Super Bowl 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, many people still thought the Giants had a good shot at 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 competative 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. However, it is interesting to note that 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.
Credit: Wikipedia
Imgaes: Flickr
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