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 American national holiday.

The game began in January 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 American 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 largest U.S. food consumption day next to Thanksgiving.

History

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". ^{[citation needed]} 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.

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. As of Super Bowl XL, former AFL teams have won 11 Super Bowls, pre-1970 NFL teams have won 23 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, and the lack of popularity American Football has outside of the United States. In actual fact, Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005 was watched by 93 million viewers in total, of which 98 percent were in North America [2]. Approximately half of the remaining 2 million worldwide viewers watched from the United Kingdom. [3]

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.^{[citation needed]} 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. Another reason was that videotape in those days was prohibitively expensive. (Merv Griffin once said that a ninety-minute blank tape cost $750. ^{[citation needed]}) According to Steve Sabol, both networks taped soap operas over the game tapes, which are presumably lost forever. ^{[citation needed]} 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. ^{[citation needed]} According to NFL Films...these are the ultimate Lost Treasures. ^{[citation needed]}

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. [4] 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. [5]

Coverage by American television networks

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

Because of the large number of viewers that the Super Bowl generates, 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.

In 2004, it was during halftime at Super Bowl XXXVIII that Janet Jackson had her now-infamous wardrobe malfunction after Justin Timberlake ripped off a piece of her top, exposing her right breast with a star-like ring surrounding the nipple. Many conspiracy theorists think that this was done intentionally to get everyone's attention, possibly so that Janet could get the attention away from her brother Michael Jackson, who was facing child molestation charges at the time. Timberlake and Jackson have maintained that the incident was unintentional, hence the term "wardrobe malfunction". It also didn't help matters that the game was airing on CBS, and their then-corporate sister company within Viacom, MTV, 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 cracking down 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, the NFL chose Paul McCartney to perform at halftime of Super Bowl XXXIX. True to the hopes of the NFL and the networks, McCartney turned in an enjoyable but uncontroversial performance.

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), Miami, Florida (8 times) 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 has been selected to host two future games: Super Bowl XLI in 2007 and Super Bowl XLIV in 2010. After Hurricane Katrina damaged the Louisiana Superdome and the city, the game might never return to New Orleans. 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 in 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: ^{[citation needed]}

• Average high temperature of at least 50 degrees in February
• Stadium with greater than 70,000 seats
• 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
• 250 buses for NFL use
• Three golf courses for the NFL's annual charity golf tournament

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 cold-weather cities such as Minneapolis and Detroit have been awarded Super Bowls because the stadium had a roof.

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 New England Patriots, winners of Super Bowl XXXIX are the champions of the 2004 NFL season, even though the championship game was played in February 2005.
• 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 2000, the St. Louis Rams were the first NFL team who plays their home games in a fully enclosed stadium, the Edward Jones Dome, to win the Super Bowl.
• 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 XXXVI was also the first Super Bowl to be decided by a score on the last play of the game. The winning play was a 48-yard field goal kicked by Adam Vinatieri of the New England Patriots to lift them to a 20-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams.
• 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.
• 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.

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.

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.

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, and as of the end of the 2005 NFL season, have not recovered.

Game history

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 the 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 XXI: New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms completes 22 of 25 passing attempts, including all 10 of his attempts in the second half as New York defeats Denver 39-20. Simms is the games MVP with a Super Bowl completion record of 88.0%.
• Super Bowl XXII: Washington Redskins after trailing 10-0 MVP quarterback Doug Williams, the first African-American quarterback to start a Superbowl, throws for 4 touchdowns in one quarter which leads to a 42 unanswered points and a rout of Denver.
• 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 XXIV: The San Francisco 49ers defeat the Denver Broncos 55-10, the largest margin of victory in Super Bowl history. The 55 points are the most scored by any team in a Super Bowl. As a result of this game, Joe Montana, San Francisco's quarterback became the first player to ever win three Superbowl MVPs.
• 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 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). The Cowboys' Charles Haley became the first player to win 5 Super Bowls, after winning two with San Francisco (XXIII and XXIV) and two with Dallas (XXVII and XXVIII). 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 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 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. Two years later, Vinatieri would kick another game-winning field goal at the end of Super Bowl XXXVIII to defeat the Carolina Panthers.
• 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.

Trends

Super Bowl wins and losses 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
  • 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 Saints

Super Bowl winners