIX. All four of the Super Bowls in between had one team that played all three rounds (two of which were wild-card teams), with three of those teams (including the Colts in Super Bowl XLI) winning it all.

Officials

  • Referee – Scott Green (#19)
  • Umpire – Undrey Wash (#96)
  • Head Linesman – John McGrath (#5)
  • Line Judge – Jeff Seeman (#45)
  • Field Judge – Rob Vernatchi (#75)
  • Side Judge – Greg Meyer (#78)
  • Back Judge – Greg Steed (#12)
  • Alt. referee – Gene Steratore (#114)

Broadcasting

Television

United States

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, the largest total among the "big four" US television networks. CBS also broadcasted the most recent Super Bowl held in South Florida (XLI). Play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz and color commentator Phil Simms were in the broadcast booth, with Solomon Wilcots and Steve Tasker serving as sideline reporters. The game was preceded by The Super Bowl Today, a four-hour pregame show that was hosted by James Brown and started at 2 pm US EST. A kickoff show for the game aired from 6 pm US EST to 6:28 pm US EST.

Commercials

Notable returnees and absences

Perennial Super Bowl advertisers Anheuser–Busch InBev and CareerBuilder stated their commitment to advertise in Super Bowl XLIV, showing eight and two different spots during the game, respectively. A 30-second spot cost US $2.8 million with several advertisers getting discounts, down from last year's $3 million. All advertising slots were sold out on February 1, 2010, six days before the game.[12] 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.[13] Both Pepsi and FedEx are official NFL sponsors. Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper Snapple capitalized on Pepsi's absence by buying ads in the game; Dr Pepper's ad featured KISS performing "Calling Dr. Love," while one of Coca-Cola's three ads featured Montgomery Burns (of The Simpsons) losing everything he owns. Also for the second straight year, two of the Big Three American automobile makers – General Motors and Ford – did not have a commercial in the game. Chrysler's Dodge brand did advertise this year for its Dodge Charger.

What aired

Frito-Lay's Doritos brand, in turn owned by PepsiCo, had four consumer-created advertisements scheduled. The ads – running in the first quarter – featured a sly dog using an anti-barking collar to his advantage to steal his owner'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. A fourth ad featuring an angry gym rat who was overprotective for his snack food being stolen aired in the fourth quarter. Had three of the ads topped the USA Today Super Bowl Ad Meter rankings, the commercial's creators would have won a total of US $5 million ($1 million for first, $600,000 for second and $400,000 for third, plus a $1 million bonus for each of the three finalists). The previous year, Joe and David Herbert's "Free Doritos" ad topped the survey and won $1 million.[14] The US Census Bureau spent $2.5 million on a 30-second spot for the 2010 United States Census, which urged Americans to answer its questionnaires that will be sent out in the next few weeks.[15] Mars Chocolate returned three years after its controversial Snickers ad that was protested by gay and lesbian groups with two men kissing one another that was pulled one day following the game. The commercial – winner of the annual Ad Meter survey – featured veteran actors Betty White and Abe Vigoda playing full-contact backyard football.[16] The rest of the Top Five:

2. The aforementioned Doritos' amateur ad featuring a dog strapped to a non-barking collar getting revenge on his owner.
3. A Bud Light ad with a house completely made of beer cans of the sponsor's product.
4. A Budweiser ad featuring the relationship between a Clydesdale and a Longhorn steer.
5. Coca Cola's man walking through an African savannah in the middle of the night.

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.[17] Advertising Age reported that Paramount Pictures bought a Super Bowl spot for the upcoming films Iron Man 2 and The Last Airbender.[18]

Other advertisers for 2010 included Homeaway Inc.,[19], 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.[20] Boost Mobile aired a special ad, celebrating the 25th Anniversary of The Super Bowl Shuffle, featuring many of the 1985 Chicago Bears to advertise their US $50 per month service. [21] Also, in as CBS-produced promo, longtime rival talk show hosts Jay Leno and David Letterman appeared together with Oprah Winfrey for Letterman's Late Show. Dr Pepper produced a second commercial with KISS, showing the band performing with midget versions of themselves to promote Dr Pepper Cherry.

Controversies

Three advertisers in particular raised eyebrows with their choice of being in the Super Bowl. One new advertiser, Focus on the Family,[22] aired a commercial featuring 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and his mother that has drawn criticism from women's groups who have asked CBS to cancel the ad because they believe it will be divisive, under the impression that it would mention the fact that Tebow's mother was advised, for health issues, to abort the fetus that would become Tim, but she decided to give birth to him anyway. CBS went ahead with airing the advertisement in the first quarter, which had not been pre-released to the public.[23] Per a statement released earlier, the ad did not mention the topic of abortion explicitly.[24]

One proposed sponsor, ManCrunch, a gay dating site that bills itself as a place "where many many many men come out to play," had expressed interest in purchasing a 30-second advertisement. The ManCrunch advertisement would have depicted a male Green Bay Packers fan and a male Minnesota Vikings fan reaching into the same bowl of potato chips at the same time and, after a brief pause, begin to passionately kiss. ManCrunch's ad, which has since been released to the public, was initially put on a waiting list before the network outright rejected it due to it violating CBS's broadcast standards. ManCrunch immediately accused CBS of discrimination, and in doing so led observers to suspect that their advertisement was an attempt at ambush marketing and free publicity.[25] Another ad that was rejected by CBS for failure to meet standards was for the texting service kgb, which focuses on two men with CGI-enhanced images bent over with their heads in their posteriors, while an actor, Sean Gunn, portraying an agent stated that "They had their head up their [backsides]". [26] kgb instead aired an ad with two people who had to find the Japanese word for "I surrender" before being run over by a sumo wrestler. Another ad for Bud Light which was rejected showed workers stripping down for a charity clothes drive in exchange for free beer. All of the rejected ads were shown on YouTube.

Among other rejected or modified ads were one for Electronic Arts' Dante's Inferno, which had to be edited for content (the closing phrase, originally intended to read "go to Hell," was replaced with "Hell awaits"), and GoDaddy's originally planned advertisement. [27] Career Builder's ad, showing people dressed too casually for "Casual Friday" and a Dockers ad to promote a free pair of their pants with men in shirts but sans trousers did air and in an ironic twist, they were shown back-to-back early in the second quarter.

International telecasts

Viewers worldwide were able to watch on the following channels:

  • North America:
  • Oceania
  • Europe:
  • South America:
  • Asia:

Radio

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. The teams' flagship stations also carried the game with their respective local announcers: WLHK-FM/WFNI-AM in Indianapolis (with Bob Lamey and Will Wolford announcing) and WWL-FM/AM in New Orleans (with Jim Henderson and Hokie Gajan announcing). Univision Radio aired a Spanish-language feed for Hispanophone American listeners (with Clemson Smith-Muñiz and David Crommett announcing).

Sirius XM Satellite Radio carried 14 game feeds in ten languages to Sirius subscribers, as well as to XM subscribers with the "Best of Sirius" package.[28] 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 and WWL, with the teams' other network radio affiliates instead airing the Westwood One feed.

Entertainment and other ceremonies

Pregame

Carrie Underwood sang the National Anthem and Queen Latifah sang "America the Beautiful." Underwood's selection marks the third straight year that an alumnus of American Idol has been chosen to perform the Star Spangled Banner, joining Jordin Sparks at Super Bowl XLII and Jennifer Hudson a year later. Translation of both songs into American Sign Language was provided by Kinesha Battles, a student at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind.[29]

The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2010, led by Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith, participated in the pre-game coin toss; Smith actually tossed the coin. The rest of the class – Rickey Jackson, Dick LeBeau, Floyd Little, Russ Grimm and John Randle – were named the day before.

Halftime

The Who performed at the Super Bowl XLIV halftime show. The band played a medley of their hits, including "Pinball Wizard", "Who Are You", "Baba O'Riley", "See Me Feel Me", and "Won't Get Fooled Again". It is also to note that "Who Are You", "Baba O' Riley", and "Won't Get Fooled Again" are all theme songs the three CSI shows respectively, with "Who Are You" the theme of CSI: Las Vegas, "Baba O' Riley" the theme of CSI: NY, and "Won't Get Fooled Again" the theme of CSI: Miami. All three shows air on CBS, the same network that aired Super Bowl XLIV.

In the international broadcast of the halftime show, audio and video were out of sync by several seconds.

Merchandising

Retailers had ordered much more New Orleans Saints merchandise prior to the game than they had ordered Colts merchandise. The NFL estimates that US$100 million worth of Super Bowl merchandise will be sold this year.[30]

See also

Template:American football portal

References

  1. ^ http://jacksonville.com/interact/blog/teneshia_lafaye/2010-02-08/my_ten_sense_super_bowl_mvp_says_new_orleans_will_shut_down
  2. ^ "Colts open as 4-point faves over Saints in Super Bowl". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. 2010-01-24. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  3. ^ "Underwood, Latifah sing at Super Bowl". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 28, 2010.
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ "Colts elect to wear blue jerseys in Super Bowl XLIV; Saints to wear white". Content.usatoday.com. 2010-01-27. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  6. ^ "7-Day Forecast for Latitude 25.76°N and Longitude 80.21°W". Forecast.weather.gov. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  7. ^ Davidowitz, Dr. (February 7, 2010). "Super Bowl 44 Recap". Cooper's Pick. Retrieved 2010-02-7. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. ^ Saints' onside kick gutsiest call in Super Bowl history?
  9. ^ "Manning throws away bid for one final comeback". Retrieved 2009-02-07.
  10. ^ "NFL owners work on testy NFLPA contract extension". Retrieved 2009-02-08.
  11. ^ Matt Detrich / Indianapolis Star via AP. "Title game a 'cool' finale for Colts assistant Howard Mudd: Super Bowl Insider". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  12. ^ Game On! CBS Sells Out Last Super Bowl Ads, AP via Comcast.net, 1 February 2010
  13. ^ "Pepsi pulls out of Super Bowl advertising, ending 23-year run – ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2009-12-17. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  14. ^ Horovitz, Bruce (2009-09-10). "Doritos Ad Contest Raises The Stakes, Bruce Horowitz, USA TODAY, 09–10–09". Usatoday.com. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  15. ^ By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writer (2010-01-26). "Census Bureau counts on Super Bowl ad CNN.com, 26 January 2010". Money.cnn.com. Retrieved 2010-02-07. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  16. ^ Snickers Will Try, Try Again With a Super Bowl Ad, Bruce Horowitz, USA TODAY, January 28, 2010
  17. ^ Elliott, Stuart (2009-09-14). "GoDaddy Goes Back to the Super Bowl – Media Decoder Blog – NYTimes.com". Mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  18. ^ Steinberg, Brian (December 21, 2009). "Who's Buying What in the Super Bowl 2010". Advertising Age. Archived from the original on January 8, 2010. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  19. ^ [2][dead link]
  20. ^ "Diamond Foods Will Advertise Pop Secret Brand During Super Bowl". Sportsbusinessdaily.com. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  21. ^ "Boost Mobile Shuffle". Boostmobile.com. 2010-01-13. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  22. ^ "Focus on the Family to Air 'Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life' Super Bowl Ad with Tim Tebow | Superbowl-ads.com Article Archive". Superbowl-ads.com. 2010-01-15. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  23. ^ CBS Urged to Scrap Super Bowl Ad With Tebow, Mom, Associated Press via comcast.net, 25 January 2010
  24. ^ [3] via usatoday.com, 07 February 2010
  25. ^ CBS Rejects Gay Themed Super Bowl Ad, Tracy Phillips, Fancast.com, January 29, 2010
  26. ^ CBS Rejects Another Super Bowl AD, Ann Murray-Lavar, Fancast.com, 2 February 2010
  27. ^ Stephan, Doug (2010-02-01). CBS Rejects Another Ad. Doug Stephan's Good Day. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  28. ^ "Super Bowl XLIV on Sirius". Sirius.com.
  29. ^ "FSDB student to sign at Super Bowl". 6 February 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  30. ^ Super Bowl Merchandise and the Bets Behind It
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