Super Bowl Syntax The sound bites, catch phrases and clichés of Super Bowl XLII Prepared by: Upstream Analysis/MME Research Powered by: Critical Mention February 4, 2008

Upstream Analysis Top 10 Super Bowl sound bites The same 25 sound bites sailed over the airwaves 588 times in the days leading up to the Super Bowl and on Super Bowl Sunday itself. The top 10 most pervasive sound bites: 1.“very tough words to back up” – Randy Moss, regarding Plaxico Burress’ guarantee of victory 2.“as long as I’ve got the ring at the end of the day” – Randy Moss 3.“swallowed a healthy dose of the Bill Belichick Kool-Aid” – ESPNews, regarding Randy Moss 4.“the pressure intensifies and the expectations heighten” – ESPN SportsCenter, regarding Eli Manning 5.“I’m still loving what I do” – Randy Moss 6.“I've never seen nobody criticized more as a professional athlete than him” – Antonio Pierce, regarding Eli Manning 7.“nothing has gotten in my way from going out there and making it happen” – Randy Moss 8.“Randy and I are a package deal” – Sal Paolantonio of ESPN, quoting Tom Brady 9.“he doesn't care about numbers come Sunday” – ESPNews regarding Randy Moss 10.“he will make a huge impact” – Steve Young, regarding Randy Moss

Upstream Analysis Categories of sound bites he doesn't care about numbers come Sunday, just the outcome we'll see when the clock runs to zero on Sunday the final word will be said on the field one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history he will make a huge impact the most scrutinized ankle in the United States always eccentric and undeniably electric he can hold it together when other people would crack and crumble I'm still loving what I do nothing has gotten in my way from going out there and making it happen hopefully we can work something out very tough words to back up the pressure intensifies and the expectations heighten you have to earn your leadership on the team swallowed a healthy dose of the Bill Belichick Kool-Aid first and foremost it is the play-action passing game

Upstream Analysis Bootgate and spygate timeline One of the biggest stories leading up to Super Bowl Sunday was speculation about Tom Brady’s ankle, dubbed “bootgate,” after paparazzi spotted the star player wearing a protective boot on his right foot. “Spygate” supplanted bootgate during Super Bowl weekend when Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) called for an investigation into the destruction of evidence in the scandal regarding Patriots’ videotaping an opposing team’s signals. This timeline shows the ebb and flow of bootgate and spygate in broadcast media.

Upstream Analysis patriots game The words that mattered for Super Bowl XLII ankle Selected transcripts of key topics and phrases were used to generate this visualization, which represents the relative frequency for each term. The bigger the word, the more often it was used in Super Bowl commentary. Players’ names such as Brady and Manning were omitted. big blue boot championshipcheating coach commissioner congress destroyed emotional evidence fans favored/favorites foot football giants history hopes investigation mentality new england new york nfl pats players postseason pressure scandal senator signals spygate sunday super bowl undefeated underdog upset

Upstream Analysis Popularity of players and coaches in Super Bowl XLII coverage

Upstream Analysis Key statistics From the largest local TV markets, national programming and cable news networks from Jan. 27 through Feb. 3, there were… 240 mentions including both “Brady” and “Gisele” 1,157 mentions of “spygate” 2,108 mentions related to Tom Brady's foot 8,820 mentions of the New York Giants vs. 8,768 mentions of the New England Patriots 56,854 mentions of the Super Bowl