Britney Spears, Aerosmith, & NSYNC Super Bowl Halftime Show

WHAT HAPPENED AT SUPER BOWL 2001?

During an NFL owners meeting on October 31, 1996, Super Bowl XXXV was awarded to the Raymond James Stadium, Tampa. Other cities had been taken into consideration during the bidding process including Atlanta, Miami, and Los Angeles. The owners’ original intention had been to select only two hosts from the three for Super Bowls XXXIII and XXXIV. However, the strength of the bids led to the committee naming the next three Super Bowl hosts:

  • XXXIII: Miami, Pro Player Stadium.
  • XXXIV: Atlanta, Georgia Dome
  • XXXV: Tampa, Raymond James Stadium

Super Bowl XXXV was played between the AFC’s Baltimore Ravens and NFL’s New York Giants on January 28, 2001, at the Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, to decide which team would be crowned champions of the 2000 football season.

The Ravens emerged victorious with a 32-7 win over the Giants.

Notable for:

  • Super Bowl XXXV was the last time the players of both teams were introduced individually before the game. The year after, the New England Patriots opted to be introduced as a team as opposed to individually. From Super Bowl XXXVII onwards, players were no longer introduced individually.

Baltimore completed commanded Super Bowl XXXV, allowing New York to gain only 152 yards of offense. Every single one of the Giant’s 16 possessions were intercepted or ended in a punt with the exception of one, which was discounted as time had expired. New York scored just one time in the game, with a 97-yard kickoff return touchdown. However, Baltimore were quick to respond, scoring an 84-yard return touchdown on the following kickoff.

Ray Lewis was named MVP for his exceptional defensive play. He produced two assists, three solo tackles, and four blocked passes.

Final Score: Baltimore Ravens (AFC) – 34 Vs. New York Giants (NFC) 7
Date: January 28, 2001
Stadium: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
MVP: Ray Lewis, Linebacker
Favorite: Ravens by 3
Referee: Gerald Austin
Attendance: 71,921

Pregame: “Life’s Super in Central Florida” featuring Sting, Styx, and PYT
Anthem: Backstreet Boys; Ray Charles sang “America The Beautiful” (American Sign Language performance by Tom Cooney). This was the first time a boy band had sung the national anthem at the Super Bowl.
Coin Toss: Marcus Allen, Ottis Anderson, Tom Flores, and Bill Parcells
Half time: Aerosmith, N’SYNC, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, and Nelly.
Halftime theme: The Kings of Rock and Pop
Halftime set:

  • Pre-recorded intro sketch with Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Aerosmith, and ‘N Sync
  • “Bye Bye Bye” (‘N Sync)
  • “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” (Aerosmith)
  • “It’s Gonna Be Me (‘N Sync)
  • “Jaded” (Aerosmith)
  • “Walk This Way” (Aerosmith, ‘N Sync, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Nelly)

2001 saw the launch of Maxim’s first ever Super Bowl party, and it didn’t disappoint. The lavish event attracted a swarm of celebrities including Jermaine Dupri, Ludacris, Nelly, Tara Reid, N Sync, LL Cool J, 98 Degrees, Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, Joe Montana and Snoop Dogg. From that year onward, Playboy and Maxim went head to head each year in a bid to host the biggest and boldest Super Bowl bash.