It’s set, this year’s Super Bowl will see the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles. The biggest game in the land goes back almost six decades, putting the best of the divisions (the AFC and NFC) against one another.
If you’re already confused as to what differentiates the National Football Conference from the American Football Conference from the AFL-CIO, then perhaps you need a more fundamental education on the basics of football. If you’re more interested in the history of the Super Bowl itself as opposed to trying to understand the arcane rules and governing bodies that control American professional football, then you’re in the right place.
This February, Super Bowl LVII will take place. If you don’t speak Roman numerals, that translates to 57. As you can see, this is a longstanding tradition that crowns the best NFL team with a glorious trophy. There are cool storylines, like the fact that the game will see two young and incredible Black quarterbacks go head to head. And we may be witness the future of the league, as these two teams have won Super Bowls recently (Philly in 2017, KC in 2020) and show no signs of slowing down.
While we’re on the topic, let’s take a little Super Bowl history course, shall we?
Super Bowl I
The first Super Bowl was played on January 15, 1967, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. But no one even knew the first-ever Super Bowl had been played until well after that fateful day on which the Green Bay Packers crushed the Kansas City Chiefs, because the name “Super Bowl” was not applied until later. (That’s what we call a neologism, folks.) Whereas these days, broadcast rights to the Super Bowl are fiercely guarded, that game was shown on two networks — CBS and NBC — at the same time. (There were only three major broadcasters at the time anyway. Poor ABC.) An estimated 51 million people watched Super Bowl I, which is impressive, as that means more than a quarter of all Americans tuned in for the first-of-its-kind event.
The biggest Super Bowl blowout
It’s not easy to be a fan of some NFL teams. The Washington Redskins are notorious for their ability to give up leads in the fourth quarter; the Detroit Lions have never been to a Super Bowl; and, in 1990, the Denver Broncos became the most resoundingly defeated Super Bowl loser of all time. That year saw the Broncos face the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV. Led by celebrated quarterback Joe Montana, and coming off a Super Bowl victory in the 1988 championship, the 49ers were heavily favored to win. But the wildly lopsided result was a surprise even to the analysts of the day. The 49ers beat the Broncos 55 to 10, meaning a spread of 45 points. That still stings more than three decades later.
The closest Super Bowl scores
On the other side of the spectrum, though just one year later, we have Super Bowl XXV from 1991. In that storied contest, the New York Giants beat the Buffalo Bills by just one point. And amazingly, the game ended with the Bills losing after their kicker missed a field goal attempt by about two feet. The loss in Super Bowl XXV began an infamous precedent for the Buffalo Bills, who would go on to lose four Super Bowl games in a row. And no, the Bills have never won the Big Game.
Super Bowl LVII
It may seem a little odd, but we’re finally witnessing a Super Bowl that doesn’t involve Tom Brady. It’s a little refreshing, to be honest, and likely a glimpse into the future of the league. The Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts of the Eagles are arguably the two best quarterbacks in the NFL, each in their 20s. The former has been dealing with a foot injury, but with an extra week of rest before the big game, he’ll likely be in good shape. Meanwhile, Hurts is having one of the best statistical seasons in Eagles history at his position. The game will likely be very close and, at the moment, Philadelphia is slightly favored.
The growth of commercial costs
It’s common knowledge that many people watch the Super Bowl for the commercials, not to see the Patriots win yet again. During Super Bowl I, television commercials cost $37,000 per half-minute of airtime. And that was a lot then, sure. But keep this in mind: adjusted for inflation, $37,000 in 1967 is about equivalent to $265,000 today. In 1974, ads first hit the $100,000-plus per 30-second cost. This was during Super Bowl VIII, for the record. Between 1984 and 1985, the price of a Super Bowl commercial vaulted from around $370,000 per half-minute all the way to $525,000 for the same amount of airtime. By 1994, a 30-second Super Bowl ad cost more than $1 million. In 2021, companies shelled out over $5.5 million for that same broadcast real estate.
By now, you should be jazzed for the Super Bowl. Even if you don’t love the game, there are great halftime performances, pre-game rumors, and game-day snacks to enjoy. Perhaps it’s just an excuse to fire up the grill for some great barbecue recipes. Either way, it all goes down on February 12th.
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