The New Orleans Saints' 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV was watched by an average of more than 106 million people, surpassing the 1983 finale of "M-A-S-H" to become the most-watched program in U.S. television history, according to the the Nielsen Co. 

College teams generally play 11 or 12 games during the fall. The best college teams are awarded trips to bowl games, which match outstanding teams in specially arranged contests. The tradition began in 1902 at Pasadena, California when Stanford University invited the University of Michigan to come to California for a New Year’s Day contest. This event soon became the celebrated Rose Bowl game. In addition to the Rose Bowl, notable bowl games include the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas; the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, Arizona; the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana. Major corporations now sponsor many of the bowls.