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As part of a longstanding tradition, the MVP of Super Bowl XLVII, Joe Flacco, quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, was given a new car directly after the game and trophy celebrations. For 2013, that car is a 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, and it was presented to Flacco by Rick Flick of Banner Chevrolet, a dealership in New Orleans that was wiped out by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 before returning to prominence as the only Chevy dealer in Orleans Parish.

Last year, Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning took home a 2012 Corvette GS Centennial Edition. Manning also won in 2008, when he selected a Cadillac Escalade Hybrid as his reward. In 2011, quarterback Aaron Rodgers accepted the keys to a Camaro convertible.

Though we're most definitely an auto-obsessed group, we did watch the Big Game along with nearly everyone else in America. And we've gotta say, as if winning the Super Bowl and receiving the Tiffany-designed Pete Rozelle Trophy wasn't enough for the multi-millionaire MVP athletes, a brand-new C7 seems like an awfully generous prize.

GM's PRESS RELEASE:
Super Bowl XLVII MVP Takes Home Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
Presented by local Chevrolet dealer who rebounded after Hurricane Katrina
2013-02-04

NEW ORLEANS – The honor of awarding the Super Bowl XLVII MVP Award was given to Rick Flick of New Orleans' Banner Chevrolet, who knows a thing or two about comebacks. Banner Chevrolet, a part of Flick's family for 40 years, was wiped out by Hurricane Katrina and was the first business to reopen in New Orleans East after the devastating 2005 storm. On behalf of Chevrolet, the official sponsor of the Super Bowl XLVII MVP Award, Flick presented quarterback Joe Flacco with a 2014 Corvette Stingray on Monday in recognition of his effort in leading the Baltimore Ravens' to a 34-31 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night.

"Banner Chevrolet and the entire city of New Orleans have been through so much since the storm, we felt this was a small gesture to bring the comeback story full circle," said Alan Batey, GM vice president of U.S. Sales, Service and Marketing. "With the Super Bowl in his backyard, we couldn't think of a better guy to have the honor of awarding the MVP with his Corvette Stingray."

Banner Chevrolet was of the largest losses ever recorded for a dealership in the United States and recently completed a massive multimillion-dollar renovation with state-of-the-art technology. Banner is the only Chevrolet dealer in Orleans Parrish.

"We lost our entire inventory of 650 new Chevrolets and 120 pre-owned vehicles during Katrina," Flick said. "I'm happy we are still a vital part of this community today and I can be here to represent the people of Chevrolet and its dealerships as we celebrate the Super Bowl MVP."

The Super Bowl MVP receives the Pete Rozelle Trophy, a silver trophy made by Tiffany & Co., and the Corvette Stingray.

The 2014 Corvette Stingray is the most powerful standard model ever, with an estimated 450 horsepower (335 kW) and 450 lb.-ft. of torque (610 Nm). It is also the most capable standard model ever, able to accelerate from 0-60 in less than four seconds and achieve more than 1g in cornering grip. It is expected to be the most fuel-efficient Corvette, exceeding the EPA-estimated 26 mpg of the current model.

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2014 Chevy Corvette cut from Beyoncé’s Super Bowl halftime show:

With 108 million people tuning in, Sunday's Super Bowl XLVII ranks as the third most-watched program ever on U.S. television — thanks in no small part to the halftime show featuring Beyoncé leading a troop of dancers, a mini-reunion of Destiny's Child and even a spark-spewing guitar. But there was one co-star that was cut from the performance after rehearsals: the new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. And no one's saying why. (UPDATED)

Automakers dominated the Super Bowl airtime with advertising, but General Motors claimed the title of vehicle sponsor for the game itself and decided not to buy any commercial airtime as its major competitors did. In the run-up to the game, rumors around Detroit suggested the Vette would make an appearance at the halftime show, but there was no mention of the car — or of any GM product — during the game itself. Only today did Chevrolet announce it was giving one of the first 2014 Corvette Stingrays to Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco.

The absence of the hottest car Chevrolet has launched in a decade from the biggest stage in the world wasn't planned.

The evidence for the missing Corvette comes from a style blogger named Lauren Craig, who won a trip to New Orleans to be part of the on-the-field crowd during Beyoncé's halftime show. Craig kept a diary of the experience for MTV.com, and arrived early last week to take part in the rehearsals at the Superdome for the show. Last Thursday, Craig described how Beyoncé planned to arrive onstage:

We finally gathered in the dome, where we got to see how the stage was set up and tried to guess who would be popping out of the red Corvette we saw at the back of the stage.

Finally, we were led onto the field and placed in the positions we had rehearsed on Sunday...Then finally, it was her! She arrived on the stage fresh faced and gorgeous, signature honey blond hair swept to the side, a black long sleeve tee and a pair of Phillip Lim harem pants. Suddenly, the Corvette turned into a transformer before our eyes and we realized Beyoncé herself was going to be coming out of it.

After the performance, Craig congratulated Beyoncé, saying: "We weren't even sure what to expect, as she had axed the red Corvette from the show, but she definitely made the right decisions."

But at some point after her comments were posted, MTV scrubbed the references to the dropped Corvette and many of the other backstage details from Craig's article. Her earlier comments survived in the cached version caught by Yahoo! search.

Chevrolet spokesman Monte Doran declined to say why the Corvette was dropped or confirm its role. "The only part of the Super Bowl we played a part in was the most valuable player," he said. "Beyond that, we can't talk about any other things we worked on."

The halftime show was a production of the National Football League itself, which also declined to comment. Whether the decision to cut the Corvette Stingray from the show was GM's or Beyoncé's or even the NFL's, it represents an epic missed opportunity for the automaker. Next time, maybe Chevy will put a ring on it.

UPDATE: In response to this story, GM released an official statement confirming that it had planned to make the Stingray part of the show:

"The public's response to the new Corvette Stingray has been extraordinary, so we were glad to help when we were approached by the producers of the Super Bowl half time show about the possibility of integrating a car into the show production. We worked with all the parties involved on a variety of possibilities, including one scenario that would have included the new Corvette Stingray as part of the show. In the end it did not work out, but we were honored to be asked to be involved, and pleased the Corvette was the vehicle of choice."

Ugggggh

I wonder how much GM paid for a NON appearance. I wonder if 4 mil for a 30 second commercial might not have been more of a bargain.

Worst halftime show EVER!!! "B" was gawd awful! If it wouldn't have been for the other two from DC, the show would have been worse. I blocked the Madonna/Nikki show completely from my memory, so this may have been the second worst in the history of the sport.