Super Bowl XXXVIII (2004)

The 38th renewal of the AFC-NFC World Championship Game pitted the New England Patriots against the Carolina Panthers within Reliant Stadium in Houston, TX. The Patriots were coming off the strongest season record by any team since the 1972 Dolphins, while the Carolina Panthers were two seasons removed from a 1-15 season. The event was marred by an embarassing act of exposure involving singers Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake during its halftime show and also by a professional streaker who delayed the start of the third quarter, but despite these embarassments the game itself proved to be the most exciting in the event's history. After a scoreless length of 26 minutes and 55 seconds the game saw a combined 24 points ending the first half, and after a scoreless third quarter the game erupted into an offensive free-for-all that racked up a combined eight touchdowns, a field goal, and a two-point conversion, and left the score tied at 29 with just over one minute to play and the Patriots seeking their second Superbowl triumph while the upstart Panthers were well within range of a spectacular upset.