10 must-see TV items you might have missed from Sunday’s Super Bowl

Eli Manning and the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17 on Sunday to win Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis.

It went as you might expect, and many considered the game exciting from start to finish (not always guaranteed). The result – New York’s second Super Bowl win over the Pats in four years – nearly broke Twitter. Doritos, Kia and Audi followed through with the best advertising, and Madonna’s halftime show offered no hint of controversy. Or did it?

Here are 10 must-see TV moments you probably didn’t see on TV:

10. Talk continued ad nauseam about injured New England tight end Rob Gronkowski. The rookie receiver set a record this season for touchdown catches, but hurt his ankle in the semifinal. Maybe the Patriots should have replaced him.

“Gordy Gronkowski has five sons … three play in the NFL (one is at Kansas State right now on his way) the chances of that? 1 in 31 million,” Richard Boadu of The Washington Post tweeted.

9. Mark Herzlich won the Super Bowl in his rookie year with the New York Giants. Just two seasons ago at Boston College, the linebacker underwent chemotherapy to treat Ewing’s sarcoma, a form of bone cancer.

He told USA Today: “I had three or four doctors tell me they would not do the radiation because the cancer would spread and I would die, but in order to be the person I wanted to be, I had to do things like run around and play football. And that's the choice I made."

8. Losing the Super Bowl could be the worst fate for a pro football player. So much, you might want to just fly off to some faraway island and hide.

That’s exactly what the Aruba Tourism Authority is thinking, and they offered the losing team an all-expense trip there, presumably to compete with all those Disneyland photo ops.

“We want to acknowledge and celebrate the hard work, dedication and season-long success of the team, despite their loss," the ATA’s Ronella Tjin Asjoe said. "We believe there is no better place to recover after a loss than Aruba. After all, we are known as 'One Happy Island.’"

Brady and Co. should know “New England players who accept the offer can have their tired feet in the warm Aruban sand as early as Monday afternoon.” Just what they wanted, no doubt.

7. You can bet on almost anything Super Bowl related, including who scores first and how many points they get off that score.

It was a 60-1 longshot if you said a two-point safety – almost the rarest of rare scores in the NFL, the Miami Herald said. The only other time it happened was Super Bowl IX when Pittsburgh beat Minnesota 16-6 in 1975.

6. NBC is no stranger to cross-promotion, as proven by the many commercials for “Smash” during the game.

The network is also accustomed to cheap shots from its staff, and "Saturday Night Live" Weekend Update anchor Seth Myers delivered the best one-liner.

“If I were NBC I would pick up the Pats/Giants for full season,” he tweeted, reminding the beleagured network of its place in the ratings.

More from GlobalPost: Best 2012 Super Bowl ads already airing

5. Twitter was the go-to medium on Sunday.

According to the micro-blogging site, “the highest Tweets per second #SuperBowl peak came at the end of the game: 12,233. 2nd highest was during Madonna's performance: 10,245.”

4. After Brady’s second touchdown pass of the game, he tapped the “MHK” patch on his uniform twice. The person behind those initials was Myra Hiatt Kraft, the wife of Pats’ owner Bob Kraft. She died before the season after losing a battle with cancer.

“They saved me," Kraft said before the game, the Wall Street Journal reported. "I never understood what the word heartbroken meant. … This horrible cancer came and it's wrecked my life. Having this team has been a savior for me."

3. Clever, fantastic and funny advertising draws viewers from all demographics regardless of what they think of the actual game. But who has $3.5 million to spend on a 30-second spot?

Undaunted, ad execs build campaigns around Super Bowl Sunday regardless of actually having a TV presence, the Washington Post said.

Ashleymadison.com – the “notorious extramarital affair service” – released a poll that suggested 54 per cent of women would take a few snaps with Manning over Brady. In the same direction, NuVo condoms circulated a campaign that offered Brady extra protection against the Giants pass rush.

2. Still more about betting: Bleacherreport.com estimated fans would wager $10 billion on the game.

Among the more frivolous bets?

• The coin toss: heads or tails?
• The national anthem: over or under two minutes?
• A $10 bet Madonna kisses another woman during halftime gets you $50.
• Was Madonna blonde, brunette or redheaded? A $1 bet gets you $2.50 if you’re right (it was blonde).
• Green, yellow, orange, red, blue or clear Gatorade shower for the winning coach? Blue offered the longest odds, but it was a push. There was no evidence of Gatorade after the game.

1. Some music aficionados (snobs) cringed when M.I.A. – an artist brimming with street cred – appeared on stage with Madonna, Cee Lo Green, Nicki Minaj and L.M.F.A.O. for the Cleopatra-inspired halftime show, the USA Today said.

Turns out, M.I.A. didn’t disappoint her loyal fans, who instantly began circulating photos of her flipping the bird to a TV camera. NBC was too slow on the draw to cut away, and a blurred screen appeared instead.

"The obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing, and we apologize to our fans," NBC's Brian McCarthy said, according to the Associated Press.

There's rumours she also swore, saying something like "I don't give a (expletive)."

How about that? It was 53-year-old Madonna who acted her age.

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