Game's patriotic theme shows off red, white, blue

NEW ORLEANS -- Bobby Brady stood at attention outside the Superdome on Sunday, his hand raised to the brim of his New England Patriots baseball cap in a snappy salute for the soldiers standing on the street corner.

"He loves football players, but now he says he wants to be a soldier," said the 5-year-old's mother, Carolyn Brady. "Isn't this great? He gets the best of both worlds today."

The Bradys, not related to Pats quarterback Tom Brady, were decked out in red, white and blue team outfits that reflected the patriotic theme of the Super Bowl.

Along with the bunting, banners and even the security fences outside the Superdome, the NFL's big game was awash in the flag's d colors. And the fans were very much in tune with the trend.

"What's the saying -- Mom, apple pie and football?" said John Yarbrough of St. Louis. "This is the only country in the world that could go through what we went through and still have something like the Super Bowl."

Even the Mardi Gras beads that draped most fans had the color theme. Pat Wiggins of Danvers, Mass., went one better: His beads contained footballs that flashed on and off.

Inside the stadium, every level was hung with red, white and blue bunting. The Super Bowl logo featured the colors on a map of the United States.

Almost overtime

There had never been an overtime in the previous 35 Super Bowls, but after the Rams rallied for a 14-point comeback in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 17-17 with less than two minutes to go, it looked like the first one was coming.

The Patriots, despite having no timeouts, had other ideas. They drove into field goal range from their own 17-yard line and Adam Vinatieri drilled a 48-yarder. It concluded a dream season for Vinatieri, who kicked game-tying and game-winning field goals in New England's improbable playoff victory two weeks ago over Oakland for the AFC championship.

Ticket takers

The man was very unhappy to be holding a stack of Super Bowl tickets six hours before kickoff.

"This stinks, definitely the worst Super Bowl I've ever had," he said. "I'm taking a beating this week. Bad."

The man, who would give only his first name, John, said he sells tickets at all big sporting events and normally makes a killing on Super Bowl, but this year tickets have not been in demand.

"Normally, we'd be talking several thousand a ticket," John said. "Yesterday I was down to $1,000. Now I'm trying to clear a few hundred a ticket."

Farther down the street, Tony Miller of Miami was selling tickets at $400, face value.