This is the week that the NFL allows everyone to watch the biggest entertainment party of any year, and no invitation is required.
The Super Bowl is America’s biggest unofficial holiday, and this year’s game will be no exception.
Super Bowl XLVI between the New England Patriots and New York Giants at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Sunday has all the elements of a classic rematch.
The two teams met four years ago in Super Bowl XLII, and the Giants shattered the Patriots’ hopes of going undefeated with a thrilling 17-14 victory.
Whether this year’s game produces the same drama remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: more than 100 million Americans will watch on television.
The Super Bowl has made a mark on American culture, and it gets renewed and enhanced every year with a fresh set of quotes, stories, outrageous antics — and, of course, some great performances in the game.
With the drum beat already beginning in Indianapolis, here are some personal highlights and recollections from having covered 31 Super Bowls:
GREAT FINISHES
Giant killers: The New England Patriots were 16-0 in the 2007 regular season and 18-0 going into Super Bowl XLII against the New York Giants.
They had obliterated every opponent in their bid to become the first team ever to go 19-0. Their victims included the New York Giants, who fell in a 38-35 loss to the Pats in the last game of the regular season.
It would be a different story in Super Bowl XLII.
The Patriots were far from perfect in the Super Bowl, but it looked like they had it won when Tom Brady hit Randy Moss with a 6-yard TD pass for a 14-10 Patriots lead with 2:42 left.
But Eli Manning drove the Giants back downfield on their last possession. The drive was highlighted by a long pass to David Tyree, who pinned the ball to his helmet to make a clean catch as he was tackled. It was one of the most spectacular plays in playoff history.
Manning connected with Plaxico Burress on a 13-yard pass with 35 seconds left to give the Giants a 17-14 win in one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history.
Brady bunch: In Super Bowl XXXVI, the 2001 Rams were huge favorites over the New England Patriots, who were playing a second-year quarterback and first-year starter – Tom Brady, a sixth-round draft pick out of Michigan in 2000.
It was 17-17 when the Patriots got the ball back for their last possession, and Rams head coach Mike Martz thought the Patriots would play it safe and take the game into overtime.
How wrong he was.
Brady led the Patriots into scoring possession, and Adam Vinatieri won the game with a last-play field goal. It was the first of three Super Bowls in four years for the Patriots and Brady, who took the first step in establishing himself as a Hall of Fame quarterback.
Montana eyes Candy: The Bengals had the Lombardi Trophy for Super Bowl XXIII all but ready to put in their trophy case when they took a 16-13 lead on Jim Breech’s field goal with 3:20 left.
The 49ers began their last possession at their 8-yard. While they waited in the huddle for the TV timeout to end, Joe Montana had been looking in the stands.
“Isn’t that John Candy?” Montana said to 49ers offensive lineman Harris Barton after spotting the actor standing in the tunnel at one end of the stadium.
Montana was that cool — and that good. He led the 49ers to the game-winning score — a 10-yard TD pass to John Taylor.
On the final play, Montana showed why he is one of the greatest clutch players in history. His receivers had lined up wrong. Taylor was supposed to be on the right side.
Montana let the receivers remain in their position and made the switch in his mind, then hit Taylor for the winning score with 34 seconds left.
It was a great finish to a game that lacked drama until the final quarter.
HISTORY
Doug Williams: Williams began his career with Tampa Bay in 1978 as the first African-American to be drafted on the first round as a quarterback.
In the 1987 season, he was primarily a backup until injuries put him in the starting lineup for the playoffs. He exploded in Super Bowl XXII, passing for 340 yards and 4 TDs as the Redskins routed the Broncos, 42-10.
Williams was voted the game’s MVP.
DETROIT
Sweet XVI: Metro Detroit made history by becoming the first cold-weather Super Bowl site, hosting Super Bowl XVI at the Pontiac Silverdome on Jan. 24, 1982.
The weather failed to cooperate. Snow and an ice storm made driving treacherous. On game-day, traffic control used to clear a path to the stadium for the convoy carrying then vice-president George H.W. Bush snarled traffic further.
The game marked the coming out for Montana and the 49ers in their first Super Bowl appearance. They were underdogs but beat the Bengals, 26-21.
Extra Large: Two dozen years after Super Bowl XVI, Ford Field in downtown Detrit hosted Super Bowl XLV. It was a faultless effort by everyone involved — from Host Committee chairman Roger Penske to the house keeping staff that put mints on the pillows.
The weather was good — too good, in fact. A lack of snow forced promoters to cut back on a winter carnival at Campus Martius.
The Steelers beat the Seahawks, 21-10, in what proved to be the final game for Steelers running back Jerome Bettis, a Detroit native who played at Mackenzie High School.
SHOWDOWN
Marino vs. Montana: Dan Marino fractured the record book in 1984, passing for more than 5,000 yards with 48 TD passes in his second season with the Dolphins.
The Super Bowl matchup against the 49ers at Stanford Stadium was a natural. Montana already was established as one of the greats of the game.
Super Bowl XIX was no contest — a 38-16 win for the 49ers.
QUOTES, ANECDOTES
John Riggins: Super Bowl XVII was played after a players strike cut the regular season to nine games and matched the Redskins against the Dolphins.
Redskins running back John Riggins was a great player and a bit of an enigma. He had stopped talking to the media, but he opened up during Super Bowl week. He showed up one day wearing combat fatigues.
When asked what he attributed his longevity to, Riggins replied: “Formaldehyde.”
Riggins was the MVP of the Redskins’ 27-17 victory.
Matt Millen: The Redskins and Raiders played in Super Bowl XVIII. The Raiders were easy winners, 38-9.
Before the game, Redskins guard Russ Grimm said he’d run over his mother to win a Super Bowl.
Linebacker Matt Millen — later president of the Lions — was the Raiders’ defensive captain. He was asked what he thought of Grimm’s comment.
“I’d run over Russ Grimms’s mother, too,” Millen cracked.
Brett Favre: Favre provided plenty of stories in his 20-season career, most of them with the Packers, and I was lucky enough to be within earshot of one of them before Super Bowl XXXIII in San Diego.
After an interview session at the team hotel, Favre departed the media tent, with a small group of reporters trailing him. Someone asked Favre about some of the weird things that happen in games.
Favre talked about how he relieved pressure during timeouts by singing in the huddle.
It was funny stuff, off the cuff, which was typical of Favre. The story made headlines the next day.
Unfortunately for the Packers, the Broncos had a better punch line — a 31-24 victory.
Bare facts: The Patriots got their second Lombardi Trophy for their 32-29 win over the Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII, but Janet Jackson stole the show with her halftime performance.
In a duet with Justin Timberlake, Jackson’s bodice popped open, momentarily exposing a naked body part. It created a national uproar, and Jackson later apologized.
Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson reacted with a sense of humor. When asked a couple months later what he thought about the halftime show, Wilson replied quickly: “You mean the stripper?”
