Super Bowl Is the Biggest Football Game of the Season — Quick Facts for Fans about the Event
For the past five decades, the Super Bowl has been one of the country's most exciting events for football fans. Take a look at some surprising facts about the event for fans.
The Super Bowl has been around since January 15, 1967, when the NFL's Green Bay Packers defeated the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs, 35–10.
It is arguably the most exciting event for football fans, and yet, there is still plenty that fans do not know about this exciting American sports. Here are some facts about the Super Bowl.
Tom Brady on the field representing his team Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Photo: Getty Images
WHY SUPER BOWL?
While many do not know why it is called Super Bowl, the reason behind the name is rather touching. It was initially called the "AFL-NFL World Championship Game."
While negotiating the new championship game, AFL and Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt started referring to it as "The Super Bowl." He coined the name from the Super Ball, a toy that his kids had been playing with.
HOW SUPER BOWL STARTED
Every year, the Super Bowl is hosted by a different city. However, the story of how it all began is an interesting one. The first Super Bowl was held on January 15, 1967.
The first was hosted in Los Angeles, California, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum after a merger of the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL).
THE ROMAN NUMERALS
Many might think of it as a simple quirky feature, but there is a good reason why the NFL uses Roman numerals to refer to the Super Bowl.
Again, Hunt was behind the introduction of this naming system, and he did so to keep track of the championship title bowls. Super Bowl V was reportedly the first to be named with this system.
Hunt decided on Roman numerals rather than naming by year because the Super Bowl is played in the year following a chronologically recorded season. It was adopted to clarify any confusion that might arise.
TWELVE TEAMS HAVE NEVER WON
In all the games that have been played, there are a total of 12 teams that have never won a Super Bowl. These twelve teams are the Panthers, Lions, Titans, Browns, Jaguars, Texans, Chargers, Bengals, Cardinals, Falcons, Bills, and Vikings.
However, unfortunately, out of these twelve, four have never made it to the big game. These are the Texans, Lions, Browns, and Jaguars.
SUPER BOWL ADS ARE EXPENSIVE
Another of the many surprising facts about the Super Bowl is that Super Bowl ads are costly. This is due to the huge audience the event draws, meaning that revenue for advertisers could be potentially high.
Since the 1980s, the Super Bowl's ads have garnered nearly as much enthusiasm as the game itself, particularly after Apple's blockbuster 1984 ad. Since then, the advertisements have become a heavily valued tradition, with each one more elaborate than the next.
IT HAS BEEN IN 10 STATES
So far, Super Bowl enthusiasts have seen the game being played in only ten states. These states are Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Texas.
For this year's edition, the Super Bowl will be at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The LA Stadium at Hollywood Park in California is set to be the Super Bowl site in 2022.
TICKETS ARE EXPENSIVE
Every year, the prices of super bowl tickets continue to rise as it continues to draw more attention and garner larger audiences. Tickets are even reportedly said to cost more than the average American's annual salary!
Because of the pandemic, this year's Super Bowl attendance will be the lowest ever at 22,000, with the NFL providing free tickets to 7,500 healthcare workers who have been vaccinated and 14,500 tickets to be sold via a lottery.
PICKING A LOCATION
For an event as large and highly revered, picking out the Super Bowl location is no small decision. A lot of thought goes into deciding where the Super Bowl will be held.
The decision is also made many months before the game is held to prevent any hiccups that could affect smooth sailing. Like many things, the Super Bowl has had to adjust to the new world created by the pandemic and the restrictions that come with it.
This year, the annual Super Bowl is scheduled for Sunday, February 7, and it will be broadcast on CBS with kick-off at 6:30 p.m. (ET).
When the Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs take to the field on February 7, it will be the first game to be played amid a global pandemic. The Super Bowl has quickly become a popularly loved tradition, and this year, it continues to be so despite all odds.