"What more could you want?" asked Sports Illustrated on its web site the day after Super Bowl XXXVIII.  "It had it all, making it the best Super Bowl of all time.

"It was full of everything that makes the game dramatic, draining, enervating, maddening, fantastic and exciting."

Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Texas excelled in many ways:

THE GAME:  Wild!  A Super Bowl record for scoreless play at the beginning of a game was set in the first 26:55 of the game, when the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots thereupon scored four times with 3:05 left in the half.  And the fourth quarter!  There were two lead changes and a tie in the period.  There was the longest completion ever in a Super Bowl (85 yards from the Panthers' JAKE DELHOMME to MUHSIN MUHAMMAD, left).  The teams combined for 37 points in the quarter -- a record for the period -- and 649 net passing yards for the game, another Super Bowl record.  "It was such a back-and-forth game," said Patriots head coach BILL BELICHICK.  "It was terrific to watch, but not to coach."

Finally, four seconds from the first overtime in Super Bowl history, kicker ADAM VINATIERI with a 41-yard field goal (below) won his second Super Bowl for the Patriots (32-29) in the past three years.  "It was incredible," said Vinatieri.  The kick -- and the game.   

THE VIEWERS:  For the second year in a row, the Super Bowl set a record for the most-viewed program in television history. 

An astronomical 144.4 million Americans watched the game on CBS-TV, topping last season's Super Bowl XXXVII between Oakland and Tampa Bay (138.9 million) as the most-watched TV show ever.  The 10 most-viewed programs in history are Super Bowls.

"It's amazing," says ANDREW DONCHIN of the Carat USA media-buying firm.  "In the fragmented, splintered world we live in viewership-wise, this game still holds up.  And I don't think anything can affect it.

THE DOT-COMERS:  A record number of MVP voters and unique users logged on to Super Bowl.com on gameday.

Patriots quarterback TOM BRADY, 26 (left), became the youngest player to win a second Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award with the help of fan votes on the web site.  Starting in the fourth quarter, fans cast a record 440,000 votes for MVP, an increase of 66 percent from last year (265,000).

A record two-million unique users clicked on to Super Bowl.com, up from 1.8 million last year.    

THE HOST CITY:  "Y'all come back now!"  That was the farewell chant from the citizens of Houston, which stands to benefit from a $300 million economic impact thanks to Super Bowl XXXVIII.

An editorial in the Houston Chronicle the Tuesday after the game said it all.

"Super Bowl XXXVIII is a great thing to have happened to Houston," wrote the Chronicle.  "Over the years, we've made a strong commitment to develop the infrastructure of a dynamic, competitive city -- including convention facilities, sports venues, expanded airports, improved streets and mass transit.  And the Super Bowl is a tangible sign that the investment is paying off. 

"Besides all that, Super Bowl Week was a darn good party.  Whether one had a coveted ticket to a major Super Bowl party or just reveled in the buzz of the downtown crowds and celebrity-spotting, a good time was had by all.