Regardless if you’re a child or an elder, the Super Bowl is one event watched no matter the age. It’s a clash of titans, the best of the best. All the year’s hard work comes to a head only to eventually explode in glorious victory.

With that being covered, it’s no wonder the big game was named as the most watched television program is history. Now, only adding compliment to courtesy, it has been named the most streamed online program in history with well over 2.1 million viewers. The NFL said that NBC’s streaming of the game was a “tremendous success in its first year”, according to a report in The New York Times

This is the first year NBC has streamed the Super Bowl live over the web, although they do regularly stream other games during the regular season.

SVP, Business Development and Managing Director of Digital Media, NBC Sports Group, Kevin Monaghan said this about the stream:

“The Super Bowl XLVI live stream exceeded our expectations in every way. Increasingly, sports fans are looking to digital coverage as a complementary ‘second screen’ experience, and we delivered on that promise with unprecedented robust coverage. The record traffic that grew throughout the event, as well as the record high engagement numbers, underscores the complementary aspect of digital as an enhancement to our exceptional television coverage.”

Hans Schroeder, NFL Senior Vice President of Media Strategy and Development commented on NBC’s streaming of the game:

“It was exciting to work with NBC Sports to offer fans the Super Bowl in more ways than ever before. The Super Bowl live stream was a tremendous success in its first year. We will continue to look for more ways to reach our fans.”

NBC says 2,105,441 active and unique users streamed Sunday’s game, while 4,589,593 live video streams were open. Combined, users spent 78,624,422 minutes streaming the game with an average of greater than 39 minutes spent actively engaged in viewing the game online.

Although the Patriots pushed for a final effort to win, they couldn’t muster up a final touchdown. The final score was 21-17.

Twitter has exploded as you might expect. Let’s check in!

That’s right, folks. The Super Bowl will be broadcast live online for the first time ever this year. NBC Sports has been kind enough to give us a real treat this year by offering two options on top of the traditional TV viewing model that we all know and love.

First and foremost, the game is being broadcast on NBCSports.com. If you go there now, you’ll be able to catch the pre-game show that started at 10 a.m. and will continue until 4 p.m. The game is also coming to you courtesy of the NFL mobile app that will allow you to watch it from any Verizon smartphone.

The kick-off is at 6:30 p.m. EST so be sure to be in front of your TV before then. If not, the Internet has you covered. The livestream of the game online has a few distinct features that avid football fans are going to want to check out. While the televised version will feature multiple camera angles, the online version will feature four unique camera angles that fans can pick and choose for the best experience. It brings DVR-lite functionality to the game as well allowing fans to rewind and pause the game to watch the sure to be stupendous plays again. Finally, the livestream will allow fans to share their favorite moments via Facebook and Twitter.

For the betting types out there, we got you covered as well. The Wynn sports book in Las Vegas became the first book to post the Super Bowl line of Patriots -2 on Saturday afternoon. Most sports books have New England favored by -2.5 to -3 points. Keep yourself updated as those odds are likely to keep changing until the game starts.

We got more Super Bowl coverage coming your way today, so stay tuned.

The app also includes data about Lucas Oil Stadium itself, including restroom and vending locations, as well as a seating chart to help you get to where you need to go once you get in.

For those not at the game – or for those who are and want to see what viewers at home are seeing – the app also gives you the option of watching a live stream of the game.

The app is free in both the iOS App Store and the Android App Market. The iOS version is a universal app, compatible with both the iPad and the iPhone/iPod Touch. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments.

Ah, the power of cute animals, corn on the cob and pairing these two with a popular sports event. It’s clearly undeniable. For those of you wondering which team Teddy picked, see for yourself:

As you can see from Teddy’s video, he has no such qualms about his pick. He slams the jar with the New England Patriots helmet to the side, in favor of the jar with the New York Giants helmet on it. From there, Teddy did what most animals are wont to do when presented with food — he devoured the corn — almost confirming his commitment to his Giants pick.

Teddy, as indicated, is already a viral hit. Thanks to his Super Bowl pick, Teddy no seems like he’s on cusp of Internet superstardom. His Twitter account is up to date with all of his appearances:

There’s nothing wrong with a little self-promotion, and with that in mind, we’ll help out Teddy’s viral cause by showing his appearance on NBC’s Today Show, courtesy of Hulu:

In fact, judging by the total weight of food consumed on Super Bowl Sunday, we eat enough food to end world hunger. According to the NFL’s infographic, almost 200 million pounds of food will be consumed throughout the various Super Bowl parties around the globe. The breakdown goes like this:

100 million pounds of chicken wings
53.5 million pounds of avocado
28 million pounds of potato chips
8 million pounds of popcorn

For those of you who will be consuming large amounts of the golden nectar that is beer, the NFL didn’t forget about you, either. According to their findings, 325.5 million gallons of the stuff will be imbibed as folks drink the pain away of losing yet another Super Bowl prop bet.

The graphic, in full:

That’s a lot of avocados, folks.

Other tidbits of interest: There will be around 61 million people in the United States attending Super Bowl parties, and of this bunch, 40 percent of the attendees do not consider themselves football fans, demonstrating, once again, just how popular the Super Bowl commercials are.

Does the NFL’s infographic feel accurate in relation to your yearly Super Bowl activities? Are you really planning on eating that much guacamole? Let us know what you think.

Fake jersey, hats, t-shirts and other NFL associated apparel were among items seized, according to one source. Teams comprised of the HSI, CBP and USPIS along with the Indianapolis Metro Police and Indiana State Police.

Special agents operated in teams with the NFL and Indiana law enforcement, probing the the nation to identify shipments sent into the U.S. as well as black market vendors selling fake goods. With only 3 days left before game day, the authorities have seized 42,692 items, all faux game related items. Along with other items gathered, the sum of the worth of the fakes goods adds up to a staggering 4.8 million dollars.

During OFS, an additional 22,570 items of counterfeit merch and clothing representing other sports leagues were discovered including MLB, NBA, and NHL related apparel. With the discovery of those goods, the counterfeit item tally rose to 65,262 boasting a net worth of 6.4 million dollars.

ICE Director John Morton stated:

“While most people are focusing on whether the Patriots or Giants will win on Sunday, we at ICE have our sights on a different type of victory: defeating the international counterfeiting rings that illegally profit off of this event, the NFL, its players and sports fans. In sports, players must abide by rules of the game, and in life, individuals must follow the laws of the land. Our message is simple: abiding by intellectual property rights laws is not optional; it’s the law.”

NFL Vice President for Legal Affairs Anastasia Danias was quoted saying:

“The NFL is committed to protecting fans and local businesses from being victimized by counterfeiters who are looking to profit illegally off of the public’s enthusiasm for the NFL. We are grateful for Homeland Security Investigations’ tireless efforts in combating intellectual property theft and are pleased to be working along with them and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department on this important issue.”

In addition to the insane number of merchandise seized, the HSI and other special agents seized 307 websites. 16 of which illegally streamed live sporting events over the internet including NFL games. 291 of the sites were illegally selling and shipping counterfeit merchandise.

As the Super Bowl approaches, OFS will continue through the weekend monitoring events and venues around the Super Bowl as well as the nation. The operation is projected to to find several thousand more counterfeit items in its continuing efforts.

That last detail is causing a bit of controversy, it seems. In addition to heavily restricting what people can bring into the stadium with them, security personnel have also installed full-body scanners at entrances to the stadium. Matt Touchette, a reporter for WPRI in Indianapolis, wrote a brief blog post about his experience of some of the preparations being made in the city and the stadium for Sunday’s big game. Tucked away in that post is the fact that getting into the stadium required going “through intense security which included full body scanners.”

These scanners have created considerable controversy over their use at airports. In addition to constitutional and privacy concerns, there have also been a concerns about the health risks posed by the devices. The scanners use backscatter x-ray technology to look through the clothes of people they scan. While potentially useful for discovering certain kinds of contraband material, x-rays are ionizing (i.e., cancer-causing) radiation. Unlike x-ray machines in medical facilities, though, those used by the TSA are not under the supervision of the FDA.

What do you think? Would full body scanners keep you from going to the Super Bowl if you had tickets? Sound off in the comments.

The survey revealed that 8% of customers want to buy a new television before the Super Bowl. Surprisingly, of those who bought a new TV last year for the game, over half of them plan on buying an even newer television for this year.

It seems a bigger and better picture quality trumps the actual live game; why chance sitting in the nose bleed section when you can almost be on the field with a high-def TV set? 25% of those surveyed said the size of their TV depended on how pleasurable their viewing experiences would be. According to consumers, high resolution is the most important factor when purchasing a new TV; sound quality even came in second to picture quality. According to Jeff Haynes:

“Bigger is better. The reason people are spending more is they are upgrading the size of their television. Consumers have moved from wanting televisions around 42 inches to now buying 46 inches to 55 inches, the TV has become the center piece of the American family room and the difference in just a few more inches is noticeable.”

As online shopping gains momentum, in-store television buying is on the decline. The survey say 67% of people planning to buy a tv before the big game, plan on purchasing theirs online rather than the old fashioned store.

AT&T has already upped their service in anticipation of the 150,000 Super Bowl attendees that will swarm Indianapolis this Sunday. Now, Verizon has released a statement announcing that its making improvements to their 4G LTE network as well as making wi-fi available for all wireless users.

The statement notes that this will be the first Super Bowl where 4G LTE technology is available for users of smartphones and tablets, which the wireless companies expect fans to use with near-compulsive rates while watching the game. Verizon, who is the official wireless provider of the NFL, has also enhanced its network at more than 30 venues in Indianpolis so that customers will hopefully not encounter any connectivity issues while trying to multitask with social media before, during, and after the game.

The nice thing about the wi-fi enhancement is that it’s going to be available to everyone – not just Verizon customers (Wink, wink, AT&T subscribers and remember who took care of you at the Super Bowl). I imagine there will be so much wireless activity arising from Indianapolis this weekend that you’ll probably be able to see the city glowing from space.

All of this effort by wireless companies to ensure that there is as little drag as possible with connecting people and/or websites produces in me a question of obsolescence: remember when people went to sporting events and… I dunno, just watched the game? How boring, y’know?