Super Bowl XLII: The Best and Worst Moments
Tom Petty by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images
What a game! Lots of highs - and a few lows (especially for the Patriots). This was one for the ages - and here are some of our best and worst moments of the night:
The Best Moments:
Dominant defense. The Giants' D rushed Tom Brady, they sacked Tom Brady (five times), they
shut down Tom Brady - something no one else was able to do all season.
Playing big when it counted most. Eli Manning somehow escaped what looked like a sure sack with 1:08 left in the game, throwing a 32-yard pass to David Tyree, who made an acrobatic catch to keep the drive alive. Plaxico Burress then capped it off with a 13-yard touchdown grab in the corner of the end zone with 35 seconds left.
All hands on deck - including rookies. Ahmad Bradshaw, Kevin Boss and Steve Smith all made vital contributions in the later part of the season and in the biggest game of their short pro careers.
Good music to start things off. I'll admit I was skeptical at first - but reigning
American Idol champ Jordin Sparks (daughter of former Giants cornerback Phillippi Sparks) actually sang the national anthem beautifully.
The Worst Moments:
18-1. Doesn't have quite the same historic ring to it as 19-0, does it?
Bad sportsmanship. At the end of the game, with one second left, Bill Belichick and his team just left the field, even though there was still one snap left to play.
American Idol overload in the pre-game. Ryan Seacrest was interviewing celebrities, Paula gave her premiere "performance" of a song on Randy Jackson's new album, there were endless promos for the show... enough already! (See
Cheers & Jeers for more on that.)
A snooze-fest halftime show. When they kept showing the Tom Petty previews, I wondered why they had used grainy, dull, decades-old footage. Then when he came out to play, I realized it wasn't just the footage that stunk. -
Nina Hämmerling Smith
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