Re-visiting Super Bowl XLI 15 years later

Heading into the season, the biggest change in the NFL was Roger Goodell taking over for Paul Tagliabue as commissioner of the league on September 1st. Goodell was the COO of the NFL and had been involved in pressure decisions (labor talks, expansion, relocations) and heavily involved in many of the business aspects of the league. He was voted as the next commissioner on August 8th and took over less than a month later. Here are some more happenings:

*The NFL brought back "The Duke" football for the first time since the 1969 NFL/AFL merger.

*Flex scheduling was introduced. Due to some scheduled prime-time games turning into dud matchups late in the season, the NFL decided to use flex scheduling to move more important and interesting games into the Sunday Night slot.

*A major shift in the primetime broadcasting led to the flex scheduling. NBC, who lost their rights to CBS in 1998, purchased the rights to a new Sunday Night Football format which made that game the must-see game of the week. ESPN moved from Sunday Night Football and took over Monday Night Football from ABC.

*Part of that NBC/ESPN switch involved Disney (ESPN and ABC's parent company) "trading" Al Michaels to NBC for some Universal properties, including the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. John Madden also left ABC for NBC.

*The New Orleans Saints made a triumphant return to the Superdome in Week 3. The team spent the previous season as a nomadic franchise due to damage to the stadium and the community as a whole by Hurricane Katrina. In one of the most emotional games on Monday Night Football, the Saints beat the Falcons in their return.

*University of Phoenix Stadium made its debut as the home of the Arizona Cardinals. The stadium, now known as State Farm Stadium, would host the Super Bowl the following season.    

*LaDainian Tomlinson set the NFL record for most rushing touchdowns in a season. His 28 rushing TDs beat Shaun Alexander's total -- by one -- that was set the previous year. Adding in his three receiving scores, his 31 total touchdowns is also an NFL record (both records still stand). He even threw two touchdown passes that season and was named the NFL's MVP.

*Morten Andersen set the NFL record (since broken) for most points and field goals in a career.

*Lamar Hunt, one of the founders of the AFL and owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, passed away on December 13th.

*Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting overnight on New Year's Eve/New Year's Day in Denver ... just hours after the Broncos game with the 49ers. 

Peyton Manning was the anointed the next big thing when he was playing college football for Tennessee. The can't-miss prospect that was going to take over the NFL was struggling to find the ultimate success just as he did at Tennessee. Despite all the hype, Manning didn't win a national championship at Tennessee, nor did he even win the Heisman Trophy award. His first eight seasons in the NFL ended short of a Super Bowl appearance. He was deemed a great regular season quarterback (he won two MVPs by that point) that couldn't get it done in the playoffs. Not only was Tom Brady running things in the AFC to win three Super Bowl rings, but now the Steelers and their young quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, just won a Super Bowl the previous year.

This was the year Manning slayed those dragons. The Colts beat the Chiefs before going on the road and upsetting the Ravens to set up a showdown with the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game. Indianapolis sealed the game with an interception of Tom Brady with 17 seconds remaining to pull out a 38-34 win. 

This was the Colts' first Super Bowl appearance in 36 years, which was the longest gap between Super Bowl appearances in history (until the Kansas City Chiefs broke it with a 50-year mark in Super Bowl LIV). The Baltimore Colts famously lost to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III but would return to the title game two years later to beat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V.

The Colts would leave Baltimore and began play in Indianapolis for the 1984 season. Their Super Bowl XLI win meant the Colts became the second franchise to win a Super Bowl championship representing two different cities (the Raiders won in Oakland and Los Angeles). Baltimore would see a Super Bowl champion six years earlier when the Ravens won Super Bowl XXXV.

The Colts and Bears couldn't have been more opposite heading into the game. The Colts were one of the best offenses in the NFL, run by a quarterback that had arguably the most control of his team in Peyton Manning. At Colts home games, fans were usually silent as Manning would make his checks and audibles at the line of scrimmage. Despite having some big names on defense, Indianapolis' defense wasn't very good and was one of the worst run defenses to ever reach a Super Bowl. After going 9-0 to start the season, the Colts limped to a 3-4 mark to end the year ... including losing its final four road games.

By contrast, the Bears were led by a tough defense (they held their opponent to 10 points or less six times and gave Brett Favre his first shutout) -- the Colts didn't hold anyone under 13 points. However, Chicago had a lot of issues on offense. They relied on running backs Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson but had a season-long quarterback controversy between Rex Grossman and Brian Griese. Grossman would start all 16 games despite Griese outperforming him in the preseason. Griese would come in for relief for the Bears' final two regular-season games, but Lovie Smith stuck with Grossman for the playoffs. The QB battle would go on through the 2007 season (both would lose out to Kyle Orton).  

Four Bears defenders were selected to the Pro Bowl, led by Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Brendon Ayanbadejo, and Tommie Harris. Charles Tillman, who somehow didn't make the Pro Bowl, was one of the top corners in the league. Ron Rivera, a member of the Bears' vaunted 1985 defense, was the defensive coordinator.  

The chess match of the game was seeing Peyton Manning and Brian Urlacher match wits when the Colts had the ball. 

Super Bowl XLI is by far the rainiest Super Bowl ever. A storm blew in and dropped 0.92 inches of rain -- not exactly flood conditions but strange for a Super Bowl -- making the conditions at Dolphin Stadium less than ideal. The rain clearly had an effect on the players, and the field was slick and sloppy. The two teams combined for eight turnovers to go along with fumbled snaps and issues in the kicking game.  

Usually, the opening kickoff at the Super Bowl is where the butterflies rush out of everyone's stomachs as camera flashes twinkle throughout the stadium and not where anything of note actually happens. Well, it did in Super Bowl XLI. The Colts' Adam Vinatieri kicked the ball off to the Bears' rookie Devin Hester ... who promptly took it 92 yards for a touchdown in 14 seconds. This was the first opening kickoff to be returned for a touchdown and the earliest score in Super Bowl history (that has since been broken by a safety 12 seconds into Super Bowl XLVIII). Hester spent the last several yards watching himself on the stadium's jumbotron.

The Colts didn't try to kick the ball to Hester the rest of the game. They even squib kicked on kickoffs (one even resulted in a Bears fumble which the Colts recovered).

An interesting statistical anomaly is that Devin Hester's kickoff return was the fourth straight Super Bowl held in Dolphin Stadium that had a kickoff returned for a touchdown. The previous time the Super Bowl was held there (it was called Pro Player Stadium at the time), the Falcons' Tim Dwight returned 94 yards for a touchdown in Super Bowl XXXIII. Before that, the Chargers' Andre Coleman returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown in Super Bowl XXIX (the stadium was called Joe Robbie Stadium for that one). The first Super Bowl held in Joe Robbie Stadium, the Bengals' Stanford Jennings returned a kickoff 93 yards for a TD.

Four Super Bowls were held at the stadium and each one had a kickoff returned for a touchdown. And each time, the team who returned the kick for a TD lost the game. 

Hester's touchdown return wasn't the only big play in the early part of the game. On Indy's second drive, Manning found Reggie Wayne for a 53-yard touchdown grab. Chicago's secondary had a major breakdown and Wayne was running free. Thomas Jones would gallop for a 52-yard run, setting up a Bears' touchdown.

Late in the game, Rex Grossman's pass was picked off by Kelvin Hayden, who returned it 56 yards for a touchdown. 

The two teams combined for eight turnovers in the game -- tied for 4th most in Super Bowl history. One oddity of the turnovers was that there were two separate instances where both teams turned the ball over on consecutive plays. In the first quarter, Gabe Reid fumbled a kickoff which was recovered by the Colts ... who coughed it right back up when Joseph Addai couldn't gather a hand-off. Later in the half, Colts tight end Bryan Fletcher lost a fumble near the sideline, which was followed by a Rex Grossman fumbled snap that Indianapolis recovered. Peyton Manning threw an interception on the Colts' first drive; Rex Grossman was picked off twice, including Hayden's pick-six and a Bob Sanders pick on the following drive. 

Adam Vinatieri is generally regarded as the best kicker in NFL history. He has won four Super Bowl championships and has made some of the most memorable kicks in Super Bowl history. Super Bowl XLI wasn't his finest moment. The rain caused a lot of issues for the Colts. Vinatieri missed his first PAT attempt as Hunter Smith fumbled the snap. Vinatieri missed a 36-yard field goal at the end of the first half. There was another weird snap and hold on a 29-yard field goal in the second half that Vinatieri made in a line drive. There was also that kickoff that Devin Hester returned for a touchdown. 

Prior to the 2006 season, no African-American head coach had ever taken his team to a Super Bowl. In Super Bowl XLI, both head coaches were African-American. Tony Dungy was in his fifth season with the Colts after being fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following the 2001 season. Dungy was successful in Tampa, but his teams faltered in the playoffs. In fact, the Buccaneers won the championship the season after he was fired.

Technically, Lovie Smith was the first African-American head coach to reach a Super Bowl when his Chicago Bears beat the New Orleans Saints in the NFC championship game (the AFC title tilt was held later that day). Smith was in his third season with the Bears and quickly turned Chicago around into a championship contender with a stout defense. Coincidentally, Lovie Smith would eventually coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

With the Colts win, Dungy became the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl. Since then, the only other African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl is the Steelers' Mike Tomlin. Jim Caldwell (who replaced Dungy in Indianapolis when he retired) is only the fourth to reach a Super Bowl.

Dungy also joined Mike Ditka and Tom Flores as people who won a Super Bowl as a player and head coach. 

Not only was the Tony Dungy-Lovie Smith matchup in Super Bowl XLI historic for the NFL, but it was also the first time two African-American head coaches met for a major American sports championship since 1975.

In 1975, the Golden State Warriors, who were coached by Al Attles, faced the Washington Bullets, led by K.C. Jones, for the NBA Championship. The Warriors would sweep the Bullets, making Attles the second African-American head coach to win an NBA title, after Bill Russell. That is the only time two African-American head coaches met in the NBA Finals. It has never happened in the NHL or Major League Baseball. It also hasn't happened in college basketball or football.

There is an asterisk for one time it did happen. In 2017, the Golden State Warriors faced the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. The Cavs were led by Ty Lue while the Warriors were still coached by Steve Kerr. However, Kerr missed Game 1 of the Finals due to an illness, and assistant coach Mike Brown assumed the head coaching role. Statistically, Brown's win belongs to Kerr.

Many have called Prince's halftime show during Super Bowl XLI the best of all time. He mixed in covers of "Proud Mary", "All Along the Watchtower" and "Best Of You" with his own hits, making for a one-of-a-kind rock show. He opened with "Let's Go Crazy" and "Baby I'm a Star" before running through his covers and ending with "Purple Rain" ... as the skies opened and rain poured down on the purple-lit stage.

With rain in the forecast, there was a lot of care taken to make sure the lights and instruments could function properly and safely. He also had a complicated stage (his logo) that had to be put together from 48 pieces and then taken down in a matter of minutes. The show didn't go without controversy as some found the image of Prince and his guitar's silhouette against a white sheet was a bit racy.  

There have only been two No. 3 seeds to win a Super Bowl. The Washington Redskins were the first to do so back in 1987. Washington would win at Chicago before beating the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game at home. There they went on to beat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII. The 2006 Colts beat the Chiefs at home, then won at Baltimore before beating the Patriots in Indianapolis for the AFC crown.

As of 2022, those Colts are the last No. 3 seed to reach the Super Bowl. 

The Indianapolis Colts became just the second team that plays its home games in a domed stadium to win a Super Bowl, and the first one to win an outdoor Super Bowl.

The 1999 St. Louis Rams became the first dome team to win a Super Bowl in history when they took down the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV. That game was held in Atlanta's Georgia Dome. The 2006 Colts played their home games in the RCA Dome but won Super Bowl XLI in outdoor Dolphin Stadium.

Three years later another indoor team, the New Orleans Saints, won a Super Bowl at Dolphin Stadium (which was renamed Sun Life Stadium at the time). Ironically enough, the Saints beat Peyton Manning and the Colts in what is still the only matchup of domed teams in a Super Bowl.

The Atlanta Falcons were the first dome team to ever appear in a Super Bowl when they lost to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII. Here is a list of dome teams to reach the Super Bowl:

1998: Falcons (lost)
1999: Rams (won)
2001: Rams (lost)
2006: Colts (won)
2008: Cardinals (lost)
2009: Saints (won), Colts (lost)
2016: Falcons (lost)

Aaron Rodgers has been to one Super Bowl. So has Drew Brees. Dan Marino only got to one and never won it. Rex Grossman can say the same thing.

Grossman only played in eight games over the first three years of his career with the Chicago Bears. His fourth season was his best by far. He started in all 16 games and threw for 3,193 yards and 23 touchdowns while taking the Bears to the Super Bowl. Grossman also threw 20 picks that season. He would lose his starting job the following year (to Brian Griese) but eventually gained it back before an injury sidelined him to just eight games. He would lose the starting job the following season to Kyle Orton and would leave the Bears for the Texans. After appearing in one game for Houston, he spent his final two seasons playing in Washington. 

Bears defensive tackle Terry "Tank" Johnson got into a lot of legal trouble in 2005 and 2006. He was on probation for a misdemeanor gun charge when he was charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest at a Chicago nightclub. In December, his home was raided and weapons were found, violating Johnson's probation. On December 22nd, a Cook County judge placed him on home confinement and he wasn't allowed to leave Illinois.

Johnson was inactive for the Bears' Week 15 game against Tampa Bay and was suspended for the following game at Detroit. He would play in the finale, at home, against Green Bay. Since their first two playoff games were held in Chicago, Johnson was available to play. However, he needed a judge's order to allow him to travel to Miami to play in the Super Bowl. It was granted, and he recorded four tackles and half a sack in the loss.

In May, Roger Goodell would suspend Johnson for the first eight games of the 2007 season. A month after his suspension was handed down, he was arrested for speeding in Arizona and subsequently cut by the Bears. He would play two years with the Dallas Cowboys and two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals before his career ended. 

Chicago and Indianapolis became the closest cities to compete in a Super Bowl. The two cities are just 182 miles apart and about a three-hour car ride on I-65 away from each other.

The next closest is Baltimore and New York. The Baltimore Colts and New York Jets (207 miles apart) faced off in Super Bowl III. The Baltimore Ravens and New York Giants (188 miles) met in Super Bowl XXXV. 

Jim Nantz is now synonymous with big-time sports events on CBS. He's called NCAA tournament championships, The Masters, and NFL games. When he initially began calling NFL games for CBS, Pat Summerall and John Madden were the top broadcasting crew and took the network's Super Bowl assignment. When CBS regained NFL rights in 1998, Nantz was the host of CBS' studio show until 2003 before switching roles with Greg Gumbel and joining Phil Simms as the network's top broadcast team.

That makes Super Bowl XLI Nantz's first Super Bowl call. He joined Brent Musburger as the only people to call a Super Bowl, NCAA tournament championship, and Masters.  

Nantz has gone on to call Super Bowls XLIV (Saints-Colts), XLVII (Ravens-49ers), 50 (Broncos-Panthers), LIII (Patriots-Rams), and LV (Buccaneers-Chiefs). 

Football isn't the only thing people flock to watch on Super Bowl XLI. The game is also one of the biggest advertising events in the United States, with companies forking over millions of dollars for a crack at putting their product in front of the year's biggest television audience. Super Bowl XLI had some great ads, like Bud Light's "Rock, Paper, Scissors" spot, Coca-Cola's "Happiness Factory", and a couple of homemade Doritos commercials. There's even a Blockbuster ad about their transition into home delivery DVD rental service (similar to Netflix's initial focus)

One ad that received a lot of controversy was a Snickers commercial featuring two men accidentally kissing. The men immediately attempt to "do something manly", which caused several groups to call the ad "homophobic". Snickers would promptly pull the ad and a similar one from television and its website.