Super Bowl
In 1960, the American Football League formed as a direct rival to the National Football League. AFL commissioner Joe Foss sent an invitation letter on the 14th of January 1961, proposing a World Playoff game between the two leagues' champions. The first matchup would have pitted the Houston Oilers against the Green Bay Packers. Lamar Hunt, owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, coined the term Super Bowl during merger meetings in the mid-1960s. He later explained that the name came from his children playing with a Super Ball toy. A vintage example of that ball now sits at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Hunt wrote to NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle on the 25th of July 1966, calling it the Super Bowl in jest. League owners initially chose the name AFL, NFL Championship Game. Media outlets quickly adopted Hunt's term anyway. By May 1967, Rozelle admitted that many people disliked the phrase but acknowledged its growing popularity. The Associated Press reported that Super Bowl grew until it reached Super Week and Super Sunday. The name became official starting with the third annual game in 1969. Before that, the first two games were played before the actual merger took effect. The NFL and AFL each won one of those early contests. After the 1970 merger, ten AFL teams joined three NFL teams to form the American Football Conference. The remaining thirteen NFL clubs formed the National Football Conference. All games since Super Bowl V in January 1971 have been contested between the best teams from each conference.
The Super Bowl was held in January from its inception in 1967 until 2001. In 2002, a week of regular season games was postponed following the September 11 attacks. This shift made Super Bowl XXXVI the first edition played in February. Super Bowl XXXVII returned to January, but all subsequent games stayed on the first Sunday of February until the schedule expansion of the 2021 season moved the event to the second Sunday. The current NFL schedule begins the weekend after Labor Day. That weekend marks the start of an eighteen-week regular season followed by three weeks of playoff games and one week for the Pro Bowl. The Super Bowl is contested the week after the Pro Bowl. This format has been in effect since an eighteenth week and seventeenth regular season game were added for the 2021 season. Super Bowl LVI on the 13th of February 2022, became the first to be played under this new system. Roman numerals identify each Super Bowl rather than the year it is held. This convention began with the fifth edition in January 1971. The sole exception occurred with Super Bowl 50, played on the 7th of February 2016. The nomenclature returned to Roman numerals for Super Bowl LI the following year.
The Green Bay Packers won the first two AFL, NFL World Championship Games. They defeated the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders following the 1966 and 1967 seasons respectively. Bart Starr served as quarterback and earned Most Valuable Player honors for both contests. These championships combined with the Packers' NFL titles from 1965 through 1967 created five championships in seven years. No other team has achieved a threepeat in NFL history. In Super Bowl III, the New York Jets upset the heavily favored Baltimore Colts by a score of 16, 7. Joe Namath guaranteed a Jets win before the game. Former Colts head coach Weeb Ewbank led the victory that proved the AFL was competitive. The Kansas City Chiefs then defeated the Minnesota Vikings 23, 7 in Super Bowl IV. Three franchises dominated the 1970s: the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and Pittsburgh Steelers. They won eight Super Bowls between them during the decade. The Steelers claimed four titles in six years under head coach Chuck Noll. Their Steel Curtain defense featured Mean Joe Greene and L.C. Greenwood. Four future Hall of Famers were selected in the 1974 draft. Donnie Shell joined later after going unselected. The Steelers remain the only team to win back-to-back Super Bowls twice. The 1980s saw the San Francisco 49ers emerge as the most successful team. Bill Walsh coached their West Coast offense featuring quarterback Joe Montana and wide receiver Jerry Rice. The 49ers won four Super Bowls in the decade including a 55, 10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV. The 1985 Chicago Bears posted an 18, 1 record under Mike Ditka. They won Super Bowl XX with running back Walter Payton. The Washington Redskins and New York Giants also won multiple titles during this period. The NFC won sixteen of twenty Super Bowls from 1980 through 1999.
The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched annual sporting events globally. Viewership often exceeds 100 million people within the United States alone. Super Bowl LVIII held the record for average US viewers at 123.7 million. This made it the most-viewed television broadcast of any kind in American history. The halftime show set a separate record with 129.2 million viewers tuning in. Commercial prices have risen steadily alongside ratings. Advertisers paid up to $7 million for a thirty-second spot during Super Bowl LVI in 2022. Nielsen reported that 51 percent of Super Bowl viewers tuned in solely for commercials in 2010. Most games have been rotated annually between CBS, NBC, and Fox. Super Bowl I was the only instance where two networks broadcast simultaneously. NBC held AFL rights while CBS held NFL rights. Both used their own announcers but NBC utilized the CBS feed. Beginning with Super Bowl II, NBC televised even years and CBS odd years. ABC joined the rotation starting with Super Bowl XIX in 1985. Fox replaced CBS as the NFC broadcaster in 1994. New contracts signed in 2006 shifted rights again. NBC took Sunday Night Football from ESPN. Monday Night Football moved from ABC to ESPN. A four-network rotation began with Super Bowl LVIII allowing ABC to return. CBS's sister network Nickelodeon aired an alternate children-oriented telecast of Super Bowl LVIII. ABC's rights include ESPN simulcasts. The league breaks traditional broadcasting rotations to bolster other major sporting events. For example, CBS received Super Bowl XXVI after winning rights to the 1992 Winter Olympics. NBC then aired Super Bowl LVI instead of CBS during the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Early Super Bowls featured halftime shows consisting of marching bands from local colleges or high schools. As popularity grew, popular singers and musicians began performing during pre-game ceremonies. Whitney Houston delivered a rendition of the national anthem at Super Bowl XXV in 1991 that remains regarded as one of history's best. Before Super Bowl XLVIII, soprano Renée Fleming became the first opera singer to perform the anthem. Since Super Bowl XII in 1978, a former football player or celebrity participates in the coin toss ceremony. Thirty minutes are allocated for the Super Bowl halftime unlike regular season games. An episode of In Living Color caused a drop in viewership for Super Bowl XXVI. The NFL sought to increase audience by hiring A-list talent. They approached Michael Jackson whose performance drew higher figures than the game itself. U2 performed at Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 playing under a large projection screen scrolling names of September 11 victims. The halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII attracted controversy when Justin Timberlake removed a piece of Janet Jackson's top. This incident led to FCC fines and banned MTV from producing future shows. The NFL held a moratorium on pop performers inviting veteran acts like Paul McCartney instead. This practice ended at Super Bowl XLV returning to current pop acts such as Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. Minnesota Vikings announcer Alan Roach has been the official public address announcer since Super Bowl XL in 2006.
Thirty of fifty-nine Super Bowls have been played in three metropolitan areas: Greater Miami, New Orleans, and Greater Los Angeles. No market without an active NFL franchise has ever hosted a Super Bowl. The presence of an NFL team is now a de jure requirement for bidding. The Caesars Superdome in New Orleans has hosted eight Super Bowls more than any venue. The Orange Bowl was the only AFL stadium to host consecutive games. Seven Super Bowls were held in stadiums other than those used by local NFL teams before 1991. Starting with Super Bowl XXVIII selection on the 23rd of May 1990, preference went to new or renovated stadiums. Only two teams qualified for a Super Bowl at their home stadiums: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020 and the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. Traditional rules prevent awarding games to northern cities unless fields can be covered by fixed or retractable roofs. Six Super Bowls occurred in northern cities including Detroit, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, and New Jersey. MetLife Stadium did not have a roof but received a waiver for Super Bowl XLVIII. The league rescinded Super Bowl XXVII from Arizona after voters rejected Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday. Plans to renovate Candlestick Park fell through moving Super Bowl XXXIII to Miami. Construction delays forced Super Bowl LV to move from SoFi Stadium to Raymond James Stadium. Selection occurs at meetings of all NFL team owners three to five years prior. Cities submit proposals evaluated on stadium renovation and hosting ability. Requirements include minimum 70,000 seats and 35,000 parking spaces within one mile. Host communities must provide hotel space equaling 35 percent of stadium capacity. New Orleans invested over $1 billion in infrastructure improvements before Super Bowl XLVII.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
Who coined the term Super Bowl and when did it become official?
Lamar Hunt, owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, coined the term Super Bowl during merger meetings in the mid-1960s. The name became official starting with the third annual game in 1969.
When was the first Super Bowl played in February instead of January?
Super Bowl XXXVI held on the 5th of February 2002 marked the first edition played in February following a schedule shift after the September 11 attacks. All subsequent games stayed on the first Sunday of February until the 2021 season moved the event to the second Sunday.
Which team won the most Super Bowls during the 1970s and who coached them?
The Pittsburgh Steelers claimed four titles in six years under head coach Chuck Noll during the 1970s. They remain the only team to win back-to-back Super Bowls twice.
What is the highest average US viewership recorded for a single Super Bowl broadcast?
Super Bowl LVIII held the record for average US viewers at 123.7 million people. This made it the most-viewed television broadcast of any kind in American history.
Where has the Caesars Superdome hosted the most Super Bowls compared to other venues?
The Caesars Superdome in New Orleans has hosted eight Super Bowls more than any venue. No market without an active NFL franchise has ever hosted a Super Bowl since hosting became restricted to cities with teams.