Superbowl Xli
February 4, 2007 would be the rainiest super bowl on record as the unrelenting southern Florida rain poured throughout most of the game. That fact would not be the only thing that made Super Bowl XLI a memorable one, theis also would be the first time in NFL history a black coach would win the game. The Indianapolis Colts Tony Dungy had the honor of becoming NFL’s first black coach to win a super bowl.
Super Bowl XLI was played almost forty years after the first Super Bowl in 1967. Super Bowl XLI featured the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears. Both teams had played in one previous super bowl of which they had each won. Facing off two previous champions, both with nearly equal regular season records seemed to make for an exciting and interesting game. However, the rain coupled with several missed opportunities, on each part of the teams, disappointed a lot of fans at super bowl XLI. A report from ESPN defined Super Bowl XLI, between the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears, as the worst Super Bowl ever.
Many sports commentators and fans felt the MVP designation given to Peyton Manning wes undeserved in light of his poor performance during Super Bowl XLI. Even though his game was off, many felt he well-deserved it after his exceptional 10 year career. Manning’s record for Super Bowl XLI was one of the worst for a Super Bowl MVP after he completed less than 66% of his passes, and had only one touchdown pass.
Another disappointment to the fans was the announcement by the NFL that tailgating would not be permitted. The ban was the 1st time the NFL took a position on tailgating, by prohibiting it. Angry fans were upset that the NFL would ban this annual tradition. At first, a spokesman for Dolphin Stadium announced tailgating would be allowed, Shortly thereafter, the NFL owners released a statement banning tailgating and prohibiting fans without a ticket within a 2-block radius of Dolphin Stadium.
In another attempt to disappoint fans, the NFL banned churches from holding super bowl parties during super bowl XLI. An Indianapolis church was targeted by the NFL and their legal counsel after they advertised a party on their website, and used the Super Bowl logo. The NFL only permits one TV and it has to be less than 55″. The NFL letter prompted many news media and churches across the USA to threaten a boycott. The bad publicity from newspapers and media had a negative impact on the NFL and soon prompted the NFL to reverse their decision.
