(CBS/AP) As the United States gets ready for Super Bowl XLII, some fans have paid thousands of dollars to buy tickets for the game.

Father and son Patriots fans Ryan and Chris Grant paid $4,000 to buy tickets to watch their beloved New England team take on the New York Giants in Glendale, Arizona, on Sunday.

Asked whose idea it was to see the game, Ryan said: "Actually it was my wife, his mother's idea."

Meanwhile, Bill Wrinkle, a New York Giants fan, said his friends thought he was "crazy" for buying such expensive tickets.

"They think I'm crazy but then again some of them are Jets fans and they'd do the same thing if they were in the same situation," he said.

Officials said the Patriots-Giants match-up had a lot to do with the price tag for the tickets.

"When you have teams like the Patriots and the Giants in there, you're going to have a perfect storm of factors that are going to make for a very high ticket price," said Sean Pate, a spokesman for StubHub, a site where fans can buy tickets.

If the Patriots beat the Giants, it would mean more than winning a fourth Super Bowl in seven years.

The New England players would be the first team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins to go undefeated in a championship season.

This prospect has turned this Super Bowl into even more of a must-see or must-attend event.

The final is expected to draw the most U.S. television viewers in the 42-year history of the National Football League's championship game.

In addition, it will be televised in 223 countries and territories in 30 languages.

Imitation Not Always Sincerest Form Of Flattery

Scottsdale, Ariz., police say they've have arrested nine people on suspicion of selling forged Super Bowl tickets for thousands of dollars.

Authorities say the investigation began after a Massachusetts couple unwittingly bought forged tickets for $2,500 from a man on a Scottsdale street yesterday and later notified the police.

That man and an accomplice were arrested, leading investigators to a nearby motel, where they found dozens of forged Super Bowl tickets and marijuana. They arrested seven more suspects, one of whom was trying to eat five forged tickets when police found him.

Police say they could face charges including false reporting, forgery, fraud schemes and marijuana possession. All were released pending the completion of the investigation and formal charges.

For Tailgaters, It's "Location, Location, Location"

Countless fans who wanted to enjoy the super Sunday atmosphere in Arizona, even though they didn't have tickets, partied at a tailgate and street parties far from the University of Phoenix Stadium in suburban Glendale.

The parking lot at the state fairgrounds was the site of choice for die-hard tailgaters who wanted to enjoy a traditional outdoor party - it didn't matter that they were 15 miles from the stadium.

The tailgaters gathered there to watch the game on a 16-foot by 18-foot inflatable screen included people from Oakland, Chicago, Dallas, Wisconsin and, of course, New York and New England.

"It's the experience of everything," said Steve Muck of Shawano, Wis. "Tailgating brings everyone together. As you can see there are people from every different team. We're all getting along. It's a nice way to meet people, just have to do it."

Muck, who didn't have tickets to the game, said he was drawn to the party at the state fairgrounds because of a cook-off being held there Saturday. He served wild duck and wild turkey on Saturday but said his specialty is raccoon.

Nearby, Bart Beaudry, a bank executive from Dallas who regularly tailgates at Cowboys games, mixed up a batch of margarita mix for his frozen margarita machine.

"This is where the true fans are," Beaudry said. "Corporate America has taken over everything, and I'm not going to sit in a nosebleed seat. I would rather sit out here with true people and
watch it on TV."

© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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