The Patriots, led by head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, were seeking their second Super Bowl title in three years after posting a 14–2 record.

The game is also known for its controversial halftime show in which Janet Jackson's breast, adorned with a nipple shield, was exposed by Justin Timberlake for about half a second, in what was later referred to as a "wardrobe malfunction".

[9] Along with the rest of the halftime show, it led to an immediate crackdown by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and widespread debate on perceived indecency in broadcasting.

That satisfied the NFL's rule that required new stadiums to wait until at least their second year of operation before hosting a Super Bowl, in order to iron out any logistical issues or construction delays.

With Fox at the helm and the team taking advantage of the free agent market and the salary cap rules, the Panthers improved in 2002, finishing with a 7–9 record.

However, after the Panthers fell to a 17–0 third quarter deficit in their first game of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars, gaining only one first down and 36 offensive yards, Fox immediately replaced Peete with Delhomme.

Five days before their opening game against the Buffalo Bills, Pro Bowl safety Lawyer Milloy, one of the Patriots' defensive leaders, was unexpectedly cut by the team after refusing to restructure his contract.

[33] With the Patriots seemingly in emotional disarray, Buffalo defeated New England, 31–0, with Milloy forcing an interception and recording one sack and five tackles.

In the backfield, the team's rushing game was led by running backs Antowain Smith and Kevin Faulk, who carried the ball equally.

New England's defense was retooled before the 2003 season when the team signed veteran safety Rodney Harrison as a free agent and traded for nose tackle Ted Washington.

Philadelphia was coming off of a 20–17 overtime win over the Green Bay Packers, that included quarterback Donovan McNabb's 28-yard pass to Freddie Mitchell on a famous play known as "4th and 26".

4 seeded New England Patriots in the AFC Championship that year, ensuring at least the second division winner to play three rounds to make it to the Super Bowl.

However, New England's defense dominated the Colts, only allowing 14 points, intercepting 4 passes from Co-league MVP Manning (3 of them by Ty Law), and forcing a safety.

Jim Nantz hosted all the events with help from his fellow cast members from The NFL Today: Dan Marino, Deion Sanders, and Boomer Esiason.

[44] Westwood One carried the game nationwide over terrestrial radio with Marv Albert on play-by-play and Boomer Esiason on color commentary, with Jim Gray hosting the pregame and halftime shows.

Locally, Gil Santos and Gino Cappelletti called the game for the Patriots and Bill Rosinski and Eugene Robinson served that position for the Panthers.

[50] In Mexico, the game was not carried as usual by either of the major free-to-air national television networks, making it a cable-exclusive event for the first and to date only time ever.

As the game was held in the same city as the Johnson Space Center, the lost crew of the Columbia was honored in a pregame tribute by singer Josh Groban, performing "You Raise Me Up".

[54] The coin toss ceremony featured former NFL players and Texas natives Earl Campbell, Ollie Matson, Don Maynard, Y.

The show was produced by Viacom's MTV and CBS Sports, and was sponsored by America Online's TopSpeed software for dial-up Internet service.

[58] Just before the start of the second half, a British streaker, Mark Roberts, ran onto the field disguised as a referee, undressed, and performed a dance wearing only a thong.

The Patriots subsequently marched to the 13-yard line, aided by quarterback Tom Brady's completions to wide receiver Deion Branch and Brown for 16 and 12 yards, respectively, but the Panthers' defense tightened up in the red zone.

After Brady threw two incompletions and was flagged for a false start, kicker Adam Vinatieri attempted a 31-yard field goal, but he missed it wide right.

[60] However, with 3:57 left in the period, the Patriots put together a 71-yard, 8-play scoring drive, featuring tight end Daniel Graham's 33-yard reception to advance to the Carolina 9-yard line.

After guard Kevin Donnalley committed a false start penalty on the next play, Delhomme completed a pair of passes to Smith for a total gain of 40 yards.

Carolina's two-point conversion attempt failed again when Delhomme threw the ball over wide receiver Kevin Dyson's head, but they took their first lead of the game, 22–21, with 6:53 remaining.

Once again, the Patriots were faced with third down and goal, but this time they scored with Brady's 1-yard touchdown pass to Vrabel, who had lined up in an eligible tight end position.

On a two-point conversion attempt, running back Kevin Faulk took a direct snap and ran into the end zone to make the score 29–22 in favor of New England.

[62] Carolina failed on their last chance, as wide receiver Rod Smart was tackled at his own 20-yard line by linebacker Matt Chatham, and the Patriots had won their second Super Bowl in three years.

To let it sink in, to hurt, so when we start practice in the fall, the two-a-days and there are days during the season when I'm tired and I want to go home, but I need to watch that extra film.