Super Bowl
In professional
American football, the
Super Bowl is the championship game of the
National Football League (NFL) in the
United States. The game and its ancillary festivities constitute
Super Bowl Sunday (sometimes "
Super Sunday"), which over the years has almost become a
de facto U.S.
national holiday.
The first game was played on
January 15,
1967 as the
AFL-NFL World Championship Game in which the NFL championship team played against the champion of the younger, rival
American Football League (AFL) for the "World Championship of Professional Football". After both leagues merged in
1970, the Super Bowl became the NFL's championship game. Since then, the game has been played annually on a Sunday following
the playoffs, originally early to mid-January, then late January, and in 2002, the first Sunday in February.
The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched U.S.
television broadcasts of the year, attracting many companies to spend millions of dollars on
commercials. This has caused the starting time of the game to be pushed back later and later, to ensure the Sunday night
prime time audience on the East Coast. The last true day game (which ended before local sunset) of the series was
Super Bowl XI in January
1977.
In addition, many popular singers and musicians have performed during the Super Bowl's pre-game and
halftime ceremonies. This is the second-largest U.S. food consumption day, following
Thanksgiving.
Origins
The Super Bowl was created as part of the
merger agreement between the
National Football League (NFL) and its rival, the
American Football League (AFL). After its inception in 1920, the NFL fended off several rival leagues before the AFL began play in 1960. The intense competitive war for players and fans led to serious merger talks between the two leagues in 1966.
One of the conditions of the
AFL-NFL Merger was that the winners of each league's championship game would meet in a contest to determine the "world champion of football". According to
NFL Films President
Steve Sabol, then NFL Commissioner
Pete Rozelle wanted to call the game "The Big One". During the discussions to iron out the details, AFL founder and
Kansas City Chiefs owner
Lamar Hunt had jokingly referred to the proposed interleague championship as the "Super Bowl." Hunt thought of the name after seeing his daughter playing with a toy called a
Super Ball. The ball is now on display at the
Pro Football Hall of Fame in
Canton, Ohio. The name was feasible because postseason
college football games had long been known as "
bowl games" (the term originates from the
Rose Bowl Game, which was in turn named for the
bowl-shaped stadium in which it is played). Hunt only meant his suggested name to be a stopgap until a better one could be found. Not having thought of one, the owners named the contest the
AFL-NFL World Championship Game. Not surprisingly, fans and media tended to use the shorter, unofficial name. Starting with the third contest in January 1969, the name "Super Bowl" became official. (The previous two games were retroactively re-christened as Super Bowls I and II.)
After the NFL's
Green Bay Packers convincingly won the first two Super Bowls, some team owners feared for the future of the merger, since many doubted that AFL teams could compete with their NFL counterparts. That all changed with perhaps the biggest upset in American sports history, the AFL's
New York Jets defeat of the
Baltimore Colts in
Super Bowl III in Miami. One year later, the
American Football League's
Kansas City Chiefs defeated the NFL
Minnesota Vikings 23-7 and won
Super Bowl IV in New Orleans, the last World Championship game played between the champions of two leagues.
When the NFL and AFL merged into one combined league for the
1970 season, three NFL teams joined the 10 AFL teams to form the
American Football Conference (AFC), and the other 13 teams became the
National Football Conference (NFC). Since then, the Super Bowl has featured the champions of the AFC and NFC, which are determined each season by the league's
playoff tournament. As of
Super Bowl XL, former AFL teams have won 12 Super Bowls, pre-1970 NFL teams have won 26 games, and two games have been won by teams created after 1970.
The NFL commissioner at that time,
Pete Rozelle, is often considered the mastermind of both the merger and the Super Bowl. His leadership guided them into the merger agreement and cemented the preeminence of the Super Bowl. The game remains his crowning achievement and was an important factor in him being selected by
Time Magazine as one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century.
The winning team gets the
Vince Lombardi Trophy, named for the coach of the
Green Bay Packers, who won the first two Super Bowl games. Following his death in September
1970, the trophy was named the Vince Lombardi Trophy, first awarded at
Super Bowl V in Miami.
Television coverage
By any measure, the Super Bowl is one of the most watched television programs of the year. The game tends to have high
Nielsen television ratings which usually come in around a 40 rating and 60 share (
i.e., on average, 40 percent of all U.S. households, and 60 percent of all homes tuned into television during the game). This means that on average, 80 to 90 million
Americans are tuned into the Super Bowl at any given moment. It is also estimated that 130-140 million tune into some part of the game.
There is a popular
urban myth regarding the Super Bowl — that the game is watched in 234 countries by 1 billion people [
1], a fact unlikely to be true considering the time of the event, the lack of popularity American Football has outside of the United States and the fact that there are only 192
countries in the world. While
Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005 was available to a
potential audience of approximately one billion, i.e. one billion people are in the collective coverage area of the various channels that carried the game.
Given the immense popularity of the Super Bowl, it may be surprising to discover that videotapes of the telecasts of the first two Super Bowls are said not to exist. This is especially shocking for Super Bowl I, which was covered by both
NBC and
CBS. According to
Sports Illustrated, the only footage of the first telecast known to exist is a two minute clip of the first game. From the early days of television into the 1960s, copies of TV broadcasts were routinely erased, mainly because nobody thought anyone would want to watch the same show they had just seen. (See
wiping). Another reason was that videotape in those days was prohibitively expensive. (
Merv Griffin once said that a ninety-minute blank tape cost $750. ) According to Steve Sabol, both networks taped soap operas over the game tapes, which are presumably lost forever. But the NFL has put out a $1,000,000 bounty on either one of the tapes, and experts say that there is still a chance that one of the network affiliates taped the game off the live feed and saved it. According to NFL Films...these are the ultimate Lost Treasures.
The highest rated game according to Nielsen was
Super Bowl XVI in 1982 which was watched in 49.1% of households (73 share) or 40,020,000 households at the time. Super Bowl XVI is #4 on Nielsen's list of top-rated programs of all time, and 3 other Super Bowls (XII, XVII, XX) made the top 10. [
2] Although the proliferation of cable and satellite television has undercut broadcast ratings somewhat in recent years, the game is still so popular that a number of networks actually schedule original programming, such as independently produced halftime entertainment, during the game, simply to take advantage of a large audience already in front of the television.
Following
Apple Computer's
1984 commercial introducing the
Apple Macintosh computer, directed by
Ridley Scott, the broadcast of the Super Bowl became the premier showcase for
high concept or simply extravagantly expensive commercials. Famous commercial campaigns include the
Budweiser "Bud Bowl" campaign, and the 1999 and 2000
dot-com ads. Prices have increased each year, with reports citing a record $2.5 million (US) for a 30 second spot during
Super Bowl XL in 2006. Many people tune in to the Super Bowl solely to watch
the very creative commercials.In recent years, the NFL has denied the
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority the opportunity to run Super Bowl ads for the city as a tourist destination. The ban includes the game, as well as the pre-game and post-game shows. Many groups are denied the chance to run Super Bowl ads on various grounds, but Las Vegas is the only city to be denied in such a fashion; the NFL has stated that it does not want the Super Bowl to be associated with the perception of Las Vegas as a gambling mecca. If the television show
Las Vegas stays on the air when
NBC gets their next Super Bowl Broadcast (which will be
Super Bowl XLIII in 2009), they may not be allowed to promote the series during the entire block of programming. [
3]
Coverage by American television networks
Includes future games. Future games are listed in italic. | Games covered | | NBC | 17 | I, III, V, VII, IX, XI, XIII, XV, XVII, XX, XXIII, XXVII, XXVIII, XXX, XXXII, XLIII, XLVI |
| CBS | 17 | I, II, IV, VI, VIII, X, XII, XIV, XVI, XVIII, XXI, XXIV, XXVI, XXXV, XXXVIII, XLI, XLIV |
| ABC | 7 | XIX, XXII, XXV, XXIX, XXXIV, XXXVII, XL |
| FOX | 6 | XXXI, XXXIII, XXXVI, XXXIX, XLII, XLV |
The television network showing the game changes from year to year. In the United States it is currently shared among three of the four major television networks:
ABC,
CBS, and
FOX.
Super Bowl XXXVIII was shown on CBS,
Super Bowl XXXIX was shown on FOX, and
Super Bowl XL was shown on ABC, which will be the final NFL game broadcast on that network for the foreseeable future.
With the new television contracts beginning in 2006,
NBC, which last telecast
Super Bowl XXXII in 1998, will take ABC's place in the network rotation starting with
Super Bowl XLIII in 2009.
Entertainment
Earlier Super Bowls/NFL Championships featured halftime show consisting of marching bands from local colleges or high schools. But as the popularity of the game increased, so did the potential of exposure. This has led to trend where a number of popular singers and musicians have performed during its pregame ceremonies, the
halftime show, or even just singing the national anthem of the United States, "
The Star-Spangled Banner".
Super Bowl XL in 2006 featured
Stevie Wonder,
Joss Stone, and
John Legend during the pregame ceremonies;
Aaron Neville,
Aretha Franklin, and
Dr. John performed the national anthem; and
The Rolling Stones played during the halftime show.
During halftime show of
Super Bowl XXXVIII in
2004,
Justin Timberlake removed a piece of
Janet Jackson's top, exposing her right breast with a star-shaped ring around the nipple. Some think that this was intentional for publicity, possibly so that Janet could detract attention from her brother
Michael Jackson, who was facing child molestation charges. Timberlake and Jackson have maintained that the incident was accidental, calling it a "
wardrobe malfunction." To make matters worse, the game was airing on
CBS, and
MTV (at the time, CBS's corporate
sister company within
Viacom), produced the halftime show. The NFL, embarrassed from the incident, permanently banned MTV from doing another halftime show in any capacity. This also led to the
FCC tightening controls on
indecency and fining CBS $225,000 for the incident, as well as fining each of CBS's then twenty owned and operated stations. The following year,
Paul McCartney gave an uncontroversial halftime performance for
Super Bowl XXXIX.
Venue
The location of the Super Bowl is chosen by the NFL well in advance, usually 3 to 5 years before the game. Cities compete to host the game in a selection bidding process similar to ones used by the
Olympic Games and soccer's
World Cup.
Over half of the Super Bowls have been played in one of the following three cities:
New Orleans, Louisiana (9 times), the
Greater Miami Area (8 total, 5 times at
Miami's
Orange Bowl and 3 times at
Miami Gardens's
Dolphin Stadium) and the
Greater Los Angeles Area (7 total, 5 times at
Pasadena's
Rose Bowl stadium and twice at the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum). Miami Gardens has been selected to host two future games:
Super Bowl XLI in 2007 and
Super Bowl XLIV in 2010. Although
Hurricane Katrina damaged the
Louisiana Superdome and the city of New Orleans, that stadium is currently under renovation, and some city officials have stated that they would like to put in another bid sometime in the future. The last time the Los Angeles area hosted the game was
Super Bowl XXVII in 1993; the area is currently not considered a possible venue after the league's two teams vacated the city in 1995: the
Raiders moved back to
Oakland, California, and the
Rams moved to
St. Louis, Missouri.
Coincidentally, no NFL team has ever played the Super Bowl on its own home turf. However,
Super Bowl XIV (which involved the then-
Los Angeles Rams) was played at nearby Pasadena's Rose Bowl stadium; and
Super Bowl XIX (which involved the
San Francisco 49ers) was played at the nearby
Stanford Stadium on the
Stanford University campus near
Palo Alto. Neither of these stadiums has ever been a home to an NFL team.
A potential venue currently must meet these qualifications in order to be a Super Bowl host:
*Average high temperature of at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit in February. (Unless the game is being played in an indoor arena)
*Stadium with 70,000 seats or more.
*Space for 10 photo trailers and 40 television trucks.
*600,000 square feet of exhibit space for fan events.
*Large, high-end hotel for teams and NFL.
*50,000 square feet of space for news media ("Radio Row").
*Enough "quality" hotel rooms within a one-hour drive for 35% of the stadium's capacity.
*Separate practice facilities for each team.
Exceptions are at the discretion of the NFL. For instance, cruise ships made up the discrepancy in hotel rooms for
Jacksonville in
Super Bowl XXXIX and cities with cold weathers such as
Minneapolis and
Detroit have been awarded Super Bowls because the cities' stadiums had a roof.
On
March 5 2006,
Arrowhead Stadium in
Kansas City, Missouri, a 'cold weather' city, was awarded the rights to host
Super Bowl XLIX in
2015. However, the game was contingent on the successful passage of two sales taxes in
Jackson County, Missouri on
April 4 2006. The first tax would have funded improvements to Arrowhead, home of the Chiefs and the
Kansas City Wizards Major League Soccer team, and neighboring
Kauffman Stadium, home of the
Kansas City Royals Major League Baseball team. The second tax would have allowed the construction of a "rolling roof" between the two stadiums. [
4] However, the second tax failed to pass. With increased opposition by local business leaders and politicians, Kansas City eventually withdrew its request to host the game by
May 25 2006. [
5]
The designated "
home team" alternates between the NFC team in odd-numbered years (the
Philadelphia Eagles in
2005), and the AFC team in even-numbered years (the
Pittsburgh Steelers in
2006). The home team is given the choice of either wearing their colored
jerseys or their white ones; this started with
Super Bowl XIII. Prior to that, the home team always wore the dark jerseys. The
Dallas Cowboys wore their rarely used blue uniform tops in
Super Bowl V, and lost to the then-
Baltimore Colts, which has led to the widely held belief that the Cowboys do not play well in their blue shirts. While most home teams in the Super Bowl choose to wear their colored jerseys, only the Cowboys in
XIII and
XXVII, the
Washington Redskins in
XVII, and the
Pittsburgh Steelers in
Super Bowl XL have worn white as the home team.
Trivia
* The Super Bowl uses
Roman numerals to identify each game, rather than the year it was held. The
NFL season spreads over two calendar years, so identifying the games by the year of the Super Bowl could cause some confusion. For example, the
Pittsburgh Steelers, winners of
Super Bowl XL are the champions of the
2005 NFL season, even though the championship game was played in February 2006.
* In 1994, the 49ers became the first team to wear a
throwback jersey during the Super Bowl. Since it was the league's 75th season, every team wore a throwback jersey during the season and San Francisco decided to continue to wear their jerseys all the way through the playoffs and into
Super Bowl XXIX. The jerseys they wore paid tribute to the 1957 team.
* In 1999, the
St. Louis Rams were the first NFL team who plays their home games in a fully enclosed stadium, the TWA Dome (now called the
Edward Jones Dome), to win the Super Bowl. No domed-stadium team has ever done it before, or since.
* In the months leading up to
Super Bowl XXX (or Super Bowl
Thirty), some Internet
proxy servers were blocking the web site for the upcoming event. Many
proxy servers'
filters were configured to block the
text string "
XXX" whenever occurring to prevent access to
pornography. As a result, additional settings were necessary to grant exceptions for other uses of "XXX".
*
Super Bowl XXXVI was originally scheduled to be played on
January 27,
2002. But the game was moved back one week to
February 3,
2002 because of the
September 11, 2001 attacks. This was the first Super Bowl to be played in February. With the exception of
Super Bowl XXXVII on
January 26,
2003, all of the succeeding Super Bowls have been scheduled for February. Also, because of the attacks, the Super Bowl is now a
National Special Security Event (NSSE).
*
Super Bowl XXXIX was the first such game to be tied after three quarters of play.
* The
Pittsburgh Steelers were the first
AFC team to ever win a Super Bowl (
XL) that was broadcast on
ABC (The NFC is currently 6-1). Previously, the closest an AFC team had come to winning the Super Bowl on that network was when the
Buffalo Bills lost to the
New York Giants 20-19 in
Super Bowl XXV.
* The NFC won 13 Super Bowls in a row from 1985 to 1997, starting with
Super Bowl XIX. The AFC broke the streak in 1998 in
Super Bowl XXXII when
Denver beat the defending champion
Packers. Since then, AFC teams have posted a 7-2 record against NFC teams (through 2006).
* The last Super Bowl to start at 3:30 p.m.
Eastern Standard Time was
Super Bowl XI which was played in Pasadena. This is also the last Super Bowl which was played outside to not end in
dusk. Since the early 1980s Super Bowls have been starting at around 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The kickoff has been since moved back to 6:30 p.m. Eastern starting with
Super Bowl XXXVII.
* Overall, nine teams have advanced to the Super Bowl after entering the playoffs as
wild card teams (teams that entered the playoffs without winning its
division). They include the
Kansas City Chiefs in
Super Bowl IV, the
Dallas Cowboys in
Super Bowl X, the
Oakland Raiders in
Super Bowl XV, the
New England Patriots in
Super Bowl XX, the
Buffalo Bills in
Super Bowl XXVII, the
Denver Broncos in
Super Bowl XXXII, the
Tennessee Titans in
Super Bowl XXXIV, the
Baltimore Ravens in
Super Bowl XXXV, and the
Pittsburgh Steelers, the only sixth-seeded team to make it, in
Super Bowl XL. Wild card teams are 5-4 in the Super Bowl, with the Chiefs, Raiders, Broncos, Ravens, and Steelers winning their respective games.
* Super Bowl Indicator, an indicator based on the belief that a Super Bowl win for a team from the old AFL (AFC division) foretells a decline in the stock market for the coming year, and that a win for a team from the old NFL (NFC division) means the stock market will be up for the year. This indicator has been surprisingly accurate (around 85% correct) over the past years
* The infamous
"I'm Going to Disney World!" Advertising campaign did not take place at
Super Bowl XXXIX for the first time since it started at
Super Bowl XXI, although Disney did run an ad several times during the game showing several players from both teams practicing the catch-phrase.
* No Super Bowl game has ever gone into overtime play. The closest instances to overtime play were in
Super Bowl V, when the
Baltimore Colts kicked a field goal at the end of regulation play to win 16-13 over the
Dallas Cowboys, in
Super Bowl XXXIV when
St. Louis Rams linebacker
Mike Jones tackled
Tennessee Titans wide receiver
Kevin Dyson at the 1-yard line at the end of regulation, preventing a game-tying touchdown, in
Super Bowl XXXVI when
Adam Vinatieri kicked the winning field goal on the last play to lead the
New England Patriots over the
St. Louis Rams, and in
Super Bowl XXXVIII when Vinatieri kicked a field goal with 4 seconds remaining, allowing the Patriots to beat the
Carolina Panthers.
* No Super Bowl team has ever recorded a
shutout.
* No one has ever returned a punt for a touchdown in a Super Bowl.
* No one has ever returned the opening kickoff of a Super Bowl for a touchdown.
* The
Dallas Cowboys and the
Miami Dolphins are the only teams to win a Super Bowl the year after they've lost. In
1972, Dallas defeated Miami in
Super Bowl VI, 24-3 (after losing to Baltimore, 16-13, in 1971).
The following year, Miami defeated Washington 14-7 in
Super Bowl VII, capping off an undefeated 1972 season for the
Dolphins, who went 17-0, including three post-season wins.
* The Dallas Cowboys were also the first team to lose a Super Bowl after winning the previous year. In 1979, they lost to Pittsburgh after beating Denver the year before. Two other clubs have also lost the Super Bowl after winning the prevoius game (Washington defeated Miami in 1983, but lost to the
Los Angeles Raiders in
1984, and Green Bay defeated New England in 1997, but lost to Denver in 1998).
Post-Super Bowl loss jinx
Commentators and sports analysts note a tendency for teams that have made it to the Super Bowl and lost, to collapse the following season. The season after a Super Bowl loss, a team usually returns with a losing, or mediocre at best, record. This effect can be traced to the loss of momentum a team has built up, accumulating injuries, losing successful free agents between seasons, and the aging of talented players.
The most recent is the
Philadelphia Eagles, who lost
Super Bowl XXXIX to the
New England Patriots in the 2004 season (played on
February 6,
2005), who posted a 6-10 record in
the 2005 season. The most glaring example is the
Oakland Raiders. Following their 48-21 loss to the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers in
2003, the Raiders posted a 4-12 record in the
2003 NFL season (the worst post-Super Bowl record), a 5-11 record in the
2004 NFL season, and another 4-12 record in the
2005 NFL season, with the Raiders still failing to recover.
There are notable exceptions to this pattern, such as the
Buffalo Bills who went to the Super Bowl and lost four years in a row, from
XXV to
XXVIII. Another was the
Tennessee Titans. Following their close loss to the
St. Louis Rams in
Super Bowl XXXIV, the Titans were able to retain the same 13-3 record they had the year before, but they lost in the playoffs to eventual
Super Bowl XXXV winner
Baltimore Ravens.
 |
The first Super Bowl was played in 1967, as commemorated by this stamp issued in 1999 by the United States Postal Service featuring the ticket for that first game. |
Notable Super Bowl games
*
Super Bowl I: In the first matchup of the AFL and NFL champions, the NFL's
Green Bay Packers, led by coach
Vince Lombardi and
quarterback Bart Starr, defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10. The Packers outscore the Chiefs 21-0 in the second half after struggling in the first half. Only 61,946 attend the game at the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, making it the only non-sellout Super Bowl. The game is also notable as it was broadcast on both
NBC and
CBS.
*
Super Bowl III: Speaking to the press in the week before the game,
New York Jets quarterback
"Broadway" Joe Namath guarantees a victory over the
Baltimore Colts. The Jets defeat the Colts, 16-7.
*
Super Bowl VII: Coach
Don Shula and the
Miami Dolphins complete the only undefeated season in NFL history, defeating the
Washington Redskins 14-7.
*
Super Bowl XIII: The
Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the
Dallas Cowboys 35-31 in the second Super Bowl matchup between the two teams. This game decided which of these two teams would be the first NFL team to win three Super Bowls. It marks one of the Steelers' four Super Bowl titles obtained during the 1970s.
*
Super Bowl XVII: After spending the entire game trailing the
Miami Dolphins, the
Washington Redskins were faced with fourth down and one to go on Miami 42 yard line in the fourth quarter. In one of the most dramatic runs in Super Bowl history, MVP John Riggins ran for the first down, broke a tackle from Miami cornerback Don McNeal and ran 43 yards for a touchdown giving the Redskins a lead they never relinquished.
*
Super Bowl XX: After the
New England Patriots (in their first Super Bowl) take a 3-0 lead on a
field goal, the
Chicago Bears (also in their first SB) played dominant offense and defense to take the game 46-10. MVP Richard Dent led a Bears defense that limited New England to 7 rushing yards.
*
Super Bowl XXII : The
Denver Broncos scored, faster than any team in the Super Bowl, on their first offensive play. Then
John Elway was the first quarterback to catch a pass to lead the Broncos to a 10-0 lead heading into the second quarter. That's when everything stopped and Super Bowl MVP
Doug Williams and the
Washington Redskins scored more points, 35, in a quarter than has ever been scored before and since. The ambush ended with
Timmy Smith with the Super Bowl rushing record of 204 yards as the Redskins won 42-10 and Williams was and still is the only black quarterback to win the Super Bowl.
*
Super Bowl XXIII:
San Francisco 49ers quarterback
Joe Montana leads a 92 yard fourth quarter drive, as the 49ers score the game-winning touchdown with 34 seconds left and defeat the
Cincinnati Bengals 20-16.
*
Super Bowl XXV: As time expires, the
Buffalo Bills'
Scott Norwood attempts a 47-yard field goal but misses wide to the right, and the
New York Giants win 20-19. A game with no turnovers by either team and only one 5 yard penalty, it remains the only Super Bowl to be decided by a single point.
*
Super Bowl XXXII: After four superbowl losses, the
Denver Broncos win their first title, defeating the defending champion
Green Bay Packers 31-24 and becoming the first AFC Super Bowl champion in 14 years. Denver was the first team to upset a double digit point spread (11.5). Denver will also win the Super Bowl XXXIII against Atlanta.
*
Super Bowl XXXIV: In a classic game, the
Tennessee Titans, down 16-0 to the
St. Louis Rams, rallied behind
quarterback Steve McNair and
running back Eddie George to tie the game at 16-16. After the Rams score a 73 yard touchdown to lead 23-16, the Titans drive, and in a close finish,
wide receiver Kevin Dyson catches a short pass but is tackled by linebacker Mike Jones at the 1 yard line as he stretches for the end zone with no time left on the clock, and the Rams hold on to win 23-16.
*
Super Bowl XXXVI:
Placekicker Adam Vinatieri kicks a 48-yard field goal as time expires to lift the
New England Patriots to a 20-17 victory over the Rams, and the first of 3 Super Bowl wins in four years. John Madden, a TV commentator for the game, famously declared his thought that the Patriots should play for overtime before New England began their eventual game-winning drive. Two years later, Vinatieri would kick another game-winning field goal at the end of
Super Bowl XXXVIII to defeat the
Carolina Panthers.
Honorable Mentions
*
Super Bowl XXX: The
Dallas Cowboys make a record 8th Super Bowl appearance, winning 27-17 over the
Pittsburgh Steelers, and become the first NFL team to win 3 Super Bowls in a 4 year span. The victory also tied the Cowboys with the
San Francisco 49ers for the most Super Bowl victories (5) at that time (the Pittsburgh Steelers now have 5 Super Bowl victories as well). The Cowboys'
Charles Haley became the first player to win 5 Super Bowls, after winning two with San Francisco (XXIII and XXIV) and three with Dallas (XXVII, XXVIII, and XXX). Shades of Super Bowl XIII, this game decided which of these two teams would be the first to win five Super Bowls and thus be the second NFL team to do so.
*
Super Bowl XXXIX: The
New England Patriots win their third Super Bowl in four years when they defeat the
Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 in
Jacksonville, Florida. All three of New England's Super Bowl victories have been decided by three points. The Eagles had a chance to win the game on their final drive, but a New England interception ended the game.
*
Super Bowl XL: The
Pittsburgh Steelers win over the
Seattle Seahawks. This was the first Super Bowl appearance for the Seahawks. Firsts for the Steelers included: first AFC team to win five Super Bowls; first sixth seed to advance to the Super Bowl; first winners not to get a first down in the first quarter; and first AFC team to win a Super Bowl aired by the
ABC.
Ben Roethlisberger became the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl. Completing 9 of 21 passes for 123 yards with 2 interceptions, his passer rating (22.6) was the lowest of any winning quarterback. Steelers head coach,
Bill Cowher, won his first Super Bowl.
Willie Parker, running back for the Steelers, had the longest rushing touchdown of 75 yards.
Trends
Patterns have been identified pertaining to Super Bowl victories. Specifically, dominance in the Super Bowl varies from conference to conference in 13-16 year segments, suggesting that there is an underlying flow of power that shifts back and forth periodically. For instance, from Super Bowl III through Super Bowl XV, the AFC was 11-2. From Super Bowls XVI through XXXI, the NFC was 15-1 in the championship game, and from Super Bowls XXXII to XL (the most recent game) the AFC has been 7-2. Since the AFC has only been dominant for the past 9 years, according to this trend, they should have 5 to 7 more Super Bowl wins.
Super Bowl wins and losses also tend to cluster around a few head coaches. Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers won the first two.
Don Shula coached two different teams: a loss with the
Baltimore Colts and two wins and three losses with the
Miami Dolphins.
Tom Landry also coached two winners and three losers with the
Dallas Cowboys.
Chuck Noll won four in the 1970's with the
Pittsburgh Steelers.
Bill Walsh won three with the
San Francisco 49ers.
Joe Gibbs also won three Super Bowls with the
Washington Redskins. And recently,
Bill Belichick won three with the Patriots.
Don Shula,
Bill Parcells,
Dan Reeves,
Dick Vermeil, and
Mike Holmgren all took more than one team to the Super Bowl.
Bud Grant coached four Vikings losses in the 1970s,
Marv Levy coached four consecutive losses with the
Buffalo Bills in the 1990s, and
Dan Reeves coached four losses between two teams (three with the
Denver Broncos and one with the
Atlanta Falcons).
Super Bowl appearances
Teams with no Super Bowl appearances
*
NFL league champions prior to
Super Bowl I**
Arizona Cardinals - NFL champions in
1925 and
1947, both as Chicago Cardinals.
(The Cardinals' 1925 championship is controversial, see Pottsville Maroons#1925 NFL Championship controversy for details)**
Cleveland Browns - NFL championship in
1950,
1954,
1955, and
1964 (This refers to the team that the league officially views as one continuous franchise that began in 1946 but suspended operations from 1996-1998, and resumed play in 1999.)**
Detroit Lions - NFL championship in
1935,
1952,
1953, and
1957*
Houston Texans*
Jacksonville Jaguars*
New Orleans SaintsSuper Bowl winners
 |
The Super Bowl ring and ticket for Super Bowl XI. A Super Bowl ring is given to each member of the winning team to commemorate their Super Bowl victory. |
*
Super Bowl MVP*
National Football League championships*
List of Current NFL franchise post-season droughts*
List of sporting events*
Super Bowl Halftime Shows*
National Football League lore*
Carioca Bowl*
Advertising in the Super Bowl*
Grey Cup -
Canadian Football League*
Super Bowl's website* http://www.pro-football-reference.com - Large online database of NFL data and statistics
*
The NFL History Network - includes a large database of historic NFL box scores
* Chris Jones (2 Feb 2005). "NFL tightens restrictions on Super Bowl advertisements".
Las Vegas Review-Journal.
* John Branch (4 Feb 2006). "Build It and They Will Come".
New York Times.
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Super Bowl play-by-plays from
USA Today (Last accessed September 28, 2005)
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All-Time Super Bowl Odds from The Sports Network (Last accessed October 16, 2005)
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100 Greatest Super Bowl Moments by Kevin Jackson, Jeff Merron, and David Schoenfield; espn.com (Last accessed October 31, 2005)
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Super Bowl Rings A gallery of Super Bowl winners' Championship rings
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Superbowl odds Latest Odds from selection of sportsbooks
* Various Authors - "SI's 25 Lost Treasures" - Sports Illustrated, July 11, 2005 p114
* "The Super Bowl I-VII." Lost Treasures of NFL Films. ESPN2. 26 Jan. 2001.
* "MTV's Super Bowl Uncensored". MTV. 27 Jan. 2001.
* "Talk Shows." CBS: 50 Years from Television City. CBS. 27 Apr. 2002.
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Super Bowl Editorial Art and Graphics*
Using Super Bowl Ads In The Classroom
