This masterpiece didn't need to end.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Byline: Tom Sorensen

HOUSTON _ Moments after the winning field goal, pink confetti sprayed out of nine cannons.

Four carts drove out of the tunnel at one end of the field. A box emblazoned with the Super Bowl XXXVIII logo and three portable stages drove out of the other. A red Cadillac convertible roadster soon joined them.

The New England Patriots hugged, danced and picked their young children into the air. Music played and fans screamed and a security force larger than the armies of some mid-sized countries ensured that the uninvited would not get in.

Carolina didn't try. After one of the best performances in team history, after turning what was supposed to be a lackluster Super Bowl into a glittering classic, the Panthers walked off the field.

There were no interviews, no consolation prizes and no acknowledgment of their good work. They walked out of Reliant Stadium and the Super Bowl as if they were walking off their practice field.

"It's hard right now," Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme would say a few minutes later. "It's tough."