Saturday, February 1, 2014

Superbowl XLVIII- wikipedia

This is the first Superbowl played in an outdoor stadium in a cold weather city. Looks like the weather will cooperate as much as possible for a NY-NJ winter...

It is also taking place in East Rutherford , NJ, about ten miles from NYC..though people are thinking of it as a NYC event.
Even though the Jets and Giants are not involved.

Funny, how much is made now about which commercial will be the best and and about the half time show...but, court decisions notwithstanding, we all know the whole affair is a part of Show Business...

Super Bowl XLVIII

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Super Bowl XLVIII
Super Bowl XLVIII logo
Seattle Seahawks
(NFC)		 Denver Broncos
(AFC)
Date February 2, 2014
Stadium MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
MVP TBA
Favorite Broncos by 2[1]
Referee Terry McAulay
Ceremonies
National anthem Renée Fleming[2]
Halftime show Bruno Mars, Red Hot Chili Peppers
TV in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Joe Buck (play-by-play)
Troy Aikman (analyst)
Pam Oliver and Erin Andrews (sideline reporters)
Cost of 30-second commercial US$4 million[3]
 < XLVII Super Bowl XLIX > 
Super Bowl XLVIII is an upcoming American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos and National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2013 season. It is scheduled to be held on February 2, 2014, at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with kickoff scheduled for 6:25pm EST (UTC−05:00).[4]
This will be the first Super Bowl to be played outdoors in a cold weather environment,[5] the first to be played outdoors on artificial turf (in this case FieldTurf) since Super Bowl X at the Miami Orange Bowl, and the first in which two U.S. states (New York and New Jersey) will share hosting duties.[6] It is also the first time since Super Bowl XLIV, and just the second time in the past twenty seasons that the number 1 seeds from each conference will meet to decide the championship.[7] The game will feature the league's top offense (Denver) vs. the top defense (Seattle),[8] and will also feature two former division rivals (Seattle played for the AFC West from 1977 to 2001). Both of these types of match-ups have not occurred since Super Bowl XXXVII.

Background

Host selection process

MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey was selected to host Super Bowl XLVIII.
Three stadiums were part of the bidding to host the game:
  1. MetLife Stadium—East Rutherford, New Jersey[9]
  2. Raymond James Stadium—Tampa, Florida[10]
  3. Sun Life Stadium—Miami Gardens, Florida[11][12]
Tampa has hosted four Super Bowls (XVIII, XXV, XXXV, XLIII). South Florida / Miami has hosted ten Super Bowls (II, III, V, X, XIII, XXIII, XXIX, XXXIII, XLI, and XLIV).
During the voting process by the league owners, the South Florida/Miami bid was eliminated in the second round of voting, but it eventually took the fourth round of voting for New Jersey's bid to beat Tampa's.[5]

Super Bowl XLVIII will be the first Super Bowl held at an open-air stadium in a "cold-weather" city; previous Super Bowls in cold-weather cities were held at indoor stadiums. The coldest outdoor Super Bowl of the first 47 games was Super Bowl VI, held at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans on January 16, 1972, with a kickoff temperature of 39 °F (4 °C).[13] However, New Orleans usually has a humid subtropical climate, with January morning lows averaging around 46 °F (8 °C) and daily highs around 63 °F (17 °C);[14] also, all New Orleans Super Bowls since XII have been played at the indoor Superdome. Since Super Bowl X in 1976, all but one outdoor Super Bowl has been played in either California or Florida, the exception being Super Bowl XXX in Tempe, Arizona. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has indicated that if Super Bowl XLVIII is successful, additional "cold-weather" Super Bowls will be considered.[5][15]
Super Bowl XLVIII will be the first NFL championship game to be held in the New York metropolitan area since December 30, 1962, when the Green Bay Packers beat the New York Giants in the original Yankee Stadium, 16–7. Since then, two other major pro football leagues have held title games in the area:
New York City was scheduled to host Super Bowl XLIV upon the completion of the proposed West Side Stadium. When the stadium proposal was rejected, Sun Life Stadium was selected to host the game instead.

MetLife Stadium will be the first Super Bowl venue which is simultaneously home to two NFL teams: the New York Giants and the New York Jets, and thus will be the first championship game to have two host teams. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (which hosted Super Bowls I and VII) was the home of the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Raiders, but not at the same time.

Winter outlook and contingency plans

The choice of holding the Super Bowl outdoors in a cold weather environment has generated some controversy. First released in August 2013, the "Winter Outlook" section in the 2014 Farmers' Almanac predicts that a winter storm will hit just about the time Super Bowl XLVIII kicks off.[16][17] This generated the attention of several media, including ESPN's Rick Reilly in a piece that aired on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown on October 21, 2013.[18] In a radio interview broadcast on WFAN, Fox studio analyst Terry Bradshaw stated that he opposes the idea of a cold Super Bowl, stating "I don't want it to be bad ... What if we get two passing teams?"[19] In a piece published on Sports Illustrated's "Monday Morning Quarterback" site, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman also opposes holding the game at MetLife Stadium, stating that "it's the league's responsibility to show its audience the best possible product, and this can't happen in the snow".[20] The decision to play the game in New Jersey is made even more controversial by the fact that the NFL informed the Miami Dolphins that Sun Life Stadium would never host another Super Bowl until they put a roof over the stadium for fear of rain.[21]
The NFL announced on December 18, 2013, that in the event of a forecast of heavy snow, the game would be rescheduled for the Saturday before, or for the Monday or Tuesday after.[22]

Nicknames

Super Bowl XLVIII has earned a few nicknames, with the "Weed Bowl",[23] "Bong Bowl",[24] and "Marijuana Bowl"[25] being among the most prominent, from users of social networking websites and various news outlets[24] as the home states of the Seahawks and Broncos (Washington and Colorado, respectively) were the first two states to legalize cannabis for recreational use, more commonly known as Marijuana, during the fall 2012 elections.[26] Many cannabis users rooted for this match-up, after Colorado started regulating cannabis sales less than three weeks before the conference championship games.[25]

Teams

Seattle Seahawks

Main article: 2013 Seattle Seahawks season
Seattle finished the season 13–3, winning the NFC West division and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The team scored 417 points during the season, while giving up just 231.[27]
The offense was led by second year quarterback Russell Wilson, a third round draft pick who had immediately picked up the starting role, leading the team to a playoff win in his rookie season. He finished his second completing 63.1 percent of his passes for 3,357 yards and 26 touchdowns, with only 9 interceptions, while also rushing for 539 yards and another score. His 101.2 passer rating ranked him 7th in the NFL, and made him the first quarterback in history with a triple digit passer rate in his first two seasons. His top target was Pro Bowl receiver Golden Tate, who caught 64 passes for 898 yards and 5 touchdowns. Tate was also a major asset on special teams, returning 51 punts for 585 yards (2nd in the NFL). Other key targets included Doug Baldwin (50 receptions, 775 yards, 5 touchdowns) and tight end Zach Miller (33 receptions, 387 yards, 5 touchdowns). Pro Bowl running back Marshawn Lynch was the team's leading rusher with 1,257 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was also a reliable receiver, hauling in 36 passes for 316 yards and two more scores. The Seahawks' offensive line was led by Pro Bowl center Max Unger. Kicker Steven Hauschka ranked 4th in the NFL in scoring (143 points) and second in field goal percentage (94.3%, 33/35).

Seattle had the NFL's top defense, leading the NFL in fewest yards allowed per game (273.6), fewest points allowed (231), and most takeaways (39). Seattle's defensive line featured defensive ends Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett, both of whom recorded 8 sacks. Avril also forced 5 fumbles, while Bennett recovered three, returning them for 39 yards and a touchdown. Defensive tackle Clinton McDonald also made a big impact with 5.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries, and an interception. Linebacker Bobby Wagner led the team in combined tackles (120), while also racking up 5 sacks and two interceptions. But the best aspect of the defense was their secondary—collectively known as the Legion of Boom—which sent three of their four starters to the Pro Bowl: cornerback Richard Sherman, who led the NFL in interceptions (8, with 125 return yards), along with free safety Earl Thomas (5 interceptions, 105 tackles, 2 forced fumbles) and strong safety Kam Chancellor (99 tackles, 3 interceptions, 78 return yards).

Denver Broncos

Main article: 2013 Denver Broncos season
Denver finished the season 13–3 for the second straight year, winning the AFC West division and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Broncos had the best offense in the NFL, leading the league in points scored (606, the highest total in NFL history) and yards gained (7,313).[28] The offense was so explosive that they scored points on their opening possession at least eight straight games leading into the playoffs and a ninth time against the San Diego Chargers during the Divisional Playoffs game. During the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots, they broke that streak, only to score on the opening possession of the second half.[29]

In command of the offense was 16-year veteran quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning had enjoyed a stellar career with the Indianapolis Colts for his first 13 years in the NFL, making 11 Pro Bowls, winning four NFL MVP awards, and a championship ring in Super Bowl XLI. However, it all came to an end in 2011, when Manning, who had never missed a game in his career, had to miss the entire season due to neck surgery. Without Manning, the Colts finished the season with an NFL-worst 2-14 record, and with uncertainty about Manning's future looming, they decided to release him and use their number 1 draft pick to select quarterback Andrew Luck.

Manning signed with Denver for the 2012 season and quickly put any doubts about his future to rest, leading the team to a 13-3 record. However, the year ended in disappointment, with the team losing in the divisional round of the playoffs. Now in his second year as the team's starter, Manning posted one of the best seasons of any quarterback in NFL history, leading the league in completions, attempts, yards, and touchdown passes. His 5,477 passing yards and 55 touchdown completions both set new NFL records. His 450 completions were the second highest total in NFL history, and his 115.1 passer rating ranked second in the league. Denver's leading pass-catcher was Pro Bowl receiver Demaryius Thomas, who caught 92 passes for 1,430 yards and 14 touchdowns. But Manning had plenty of other reliable options, including Eric Decker (97 receptions, 1,288 yards, 11 touchdowns), Wes Welker (73 receptions, 778 yards, 10 touchdowns), and Pro Bowl tight end Julius Thomas (65 receptions, 788 yards, 12 touchdowns). Overall, they made Denver the first team in NFL history ever to have four players with at least 10 touchdown receptions in a season. Running back Knowshon Moreno was the team's leading rusher with 1,038 yards and 10 touchdowns, while also catching 60 passes for 548 yards and another 3 scores. Rookie running back Montee Ball was also a big contributor with 554 rushing yards, 4 touchdowns, and 20 receptions. The team's offensive line featured Pro Bowl guard Louis Vasquez. On special teams, Pro Bowl kicker Matt Prater ranked second in the NFL in scoring (150 points) and first in field goal percentage (96.2%, 25/26). His only miss of the year was from 52 yards, and he set a new NFL record for the longest field goal ever made (64 yards), breaking a record that had stood for 44 years.

Defensive end Shaun Phillips anchored the Broncos' line with 10 sacks, while linebacker Danny Trevathan racked up 129 combined tackles, three forced fumbles, and three interceptions. Linebacker Malik Jackson was also a key component of the defense with 42 tackles and 6 sacks, helping compensate for the loss of Von Miller, who had 5 sacks in 9 games before suffering a season-ending injury. Cornerbacks Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Chris Harris led the secondary with 3 interceptions each.

Playoffs

Main article: 2013–14 NFL playoffs

Pregame notes

As the Broncos are the designated home team in the annual rotation between AFC and NFC teams, they elected to wear their orange jerseys with white pants while the Seahawks will wear their white jerseys with blue pants.[30][31]

Team facilities

The Hyatt Regency in Jersey City, New Jersey served as the home for the Broncos during their stay. The team took up 150 of the 351 rooms until the night of January 29 before taking up the entire hotel. The team will host the press conferences during the week on a cruise ship docked at the pier of the hotel. Meanwhile, the Seahawks took up 120 to 150 of 429-room Westin Hotel, also in Jersey City. The team retrofitted some rooms into training and massage rooms and occupied the pool. The City of Jersey City renamed its main boulevard, Columbus Drive, to Super Bowl Drive to welcome the teams.[32][33]
Additionally, the Broncos utilized the New York Jets Headquarters, Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, in Florham Park, New Jersey, while the Seahawks utilized the New York Giants Headquarters, Quest Diagnostics Training Center near the MetLife Stadium.

Super Bowl week

Since New York and New Jersey are co-hosting the Super Bowl, pre-game events will take place in both states. The official kickoff of the Super Bowl week was on January 27 with a concert at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey followed by the Macy's fireworks. The "Super Bowl Kickoff Spectacular" will be the first major kickoff event of the Super Bowl in NFL history.[34] Media Day took place on January 28 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.[35]
Meanwhile, in Manhattan, Broadway from 34th to 47th streets, will be transformed into Super Bowl Boulevard from January 29 to February 1, allowing the public to participate in various NFL-related activities.[36] The boulevard is to contain activities such as autographs, a 60 feet (18 m)-high toboggan run, and photographs with the Vince Lombardi Trophy.[37][38][39] As the area is expected to see around 400,000 people, security is being increased in the area.[40]
In the week leading up to the game, there are various events throughout, some of which are NFL-sponsored. Highlights of the week as presented by the Host Committee are:[41][42]

Broadcasting

Television

Super Bowl XLVIII is scheduled to be aired by Fox in the United States.[50][51][52] Episodes of New Girl[53] and Brooklyn Nine-Nine are scheduled to be the lead-out programs.[54] Fox will stream its coverage of the game online on PCs and tablets through its new Fox Sports Go service (which will be available without a television subscription during the game). Due to contractual restrictions imposed by the NFL's exclusive deals with Microsoft and Verizon Wireless, Fox will be unable to offer any additional camera angles or streaming on smartphones for the game.[55]
For Spanish-language viewers in the United States, Fox's sister cable network Fox Deportes will carry the game with commentary and graphics in that language, the first time an American Spanish-language network will carry the game. As with all NFL games, the Spanish play-by-play be carried via Fox's SAP channel.[56]

Advertising

Fox has set the sales rate for a 30-second advertisement at US$4 million, matching the price set by CBS for Super Bowl XLVII. Fox began selling advertising for the game in May 2013[3] and announced it had sold out on December 4.[57]

International broadcasters

Country/Territory Rights holder(s)
Arab World OSN Sports
 Australia One HD
 Austria Puls 4[58]
 Belgium Telenet
 Brazil ESPN Brasil, Esporte Interativo
 Bulgaria ESPN America, Fox International
 Canada CTV will simulcast Fox's coverage
 Czech Republic,  Hungary,  Moldova,  Romania,  Slovakia Sport 1
 Denmark TV3+
 Finland Nelonen Pro 1 with Finnish commentary and Nelonen Pro 2 with English commentary.[59]
 France W9,[60] BeIN Sport[61]
 Germany SAT.1
 Greece Fox (Greece)[62]
 Hong Kong Now TV
 Iceland Stöð 2 Sport
 Ireland and  UK Channel 4,[63] Sky Sports[64] and Absolute Radio[65]
 Italy Fox Sports 2 HD, Italia 2
 Japan NHK BS-1
Latin America ESPN, FOX Sports
 Mexico Televisa, FOX Sports, TV Azteca, ESPN
 Netherlands Fox Sports (Netherlands)
 New Zealand Sky Television, Sommet Sports
 Norway Viasat 4,[66] Viasat Sport[67]
 Philippines TV5, AksyonTV
 Portugal Sport TV
 Quebec RDS
 Russia NTV+
 Sweden TV10[68]
  Switzerland RTS Deux

Radio

National coverage

The game will be nationally broadcast as part of the NFL on Westwood One Sports package with Kevin Harlan as play-by-play announcer, Boomer Esiason as color analyst, and James Lofton and Mark Malone as sideline reporters.[69]

Local market coverage

The flagship stations of each station in the markets of each team will carry their local play-by-play calls. In Seattle, KIRO-FM (97.3) and KIRO (710 AM) will carry the "Seahawks Bing Radio Network" call with Steve Raible on play-by-play and Warren Moon with color commentary, while in Denver, the Broncos play-by-play from the "Denver Broncos Radio Network" will air on KOA (850 AM) and KRFX (103.5) with the play-by-play of Dave Logan and the color commentary of Ed McCaffrey. The Spanish-language partner of the Broncos, KJMN (92.1)/KMXA (1090) will carry the game in that language for the Denver market. Sirius XM Radio will carry the Westwood One and local team feeds over satellite radio, along with the call in eight other languages. Outside of those stations, all the other stations in the Seahawks and Broncos radio networks will carry the Westwood One call per NFL rules.[70] KOA and KIRO are both clear-channel stations, which will allow listeners throughout most of the western United States to hear whatever portion of the contest continues past sunset local time.

Entertainment

Pregame

The pre-game show will start with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Marching Band and Syracuse University Marching Band.[71] Queen Latifah, joined by the New Jersey Youth Chorus, will sing America the Beautiful.[72][73] The the National Anthem will then be sung by Renée Fleming,[74] the first opera singer ever to do so at a Super Bowl.[75] A V-shaped formation of three Black Hawks, three Apache attack helicopters and three Chinook heavy-lifters will do military flyover timed with last note of the song.[76]

Halftime show

On September 8, 2013, the league announced that Bruno Mars will perform at halftime.[77] On January 10, 2014, it was announced that Red Hot Chili Peppers would be joining Mars as halftime show performers.[78][79]
As the first Super Bowl held at an open stadium in a city with cold weather, planners initially indicated there would not be a halftime show at all due to the weather.[80] One such logistical problem that could arise is trying to assemble and disassemble the halftime show stage during a cold blizzard.[81] But the league still plans to hold an in-stadium Super Bowl halftime show.[82] According to Mike Florio of Profootballtalk.com, the NFL still wants to avoid a repeat of what happened during Super Bowl XXVI in January 1992 when Fox counter-programmed a special live episode of In Living Color.[83] Fox had not yet become a television partner with the NFL and saw an opportunity to pull young audiences away from a halftime show that lacked big-name performers.[84] As a result of Fox's ratings success, the league tapped Michael Jackson to perform during the following season's Super Bowl XXVII, and since then the league has continued to book big-name talent to hold the television audience.[83][84]

Mass Transit Super Bowl

Main article: Mass Transit Super Bowl
Organizers dubbed Super Bowl XLVIII the "Mass Transit Super Bowl", emphasizing and encouraging game attendees and other visitors to use public transportation to get to the game and other festivities throughout the region. The host committee in conjunction with other metropolitan transit agencies, such New Jersey Transit, the lead agency, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Metropolitan Transportation Authority developed special services, fares, schedules and maps to promote the use of metro area's trains, subways, light-rail, and buses during Super Bowl Week.[85][86][87]

Security and safety

The Super Bowl is considered a level one national security event.[88] To that end, the New Jersey State Police and the NFL host committee installed a 2.5 mile chain-link perimeter fence around the Meadowlands Sports Complex, which is located at the intersection of number of highways. Security planners have stated that access to the area will be strictly limited and regulated. To that end parking spaces have been greatly reduced, tailgate parties restricted, and walking to the venue is strictly prohibited.[89][49][90] Taxis and limousines will not be permitted to drop off passengers.[91] Passengers for trains to the stadium are limited in what they carry and will be screened before boarding.[92]

The area will be patrolled on land, by air, and by water since it is surrounded by wetlands. More than 3,000 security guards and 700 police officers will be on duty on game day.[93] In addition, SWAT teams and snipers will be located throughout the stadium.[94] There will be a no-fly zone and fighter jets will patrol the region.[95] The security effort will be overseen by a joint operations center a few miles away from MetLife Stadium, which will be staffed by hundreds of people from 35 different agencies ranging from the CIA to the New Jersey Transit Police.[96][97]

In February 2013, controversy arose with mayors of five local municipalities saying they would not provide emergency services, stating they have been poorly compensated for past stadium events.[98][99] One of the mayors, William J. Roseman of Carlstadt, New Jersey, stated: "The teams don’t care about budget caps and what the impacts are on the taxpayers of Carlstadt. I had to cut back my police department budget by a total of a million dollars over the last several years. While we are forced to lay off police officers, the owners of the Jets and Giants are filling their pockets at taxpayers’ expense."[100]

Officials

The game's officials will be:[101]




 
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