2002 Super Bowl XXXVI

About New Orleans, LA: Citizens of New Orleans, who were used to having a party in their city, prepared for the biggest event of them all, Super Bowl 36. The game would be held at the Louisiana Superdome, the site of many other amazing football games. The city worked hard during the months leading up to the game to make sure everything was ready for the thousands of visitors and celebrities that would be there for the game. They would play host to the New England Patriots and rookie quarterback Tom Brady playing the St .Louis Rams with superstar running back Marshall Faulk in Super Bowl XXXVI.

Ticket Sales / Attendance: There were 72922 people in attendance at this game and it is estimated that 86.8 million more fans watched from home while tuning into FOX who were covering the big game this year.

Team Pre-Season Stats: The New England Patriots came into the season under the guidance of Drew Bledsoe as their quarterback. After being sacked 100 times in the previous two years he needed some protection and mobility to make it through the season. It was also Bill Belichick's second full season as head coach and he wanted to prove that he deserved the position.

After coming back from a year where they failed to defend their Super Bowl title the Rams also felt they had something to prove. Their defence had ranked last in the previous season and was something they wanted to improve on this season. Marshall Faulk returned as their featured back and wanted to lead with Pro Bowl numbers.

Team Roster / Salaries: St. Louis had three players getting paid over $5 million per year, Aeneas Williams, Damione Lewis and Marshall Faulk as part of a total team payroll of $82, 344,655. This ranked 3rd highest in the league entering the season. New England, however, were not in the higher ranks of spenders at $65,793,825 managing their cap very well. Drew Bledsoe, Richard Seymour, and Ty Law lead the team in salaries all above $5 million and would hopefully lead them to the 36th Super Bowl.

Game Highlights: St. Louis opened the scoring with a 50-yard field goal from Jeff Wilkins at 11:50 in the first quarter. New England responded in the 2nd quarter when Ty Law picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown. New England scored another touchdown to take a 14-3 lead entering the half.

In the 3rd quarter Adam Vinatieri added a field goal to take a 2-touchdown lead and what looked to be a comfortable lead. However, St. Louis responded as Kurt Warner ran for and passed a touch down to Ricky Proehl at 13:30 in the 4th quarter. The 36th game of the Superbowl came down to the very end as Adam Vinatieri kicked the winning field goal as time expired and New England won their first Super Bowl.

Game MVP: The MVP of the 36th Super Bowl was New England quarterback Tom Brady. After the AFC championship game he was even sure if he would start as he sprained his left ankle, but not only did he start, he helped lead his team to victory. With less than two minutes left in a tie game, Brady marched his team down field to put them in a position to kick a game winning field goal and win the championship.

Half Time Show: The halftime show for this year's Superbowl game was sponsored by Clear Channel entertainment and featured superstar rock group U2 and a tribute to 9-11 by Sir Paul McCartney singing his song Freedom.

Commercials: This year the average cost of a 30 second commercial advertisement spot was around $2 million and featured many movie preview commercials. Featured movies included All About The Benjamins, The Scorpion King, Collateral Damage, and Harts War.

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