Super Bowl

The winning Super Bowl team receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

In professional American football, the Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). It and its ancillary festivities constitute Super Bowl Sunday, which over the years has become the most-watched U.S. television broadcast of the year, and has become likened to a de facto U.S. national holiday.^[1] In addition, many popular singers and musicians have performed during the Super Bowl's pre-game and halftime ceremonies. This is also the second-largest U.S. food consumption day, following Thanksgiving.^[2]

The Super Bowl was first played on January 15 1967 as part of an agreement between the NFL and its younger rival, the American Football League (AFL) in which each league's championship team would play each other in an "AFL-NFL World Championship Game". After the leagues merged in 1970, the Super Bowl became the NFL's championship game, played between the champions of the league's two conferences: the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC).

The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather than the year it was held since the NFL season extends beyond New Year's Eve. For example, the Indianapolis Colts, winners of Super Bowl XLI are the champions of the 2006 season, even though the championship game was played in February 2007.

[edit] Origins

The Super Bowl was created as part of the merger agreement between the National Football League (NFL) and its competitive 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, culminating in a merger announcement on June 8, 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".^[3] 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 kids playing with a toy called a Super Ball.^[4] The ball is now on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The name was consistent with postseason college football games which had long been known as "bowl games". The "bowl" term originated 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. Nevertheless, the name "Super Bowl" became permanent.

After the NFL's Green Bay Packers convincingly won the first two Super Bowls, some team owners feared for the future of the merger. At the time, many doubted the competitiveness of AFL teams compared with NFL counterparts. That perception all changed with one of the biggest upsets in sports history, the AFL's New York Jets defeat of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in Miami. One year later, the AFL'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 the two leagues. These first four Super Bowls were actually AFL-NFL World Championships at the time. After the merger, they were redesignated as Super Bowls I through IV.

The game is played annually on a Sunday as the final game of the NFL Playoffs. Originally the game took place in early to mid-January following a 14-game regular season and playoffs. The game now takes place in late January or even the first Sunday in February, due to the current 17-week (16 games and one bye week) regular season and three rounds of playoffs.

Former NFL commissioner 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 winning team gets the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named for the coach of the Green Bay Packers, who won the first two Super Bowl games and 3 of the 5 preceding NFL championships (1961-62, 1965). Following his death in September 1970, the trophy was then named the Vince Lombardi Trophy, first awarded as such to the Baltimore Colts at Super Bowl V in Miami.

[edit] Game history

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[edit] Trends and statistics

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The following trends occur regarding Super Bowl games:

• Teams scoring first are currently 26-15 (.634); 14-7 (.667) with a touchdown, 11-8 (.579) with a field goal and 1-0 with a safety.
• Teams scoring 30 or more points are currently 21-1 (.955). (Only such team to lose: Dallas in XIII.) Teams scoring fewer than 20 points are currently 4-31 (.114). (Last such team to win: Pittsburgh in IX.) More specifically, teams scoring 32 points or more are undefeated (18-0) and teams scoring fewer than 14 points are winless (0-17).
• Field goals have been converted in all but two Super Bowls (VII and IX).
• Teams scoring the game's first touchdown are currently 30-11 (.732); teams scoring the game's first field goal, 21-18 (.538).
• Teams leading at halftime are 32-7 (.821) (two Super Bowls, XXIII and XXXIX, have been tied at halftime).
• Teams shutout in the first half are 0-11; teams shutout in the second half are 1-7 (.125). (Only such team to win: Miami in VII.)
• Higher seeded teams are 13-11 (.542) and NFC teams are 6-2 (.750) in Super Bowls matching same-numbered seeds, which thus far have always been #1 vs. #1. Playoff seedings were first instituted in the 1975 season.
• When the game matches two teams that played each other during the regular season, the team that lost the regular season meeting is 6-5 in the Super Bowl, including 4-1 the last five times this has happened. This record will be tested shortly, as this year's contest between the New England Patriots and New York Giants is a rematch of a game played on the final weekend of the regular season, won by New England.

[edit] Conference dominance by decade

Notable stretches

• 1969-81: AFL/AFC, 11-2
• 1982-97: NFC, 15-1
• 1998-Present: AFC, 8-2

Longest winning streak

• 13: NFC, 1985-97 (AFC's longest is 5, 1973-77)

By regular decades (based on regular season year, not Super Bowl calendar year)

• 1960s (I-IV): tied, 2-2
• 1970s (V-XIV): AFC, 8-2
• 1980s (XV-XXIV): NFC, 8-2
• 1990s (XXV-XXXIV): NFC, 8-2
• 2000s (XXXV-XLI): AFC, 6-1

[edit] Non-occurrences

In the history of the Super Bowl, the following "firsts" have yet to occur:

• Snowy weather. - While Super Bowl XLI was the first to feature rain, snow has yet to fall during the game. This is highly unlikely (barring a freak occurrence in Arizona, Florida or Southern California, or a malfunctioning retractable roof) since the NFL schedules the game only in stadiums that have roofs or that have warm, dry winter climates.
• An all-wild card matchup (teams who failed to win their divisions). - Nine wild card teams (since the 1970 merger) have won conference titles, but never two in the same season.
• A shutout. - Every Super Bowl participant to date has scored, though in three cases the offenses have been shut out while the special teams scored a single touchdown: the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII with a fumble return following a blocked field goal, the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX by recovering a blocked punt in the end zone (but missing the extra point), and the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV with a 97-yard kickoff return. The fewest number of points scored in a Super Bowl is 3, put up by the Dolphins in Super Bowl VI against the Dallas Cowboys.
• A punt return touchdown. - While many kickoffs have been returned for a touchdown, a punt has yet to be returned for one.
• Home field advantage (playing in one's own home stadium). - The closest instances to this have been Super Bowl XIV being played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena near the Rams' then-hometown of Los Angeles and Super Bowl XIX being played at Stanford Stadium which is about 25 miles south of the 49ers' home stadium, Candlestick Park. While many Super Bowls have occurred in the Miami and New Orleans areas, neither of the area's teams (the Dolphins and Saints, respectively) have ever taken advantage of these opportunities.
• Overtime. - The narrowest margin of victory in a Super Bowl is one point, in Super Bowl XXV (1991). The closest instances to overtime, in which the result of the last play of the game could have realistically led to a tie and thus an overtime, have been:
  • 1971 - Baltimore's Jim O'Brien kicked a game-winning field goal with :05 left to defeat Dallas, 16-13.
  • 2000 - Tennessee's Kevin Dyson being stopped one yard short of a tying touchdown as time expired with St. Louis winning, 23-16.
  • 2002 - New England's Adam Vinatieri kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired to defeat St. Louis, 20-17.
  • 2004 - Another game-winning field goal by New England's Vinatieri with :04 left, defeating Carolina, 32-29.
• An appearance by every team. - Six teams have yet to reach their first Super Bowl: Arizona, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, and New Orleans.

[edit] National Special Security Event

The Super Bowl has been designated a National Special Security Event by the United States Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security every year since 2002, the year of Super Bowl XXXVI. That means that the stadium and surrounding area face increased security measures, especially on game day. Among other things, this means that the once-ubiquitous blimps (according to NFL Films' Steve Sabol, Super Bowl XXI had four of them) have been grounded.

[edit] Television coverage

By any measure, the Super Bowl is the most watched television program of the year in the U.S.Template:Fact 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.^[5] NFL press releases have stated that recent Super Bowls have been available to potential audiences of approximately one billion worldwide, although independent studies suggest that the average global viewership is just over 100 million – the vast majority of whom are U.S. viewers.^[6]

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 not known 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, known as wiping, 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.Template:Fact

The highest rated game according to Nielsen was Super Bowl XVI in 1982 which was watched in 49.1 percent 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, and XX) made the top 10.^[7] 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 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 US$2.6 million for a 30 second spot during Super Bowl XLI in 2007.^[8] A segment of the audience tunes in to the Super Bowl solely to watch the creative commercials.

[edit] Super Bowl on TV

Template:Cnote The first Super Bowl was simultaneously broadcast by CBS and NBC.

The network that airs the Super Bowl typically takes advantage of the large audience to air an episode of a hit series (Friends, Grey's Anatomy, Survivor, Criminal Minds) or to premiere the pilot of a promising new series (The Wonder Years, Family Guy, Davis Rules, The A-Team) in the lead-out slot, immediately following the Super Bowl and the post-game coverage.

[edit] 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 pre-game ceremonies, the halftime show, or even just singing the national anthem of the United States, "The Star-Spangled Banner".^[9] For example, Super Bowl XLI in 2007 featured Cirque du Soleil, Romero Britto, and Louie Vega during the pre-game ceremonies; Billy Joel performed the Star Spangled Banner; and Prince played during the halftime show. Unlike regular season or playoff games, thirty minutes are allocated for the Super Bowl halftime.

One especially memorable performance came in 2002, when U2 performed. During their second song, "Where the Streets Have No Name," the band played under a large projection screen which scrolled through all the names of the victims of 9/11.

The halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 generated controversy, when Justin Timberlake removed a piece of Janet Jackson's top, exposing her right breast with a star-shaped ring around the nipple. Timberlake and Jackson have maintained that the incident was accidental, calling it a "wardrobe malfunction." The game was airing live on CBS, and MTV (at the time, a corporate sister company of CBS within Viacom) produced the halftime show. Immediately after that moment, the producer cut to a very wide-angle shot and cut to a commercial break. However, video captures of the moment in detail circulated quickly on the Internet. The NFL, embarrassed by 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 US$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.

Except for Super Bowl XXXIX, the famous "I'm Going to Disney World!" advertising campaign took place at every Super Bowl since it started at Super Bowl XXI. Typically, Disney ran the ad several times during the game showing several players from both teams practicing the catch-phrase. The campaign has been restarted for Super Bowl XLI.

[edit] Venue

Twenty-five out of forty-one Super Bowls have been played in one of three cities: New Orleans, Louisiana (nine times), the Greater Miami Area (nine total), and the Greater Los Angeles Area (seven total). The three "big" hosts are then followed by Tampa, Florida and San Diego, both having hosted the Super Bowl three times.

Miami Gardens has been selected to host Super Bowl XLIV in 2010. Although Hurricane Katrina damaged the Louisiana Superdome and the city of New Orleans, it was renovated. 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.

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.^[10] 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.^[11] Before that, Super Bowl XLIV, scheduled for January 2010, was withdrawn from New York City's proposed West Side Stadium, also to have been a retractable roof facility, because the city, state, and proposed tenants New York Jets could not agree on funding. The game was then awarded to Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

[edit] Selection process

The location of the Super Bowl is chosen by the NFL well in advance, usually 3 to 5 years before the game. Cities place bids to host a Super Bowl. Candidate cities are evaluated in terms of stadium renovation and ability to host a Super Bowl.^[12] Then the NFL owners meet to make a selection on the site. The sites for the next 4 Super Bowls have been determined, up to Super Bowl XLV in 2011. On October 16, 2007, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suggested that a future Super Bowl might be played in London, probably at Wembley Stadium.^[13] There is also a minimum average temperature requirement for outdoor stadiums to be considered as possible venues.

[edit] Home team designation

The designated "home team" alternates between the NFC team in odd-numbered games (the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI in February 2007), and the AFC team in even-numbered games (the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII in February 2008). This alternation was initiated with the first Super Bowl, when the Green Bay Packers of the NFL were the designated home team.

Since Super Bowl XIII in January 1979, the home team is given the choice of jerseys, colored or white. Formerly, the designated home team was specified to wear their colored jerseys; this resulted in Dallas donning their less familiar blue jerseys for Super Bowl V.

While most of the home teams in the Super Bowl have chosen to wear their colored jerseys, there have been four exceptions; the Cowboys twice (XIII & XXVII), the Washington Redskins (XVII), and the Pittsburgh Steelers (XL). The Cowboys (since 1965) and Redskins (since the arrival of coach Joe Gibbs in 1981) have traditionally worn white jerseys at home. Meanwhile, the Steelers, who have always worn their black jerseys at home since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, opted for the white jerseys after winning three consecutive playoff games on the road, wearing white. The Steelers' decision was contrasted with the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. The Patriots had worn white jerseys at home during the 1985 season, but after winning road playoff games against the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins wearing red jerseys, New England opted to wear red for the Super Bowl as the designated home team.

[edit] Stadiums to host both a Super Bowl and a World Series

Of the above-mentioned ballparks, only Qualcomm Stadium hosted both events in the same calendar year (1998).

[edit] Stadiums to host the Super Bowl

Future games in italics.

[edit] Events leading up to the game

There are many annual events that are conducted in association with the game.

[edit] Current

• The NFL Experience is a theme park-like attraction that aims to share the excitement of the game with those who cannot buy tickets to see it. The attraction includes football-themed games, skills challenges, and special events. Proceeds go toward the NFL's initiative of afterschool education.
• Taste of the NFL is a food sampling event that has been held annually since 1992. The menu includes items from every city or area with a NFL team. Guests sit at tables alongside current and former players. Proceeds benefit America's Second Harvest and other hunger relief programs.
• The NFL Alumni has an annual "Player of the Year" dinner honoring top players and raising money for its charitable efforts. In recent years, the organization has expanded its Super Bowl week lineup to include bowling and golf tournaments.
• The Super Bowl Gospel Celebration combines gospel music performances and Christian testimonies from athletes and celebrities.
• A recent addition has been a "block party" held the night (or more) before the game. This features food and live entertainment and is free to the public. The Super Bowl XLI block party was a three-day event; however, the Super Bowl XLII host committee will only stage a one-night event, "Super Bowl Saturday Night," at Tempe Town Lake.
• The Pepsi Super Smash concert series is another recent addition, in which top recording artists perform at an adjacent venue. The events are televised.
• Since 2004, a gala, black-tie "welcome event" has been held in each city. The first, which was held in Houston, Texas, was hosted by Jim Nantz of CBS Sports and featured comments by former president George H.W. Bush.
• Other events may be added by local organizers. For example, in 2007, "Spike," the mascot of the SB XLII host committee, held a tour of 42 different cities in the state of Arizona, matching the current Super Bowl number. At each stop, usually a public event or festival, Spike gave out a game ball to a city official. The last game ball will be presented to the city of Glendale at the opening of the NFL Experience on January 26, 2008.^[14]

[edit] Former

• The Fellowship of Christian Athletes has staged a breakfast on the morning of the game in which the Bart Starr Award was presented. It is not listed on the official 2008 calendar of events and it's unclear if it will be held or if it has been suspended or cancelled. It may also be held without NFL sanction.Template:Fact
• The Global Junior Football Championship will not be held in 2008; it had been run for the previous 10 years. It was a two-day tournament featuring high school players from the United States and several other countries.

[edit] NFL trademark issues

The NFL is vigilant on stopping unauthorized commercial use of its trademarked terms "NFL," "Super Bowl," or "Super Sunday"; as a result, many events and promotions timed to the game but not sanctioned by the NFL are forced to refer to it as "The Big Game", or with other generic descriptions.^[15]

In 2006, the NFL made an attempt to trademark "The Big Game" as well. However, it withdrew their application in 2007 due to growing commercial opposition to the move, mostly from fans of both Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley who compete in The Big Game which concludes their Pac-10 season.^[16]

[edit] See also

• List of Super Bowl champions
• Super Bowl MVP
• Super Bowl records
• List of Super Bowl winning head coaches
• National Football League championships
• List of quarterbacks with multiple Super Bowl wins
• Advertising in the Super Bowl
• List of National Anthem Performers at the Super Bowl
• Super Bowl Halftime Shows
• Super Bowl ring
• National Football League lore
• List of NFL franchise post-season droughts
• Grey Cup, the equivalent event for the Canadian Football League
• AFC Championship Game
• NFC Championship Game

[edit] References

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• Chris Jones (2 February 2005). "NFL tightens restrictions on Super Bowl advertisements". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
• John Branch (4 February 2006). "Build It and They Will Come". The New York Times.
• Super Bowl play-by-plays from USA Today. Last accessed September 28, 2005.
• All-Time Super Bowl Odds from The Sports Network. Last accessed October 16, 2005.
• 100 Greatest Super Bowl Moments by Kevin Jackson, Jeff Merron, and David Schoenfield; espn.com. Last accessed October 31, 2005.
• Various Authors - "SI's 25 Lost Treasures" - Sports Illustrated, July 11, 2005 p.114.
• "The Super Bowl I-VII." Lost Treasures of NFL Films. ESPN2. 26 January 2001.
• "MTV's Super Bowl Uncensored". MTV. 27 January 2001.
• "Talk Shows." CBS: 50 Years from Television City. CBS. 27 April 2002.
• Template:Cite news

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Official Super Bowl website
• America's Game - America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions, an NFL Films documentary of all Super Bowl winning teams
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• Live Super Bowl Webcast via DirecTV

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