Super Bowl XLII

}} Super Bowl XLII was the championship game of professional football for the 2007 season, played on February 3, 2008, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. In one of the most significant upsets in Super Bowl history, the NFC champion New York Giants (13-6), defeated the AFC champion New England Patriots (18-0), by the score of 17-14.

If the Patriots won this game they would have completed a perfect season, the first since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, and ot would be the only one 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 Patriots lost 14–17.

The telecast was the most-watched Super Bowl in history, with 97.5 million viewers. A record 148.3 million total viewers tuned into the game. It was also the second-most-watched TV program in the United States, behind the 1983 M*A*S*H series finale. Coincidentally, the Phoenix area hosted Super Bowl XXX, the second-most-viewed Super Bowl, with 95.1 million viewers, in 1996.

Host selection process
The league contemplated holding Super Bowl XLII in 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 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 had not finalized a plan to build the new West Side Stadium; ultimately, that deal fell through. NFL owners awarded Super Bowl XLII to Glendale during their October 2003 meeting in Chicago, Illinois, rejecting Washington for a warmer and drier climate.

Venue
The kickoff for the game was at 4:30 p.m. MST (listed at 4:17 pm by the Fox network). This was the first time a Super Bowl was played on a retractable natural-grass field surface; the University of Phoenix Stadium's removable surface is unique among 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 whether 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. Because there was rain in the scheduled forecast for Super Bowl XLII, the roof was closed for the entire day's activities.

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.

New England Patriots
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 54 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
Unlike New England, New York didn't begin the season with many high expectations. Ever since Eli Manning, the younger brother of 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
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 nature of the game was largely opposite to the teams' regular-season meeting as defense dominated throughout the first three quarters. The New England Patriots' record-setting offense was largely held in check as quarterback Tom Brady was constantly pressured by the New York Giants' defensive line, resulting in five sacks and one lost fumble. In turn, the Giants' offense struggled during much of the game, managing only five first downs in the middle two quarters, yet was sparked by Eli Manning in the fourth as the quarterback led two touchdown drives, including the winning drive that culminated with a 17-yard touchdown to Plaxico Burress with 39 seconds remaining. Manning's heroics thwarted a would-be winning touchdown drive by Brady, who had found Randy Moss on a 6-yard scoring strike with 2:45 to play.

The game marked the first time that a previously 13-6 team had lost in a National Football League championship game since the 1942 Buffalo Bills as the Giants fell shy of their bid for an upset.

After calling tails to win the coin toss, the Giants started the game with the longest opening drive in Super Bowl history, a 16-play, 77-yard march that consumed 9 minutes, 59 seconds and featured four third-down conversions, the most ever on a Super Bowl opening drive. But New England halted the drive at their own 14-yard line, forcing the Giants to settle for a 32-yard field goal from Lawrence Tynes that gave 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. 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. However, 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 on the first play of the second quarter for a 7-3 lead. The two teams each only had one drive in the entire opening quarter, a Super Bowl record.

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. But three plays later, Manning threw a pass that bounced out of the arms of rookie receiver Steve Smith and into the hands of cornerback Ellis Hobbs for an interception.

However, the Patriots' ensuing drive resulted in a three-and-out as on 3rd-and-1 James Butler and Michael Strahan tackled Maroney for a two-yard loss and New England was forced to punt.

Then on the Giants' next drive, rookie running back 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 made the recovery. The Giants maintained possession and wound up punting.

New England's next drive ended with consecutive Giants' sacks, the first by linebacker Kawika Mitchell, the second by tackle Justin Tuck,and the third by Michael Strahan.

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, however Bradshaw was penalized for illegally batting the ball before the recovery. The penalty pushed the Giants out of field goal range, and following an incompletion, they were forced to punt.

After 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 the ball. 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, Patriots' Coach Bill Belichick challenged that New York had too many players on the field and replay showed that was the case as Giants' linebacker Chase Blackburn was unable to get to the sidelines as the ball was being snapped. Therefore, referee Mike 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 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 by Stephen Gostkowski 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 rookie tight end Kevin Boss. Following three runs by Bradshaw and a 17-yard reception by Smith on third down, Manning finished the 7-play, 80-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to rookie Steve Smith, giving New York a 10-7 lead with 11:10 left in the game.

After consecutive three-and-outs, including a Giants' drive on which a hurried Manning just missed a wide-open Burress on second down, New England got the ball at its own 20 with 7:54 to play. Brady then completed a 5-yard pass to Wes Welker and a 10-yard pass to Moss, followed by a 9-yard run by Maroney to give the Patriots a first down at their own 44. Brady followed with a 13-yard pass to Welker, a four-yard completion 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 with 2:39 left and three timeouts remaining. 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, yet 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, 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 [Ellis Hobbs]] one handly intercetpted the ball over Giants' wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who caught the ball for a touchdown to complete the 12-play, 83-yard drive and gave the patriots th 35 seconds left.

New England began its next possession on its own 26 with 29 seconds remaining and three timeouts, but the Giants' defense didn't allow a single yard, forcing an incompletion on first down, a 10-yard sack by lineman Jay Alford on second down, and then two deep incomplete attempts to Moss, the first that was broken up by Webster, and the second of which, on 4th-and-20, was broken up by Giants' safety Gibril Wilson and caused a turnover on downs with one second remaining. After the incompletion, coaches, players, reporters, and fans crowded the field as if the game had ended. Belichick hugged Giants' Coach Tom Coughlin at midfield, then left for the locker room before the game clock expired — an act that was criticized by some as poor sportsmanship. The NFL then declared that the final second had to be run, which occurred once the officials restored order. Manning took the snap, stepped back from the line of scrimmage and took a knee, allowing time to expire, and consequently sealing the Super Bowl XLII championship for the Giants, while also ending the Patriots' prospects of a 19-0 season.

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
 * NYG - Steve Smith 5-yard pass from Eli Manning (Lawrence Tynes kick), 11:05. Giants 10-7 Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 3:47
 * 4th Quarter
 * 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



Overview
Brady completed 19-of-34 passes for 255 yards, including a mark of 9-of-14 for 152 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, to be named the game's Most Valuable Player. Brady also joined the 49ers' Joe Montana as only the second quarterback to throw two go-ahead touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Welker was the Patriots' leading receiver with 9 catches for 102 yards and Maroney and Faulk rushed for 45 and 42 yards, respectively. The Patriots' offense recorded 274 total yards to the Giants' 338. While not scoring, Toomer tied a Super Bowl record with 11 receptions for 109 yards. Smith had five catches for 62 yards and a touchdown rushed for 36 yards and a TD. Brady completed 29-of-48 passes 266 yards and a touchdown. Brady's 29 completions gave him a career total of 100 in his four Super Bowls, surpassing the previous record for Super Bowl completions that was held by Montana at 83. Tuck and Thomas were the top defensive performers for the Giants and Patriots, respectively, as each recorded five solo tackles, two sacks, and forced a fumble.

Records
With this game, the Giants also established an unprecedented 11 consecutive victories away from home in a single season. Ten of those victories were road games, while the Super Bowl was played at a neutral site. The Giants' matchup in Week 8 vs. the Miami Dolphins in London was considered a home game for Miami.

Giants 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 9, 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.

Though not the only brothers to play in a Super Bowl, Eli Manning, along with Peyton Manning in Super Bowl XLI, become the first brother tandem to be named Super Bowl MVP's.

Statistical comparison

 * Source: 

Individual leaders

 * Source: 

*Completions/Attempts aCarries bLong play cReceptions

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 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.

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. For this game FOX pulled in $250 million dollars in revenue from the ads.

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 &mdash; 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 subscription Internet radio service provided by the league at NFL.com, carried most of these feeds, with select international feeds for free.

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.

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. Times Square was swarmed 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 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.

The city will give the Giants a ticker-tape victory parade up Broadway in Lower Manhattan on 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, and the Giants' first parade.

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

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 accepting the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Giants' win.