Super Bowl XXXVIII: New England Patriots Champions

The Super Bowl champion New England Patriots opened the 2003 season with an embarrassing 31-0 loss to Buffalo; they finished by playing Buffalo again, only this time it was the Pats that put up 31 points while the Bills had the goose egg. Led by able quarterback Tom Brady, the Patriots posted a commendable 17-2 record (including a few squeakers and two wins in overtime), and ultimately went on to beat the Carolina Panthers in the big game at Houston by a score of 32-29--their second Super Bowl victory in three years. Super Bowl XXXVIII: New England Patriots Champions serves up the annual NFL team “road to Super Bowl” overview, revisiting regular season and post-season highlights, with occasional interview bites from Brady and other Pat team members. Although many will primarily remember Super Bowl XXXVIII for Janet Jackson's infamous boob flash (none of the halftime highlights or lowlights are included here), the game itself was notable: the first 27 scoreless minutes were perhaps the most boring and uneventful ever seen in a Super Bowl, while the final explosive 33 minutes ensured that Super Bowl XXXVIII would go down as one of the best--if not the best--Super Bowls ever. Leading off the DVD extras is the 70-minute complete play-by-play Super Bowl broadcast (minus the huddles, the streaker, Nipplegate, Mike Ditka's personal comments on his “erection quality,” or the Budweiser farting horse). In addition, the disc includes a 21-minute post-game analysis, and three featurettes on pre- and post-game interviews, as well as broadcasting the game around the world. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (R. Pitman)