Pats Beat Panthers in Super Bowl Thriller

Like schoolboys on the playground, the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers played back and forth for hours, with nobody wanting to quit and nobody willing to give up. When it was over, the Patriots had won the Super Bowl.

Adam Vinatieri kicked a 41-yard field goal with four seconds left Sunday for the 32-29 victory, a fantastic game that fit right in with all the glitz, glamour and hype that accompanied the big game.

“Both teams played their hearts out, and it took the last play to win it,” Panthers receiver Muhsin Muhammad said.

Almost nobody figured the game would play out this way. These were supposed to be boring, defensive-minded teams, and for a while they played like it, going 27 minutes before either put up the first score.

But they more than made up for it in the final quarter. They scored 37 points over the last 15 minutes. The big plays came seemingly from everywhere, and in every fashion.

Jake Delhomme and Muhammad hooked up for the longest pass in Super Bowl history, an 85-yard touchdown that gave the Panthers a brief 22-21 lead with 6:53 left.

Mike Vrabel, a linebacker playing offense for a play, caught a touchdown to put New England back ahead. Carolina came back and tied it and in the end, it came down to Vinatieri, a distant relative of Evel Knievel who clearly has no fear.

“You take a couple of deep breaths,” Vinatieri explained, “and try to hit it down the middle.”

He is now 2-for-2 with the Super Bowl on the line. Two years ago, he kicked the game-winner with no time left in New England’s 20-17 win over the St. Louis Rams to give the Patriots their first championship.

By many accounts, that Super Bowl was considered the most exciting one ever. But that’s up for debate now.

“I was having a heart attack out there,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “It was a great spectator game.”

The interesting viewing didn’t come just while the game was going on.

The 100 million or so Americans – along with an estimated 300 million Chinese – tuning into the telecast saw a full complement of singers and stars who helped turn the game into an American holiday of sorts.

Willie Nelson sang before kickoff, and Nelly showed up at halftime. Janet Jackson was there, too – and was she ever. CBS had to apologize when another star, Justin Timberlake, tore off part of Jackson’s top at the end of the halftime show and exposed her breast.

Shortly after that, a streaker came to the middle of the field and delayed the start of the second half. He was leveled by New England linebacker Matt Chatham, then hogtied and arrested by Houston police.

In between the action were the commercials, arguably the most eagerly awaited part of the week.

There were ads for Levitra and one of its rivals in the erectile-dysfunction wars, Cialis. Cedric the Entertainer accidentally got his legs waxed. Frito-Lay had a good one, an elderly couple beating each other up in an attempt to grasp a bag of new, improved chips.

It was all great watercooler material, but it was not likely to be the first topic of conversation Monday morning.

The game really was that good.

“To win this the way we did is incredible, unbelievable. A great all-around game,” said Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who threw three touchdowns and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. “I don’t know how I do it.”

There were also, of course, some serious moments that weren’t just fun and games.

In a pregame interview on CBS, President Bush wished his best to U.S. troops who were watching the big game, and also paid tribute to the seven astronauts who died when the Columbia space shuttle broke apart a year ago Sunday.

Security remained a key issue. No fewer than 25 local, state and federal agencies worked to protect the Super Bowl city for this, the third NFL title game since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

A Continental Airlines flight from Washington to Houston was canceled due to security concerns, although a U.S. government official said the flight cancellation was not specifically connected to the Super Bowl.

Fans waited in long lines before going through any of the 90 metal detectors stationed around the stadium. Concrete barricades stretched for blocks and a no-fly zone was imposed over a seven-mile radius.

In this case, though, all the trouble was worth it.

“This was Ali-Frazier, man,” Vrabel said, recalling the classic heavyweight title fights of the 1970s. “That’s how it felt out there. We hit them, they hit us. We hit them, they hit us.”