| Revision as of 00:37, 11 November 2006 edit216.165.3.227 (talk)No edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 00:38, 11 November 2006 edit undoJim Douglas (talk | contribs)15,116 editsm JS: Reverted edits by 216.165.3.227 to last version by Jim DouglasNext edit → | ||
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| *Two-time pairings include (a) the ] and ] (in ] and ]), (b) the ] and ] (in ] and ]), and (c) the ] and ] (in ] and ]). The Cowboys/Bills games were the only back-to-back meetings between the same clubs. | *Two-time pairings include (a) the ] and ] (in ] and ]), (b) the ] and ] (in ] and ]), and (c) the ] and ] (in ] and ]). The Cowboys/Bills games were the only back-to-back meetings between the same clubs. | ||
| *The teams competing in the Super Bowl met in the regular season prior to ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. The team that won the Super Bowl also won the regular season meeting five times. The loser of the regular season game won the rematch six times. | *The teams competing in the Super Bowl met in the regular season prior to ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. The team that won the Super Bowl also won the regular season meeting five times. The loser of the regular season game won the rematch six times. | ||
| *The ] franchise is the only team to appear as both a "National" representative and as an "American" representative. The Baltimore Colts represented the Nationals in ] and the Americans in ]. | *The ] franchise is the only team to appear as both a "National" representative and as an "American" representative. The Baltimore Colts represented the Nationals in ] and the Americans in ]. (Had the ] been able to beat the ], then in Los Angeles, for a third time in 1983 when the two clubs met in the AFC Championship Game, they would have joined this exclusive club once they won the NFC Championship Game in January 2006.) | ||
| *The earliest day on which a Super Bowl has been held is January 9th, the date on which ] was played in 1977. | *The earliest day on which a Super Bowl has been held is January 9th, the date on which ] was played in 1977. | ||
| * In 1994, the 49ers became the first team to wear a ] 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 ]. The jerseys they wore paid tribute to the 1957 team. | * In 1994, the 49ers became the first team to wear a ] 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 ]. The jerseys they wore paid tribute to the 1957 team. | ||
Revision as of 00:38, 11 November 2006
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 which over the years has become a de facto U.S. national holiday.
The first game was played on January 15, 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 U.S. 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 second-largest U.S. food consumption day, following 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". 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. (The previous two games were retroactively re-christened as Super Bowls I and II.)
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, which are determined each season by the league's playoff tournament. As of Super Bowl XL, former AFL teams have won 12 Super Bowls, pre-1970 NFL teams have won 26 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 , a fact unlikely to be true considering the time of the event, the lack of popularity American Football has outside of the United States and the fact that those 234 countries would include all 202 sovereign states, as well as states within sovereign nations such as Scotland, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda. While Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005 was available to a potential audience of approximately one billion, i.e. one billion people are in the collective coverage area of the various channels that carried the game, in actual fact it was only watched by 93 million viewers in total, of which 98 percent were in North America .
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. 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. (See wiping). Another reason was that videotape in those days was prohibitively expensive. (Merv Griffin once said that a ninety-minute blank tape cost $750. ) According to Steve Sabol, both networks taped soap operas over the game tapes, which are presumably lost forever. 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. According to NFL Films...these are the ultimate Lost Treasures.
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. 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.
Coverage by American television networks
Main article: List of Super Bowl broadcasters- Includes future games. Future games are listed in italic.
| Network | Games | Games covered |
|---|---|---|
| NBC | 17 | I, III, V, VII, IX, XI, XIII, XV, XVII, XX, XXIII, XXVII, XXVIII, XXX, XXXII, XLIII, XLVI |
| CBS | 17 | I, II, IV, VI, VIII, X, XII, XIV, XVI, XVIII, XXI, XXIV, XXVI, XXXV, XXXVIII, XLI, XLIV |
| ABC | 7 | XIX, XXII, XXV, XXIX, XXXIV, XXXVII, XL |
| FOX | 6 | XXXI, XXXIII, XXXVI, XXXIX, XLII, XLV |
The television network showing the game changes from year to year. Up until 2006 in the United States, it was rotated between 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. Super Bowl XLI and Super Bowl XLII will be telecast by CBS and FOX, respectively.
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 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.
During halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004, 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." To make matters worse, the game was airing on CBS, and MTV (at the time, CBS's corporate sister company within Viacom), 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 tightening controls 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, Paul McCartney gave an uncontroversial halftime performance for Super Bowl XXXIX.
Further information: ]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.
Over half of the Super Bowls have been played in one of the following three cities: New Orleans, Louisiana (9 times), the Greater Miami Area (8 total, 5 times at Miami's Orange Bowl and 3 times at Miami Gardens's Dolphin Stadium) 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 Gardens has been selected to host two future games: Super Bowl XLI in 2007 and Super Bowl XLIV in 2010. Although Hurricane Katrina damaged the Louisiana Superdome and the city of New Orleans, it was renovated, and 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.
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 near 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:
- Average high temperature of at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit in February. (Unless the game is being played in an indoor arena)
- Stadium with 65,000 seats or more.
- 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.
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 cities with cold weathers such as Minneapolis and Detroit have been awarded Super Bowls because the cities' stadiums had a roof.
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. 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.
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
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. Please relocate any relevant information into other sections or articles. |
- 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 Pittsburgh Steelers, winners of Super Bowl XL are the champions of the 2005 NFL season, even though the championship game was played in February 2006.
- The Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers have played three times (in Super Bowl X, Super Bowl XIII, and Super Bowl XXX). No other teams have been paired three times.
- Two-time pairings include (a) the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins (in Super Bowl VII and Super Bowl XVII), (b) the San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals (in Super Bowl XVI and Super Bowl XXIII), and (c) the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills (in Super Bowl XXVII and Super Bowl XXVIII). The Cowboys/Bills games were the only back-to-back meetings between the same clubs.
- The teams competing in the Super Bowl met in the regular season prior to Super Bowl XII, Super Bowl XV, Super Bowl XVI, Super Bowl XVIII, Super Bowl XX, Super Bowl XXI, Super Bowl XXV, Super Bowl XXVIII, Super Bowl XXIX, Super Bowl XXXIV, and Super Bowl XXXVI. The team that won the Super Bowl also won the regular season meeting five times. The loser of the regular season game won the rematch six times.
- The Indianapolis Colts franchise is the only team to appear as both a "National" representative and as an "American" representative. The Baltimore Colts represented the Nationals in Super Bowl III and the Americans in Super Bowl V. (Had the Seattle Seahawks been able to beat the Oakland Raiders, then in Los Angeles, for a third time in 1983 when the two clubs met in the AFC Championship Game, they would have joined this exclusive club once they won the NFC Championship Game in January 2006.)
- The earliest day on which a Super Bowl has been held is January 9th, the date on which Super Bowl XI was played in 1977.
- 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 1999, the St. Louis Rams were the first NFL team who plays their home games in a fully enclosed stadium, the TWA Dome (now called the Edward Jones Dome), to win the Super Bowl. No domed-stadium team has ever done it before, or since.
- 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 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. Since then, AFC teams have posted a 7-2 record against NFC teams (through 2006).
- 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, eight teams have advanced to the Super Bowl after entering the playoffs as wild card teams. They include the 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 4-4 in the Super Bowl, with the Raiders, Broncos, Ravens, and Steelers winning their respective games.
- The Kansas City Chiefs, who qualified for and won Super Bowl IV, were the first non-division champion to qualify for the Super Bowl. Kansas City is not counted in the wild-card records, however, since they were not a wild-card team (the AFL in 1969 allowing the top two finishers in each division to qualify for its playoffs, whereas allowing wild-cards would have allowed the AFL West's third-place team to qualify instead of the AFL East's poorer second-place team). Counting Kansas City's Super Bowl IV victory, non-division champions are 5-4 in Super Bowl games.
- The New England Patriots, who qualified for but lost Super Bowl XX, are the only third-place team to have ever qualifed for the Super Bowl. The Patriots tied the New York Jets for second place in the AFC East in 1985, but finished third place on a tiebreaker.
- There has never been a Super Bowl between two non-division champions.
- 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.
- No Super Bowl game has ever gone into overtime play. The closest instances to overtime play were in Super Bowl V, when the Baltimore Colts kicked a field goal at the end of regulation play to win 16-13 over the Dallas Cowboys, in Super Bowl XXXIV when St. Louis Rams linebacker Mike Jones tackled Tennessee Titans wide receiver Kevin Dyson at the 1-yard line at the end of regulation, preventing a game-tying touchdown, in Super Bowl XXXVI when Adam Vinatieri kicked the winning field goal on the last play to lead the New England Patriots over the St. Louis Rams, and in Super Bowl XXXVIII when Vinatieri kicked a field goal with 4 seconds remaining, allowing the Patriots to beat the Carolina Panthers.
- No Super Bowl has ever ended in a shutout. Super Bowl VII with Garo Yepremian's failed field goal attempt is perhaps the most dramatic example of a near shutout.
- No one has ever returned a punt for a touchdown in a Super Bowl.
- No one has ever returned the opening kickoff of a Super Bowl for a touchdown.
- The Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins are the only teams to win a Super Bowl the year after they've lost. In 1972, Dallas defeated Miami in Super Bowl VI, 24-3 (after losing to Baltimore, 16-13, in 1971). The following year, Miami defeated Washington 14-7 in Super Bowl VII, capping off an undefeated 1972 season for the Dolphins, who went 17-0-0, including three post-season wins.
- The Dallas Cowboys were also the first team to lose a Super Bowl after winning the previous year. In 1979, they lost to Pittsburgh after beating Denver the year before. Two other clubs have also lost the Super Bowl after winning the previous game (Washington defeated Miami in 1983, but lost to the Los Angeles Raiders in 1984, and Green Bay defeated New England in 1997, but lost to Denver in 1998).
- Currently there is only one team to not score a touchdown in a Super Bowl. This happened in Super Bowl VI when the Dallas Cowboys beat the Miami Dolphins 24-3.
- Five teams — the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI, the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII, the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX, Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII and the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV — have failed to score an offensive touchdown. Miami scored only a field goal, Washington scored its only touchdown on a blocked field goal, Minnesota scored its only points (a touchdown) on a blocked punt, and Cincinnati and New York scored their only touchdown on a kickoff return.
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.
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), a 5-11 record in the 2004 NFL season, and another 4-12 record in the 2005 NFL season, with the Raiders still failing to recover.
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. Another was the Tennessee Titans. Following their close loss to the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV, the Titans were able to retain the same 13-3 record they had the year before, but they lost in the playoffs to eventual Super Bowl XXXV winner Baltimore Ravens.
Game history
For a list of Super Bowl games and champions, see List of Super Bowl champions.
Super Bowl appearances
| Num | Team | W | L | PCT | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Dallas Cowboys | 5 | 3 | .625 | |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 5 | 1 | .833 | |
| Denver Broncos | 2 | 4 | .333 | ||
| 5 | San Francisco 49ers | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| Oakland Raiders | 3 | 2 | .600 | 1-0 as Los Angeles Raiders | |
| Washington Redskins | 3 | 2 | .600 | ||
| New England Patriots | 3 | 2 | .600 | ||
| Miami Dolphins | 2 | 3 | .400 | ||
| 4 | Green Bay Packers | 3 | 1 | .750 | |
| Buffalo Bills | 0 | 4 | .000 | ||
| Minnesota Vikings | 0 | 4 | .000 | ||
| 3 | New York Giants | 2 | 1 | .667 | |
| St. Louis Rams | 1 | 2 | .333 | 0-1 as Los Angeles Rams | |
| 2 | Kansas City Chiefs | 1 | 1 | .500 | |
| Baltimore Colts | 1 | 1 | .500 | ||
| Cincinnati Bengals | 0 | 2 | .000 | ||
| Philadelphia Eagles | 0 | 2 | .000 | ||
| 1 | Baltimore Ravens | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| Chicago Bears | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| New York Jets | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | ||
| Atlanta Falcons | 0 | 1 | .000 | ||
| Carolina Panthers | 0 | 1 | .000 | ||
| San Diego Chargers | 0 | 1 | .000 | ||
| Seattle Seahawks | 0 | 1 | .000 | ||
| Tennessee Titans | 0 | 1 | .000 |
Teams with no Super Bowl appearances
- NFL league champions prior to Super Bowl I
- Arizona Cardinals - NFL champions in 1925 and 1947, both as Chicago Cardinals.
(The Cardinals' 1925 championship is controversial, see Pottsville Maroons 1925 NFL Championship controversy for details) - 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
- Arizona Cardinals - NFL champions in 1925 and 1947, both as Chicago Cardinals.
Super Bowl winners
See also
- Super Bowl Commercials
- Super Bowl MVP
- National Football League championships
- List of Current NFL franchise post-season droughts
- List of sporting events
- Super Bowl Halftime Shows
- National Football League lore
- Carioca Bowl
- Advertising in the Super Bowl
- Grey Cup - Canadian Football League
References
- Super Bowl's website
- 2006 NFL Record and Fact Book. Time Inc. Home Entertainment. ISBN 1-933405-32-5.
- Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League. Harper Collins. ISBN 1-933405-32-5.
- The Sporting News Complete Super Bowl Book 1995. ISBN 0-89204-523-X.
- The Super Bowl: An Official Retrospective with DVD. Ballantine Books. 2005. ISBN 0-345-48719-2.
- MacCambridge, Michael (2004). America's Game. Random House. ISBN 0-375-50454-0.
- http://www.pro-football-reference.com - Large online database of NFL data and statistics
- The NFL History Network - includes a large database of historic NFL box scores
- Chris Jones (2 Feb 2005). "NFL tightens restrictions on Super Bowl advertisements". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
- John Branch (4 Feb 2006). "Build It and They Will Come". 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)
- Super Bowl Rings A gallery of Super Bowl winners' Championship rings
- Superbowl odds Latest Odds from selection of sportsbooks
- Various Authors - "SI's 25 Lost Treasures" - Sports Illustrated, July 11, 2005 p114
- "The Super Bowl I-VII." Lost Treasures of NFL Films. ESPN2. 26 Jan. 2001.
- "MTV's Super Bowl Uncensored". MTV. 27 Jan. 2001.
- "Talk Shows." CBS: 50 Years from Television City. CBS. 27 Apr. 2002.
- http://footballprofessor.blogspot.com - NFL Trend Analysis
External links
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