<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> <Ul> <Li> ← XXXVII </Li> <Li> Super Bowl </Li> <Li> XXXIX → </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> ← XXXVII </Li> <Li> Super Bowl </Li> <Li> XXXIX → </Li> </Ul> <P> Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 2003 season . The Patriots defeated the Panthers by the score of 32 - 29 . The game was played at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 1, 2004 . At the time, this was the most watched Super Bowl ever with 144.4 million viewers . </P> <P> The Panthers were making their first ever Super Bowl appearance after posting an 11--5 regular season record . They also made it the second straight year that a team from the NFC South division made the Super Bowl, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning Super Bowl XXXVII . The Patriots were seeking their second Super Bowl title in three years after posting a 14--2 record . </P>

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