February 4, 2007 would be the rainiest super bowl on record as the unrelenting southern Florida rain poured throughout most of the game. Super Bowl XLI would not only be remembered for the torrential downpours as much as it would for the history the game made in featuring the first Black coach to ever win a super bowl. The Indianapolis Colts Tony Dungy had the honor of becoming NFL's first black coach to win a super bowl. Super Bowl XLI was played almost forty years after the first Super Bowl in 1967. The two teams facing off in Super Bowl XLI (Indianapolis Colts versus Chicago Bears) each had one win under their belt and both wanted desperately for their second. This would be a great match since both teams had a near equal regular season and both were trying for their second trophy. Nevertheless, the excitement was short-lived when the rain and several mistakes mad e by both teams proved to be a disappointment to many fans. One ESPN reporter called Super Bowl XLI 'the Worst Super Bowl' in history. A major disappointment according to many fans and sports writers was the fact that Peyton Manning was awarded the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player (MVP). Although many others felt he deserved it for his outstanding 10-year career, he did not live up to his record in Super Bowl XLI. In total, Manning completed 65.8 percent of his passes, but his quarterback rating of 81.8 was the worst of any Super Bowl MVP. He had one touchdown pass and one interception. Another disappointment to the fans was the announcement by the NFL that tailgating would not be permitted. This was the first super bowl where the NFL stepped in to ban a time-honored tradition of partying outside the stadium during a super bowl. At first, a spokesman for Dolphin Stadium announced tailgating would be allowed, Shortly thereafter, the NFL owners released a statement banning tailgating and prohibiting fans without a ticket within a 2-block radius of Dolphin Stadium. In another attempt to disappoint fans, the NFL banned churches from holding super bowl parties during super bowl XLI. An Indianapolis church was targeted by the NFL and their legal counsel after they advertised a party on their website, and used the Super Bowl logo. The NFL only permits one TV and it has to be less than 55". The NFL letter prompted many news media and churches across the USA to threaten a boycott. The bad publicity from newspapers and media had a negative impact on the NFL and soon prompted the NFL to reverse their decision.
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