KEY POINTS:
American football chat rooms are seeking a name for the New York Giants' play which won them the Super Bowl in Arizona and thus denied the New England Patriots a historical mark. So here is a suggestion - the Hail Tyree.
The play will be etched in the
memories of those who watched the 42nd Super Bowl.
Facing defeat, Giants quarterback Eli Manning looked set to be sacked by the Patriots with a minute to go.
Yet a player not known for agility escaped the Patriots' hold of his jersey then hurled a 30-metre pass to David Tyree, who leapt at full stretch with a defender on his back and controlled the ball - somehow - between his hand and his helmet.
This stunning moment inspired the Giants to an upset which denied the Patriots a 19-0 season. Which leaves the 1972 Miami Dolphins holding the undefeated season record of 17-0.
From the seat of Manning's pants to the fingertips of Tyree, this was a classic Hail Mary, the name given to high flying American football passes delivered with stamps of hope and desperation rather than calm and calculation.
What a wonderful Super Bowl, despite or maybe even because of the hype and money.
It has been a fascinating NFL season, partly because the experiment of playing games in London is working beyond the NFL's wildest dreams and also because the trailblazing Patriots were so unpopular. Their coach Bill Belichick has been criticised for ungracious behaviour in Super Bowl defeat.
Like all American sport, their football is draped in statistics. A favourite this season revealed that the Green Bay Packers' legendary quarterback Brett Favre had a winning record of 45-3 when the matchday temperature was 1.1C and below. Now that's detail, and important considering the Wisconsin weather.
As for a heart-warming Super Bowl story, there is none better than that of 90-year-old Johnny Johnson, a Giants strapper/physio for 60 years (and 908 games) who announced before the Super Bowl he would be retiring.#He is, as you would expect, the only club survivor from a championship win in 1956, before the days of glitz.
"We went out, played the game, came home and had dinner. That was it," Johnson has said about beating Chicago in the final half a century ago.