With the NFL Pro Bowl over, the countdown begins to Super Bowl Sunday, when Tom Brady and Eli Manning, two mighty warriors, lock horns in what is expected to be a true epic battle between the New England Patriots and New York Giants.
Since this is Super Bowl XLVI, you might be wondering if the number 46 holds any significance in the annals of Super Bowl History?
The answer is a resounding yes.
First, the New England Patriots lost Super Bowl XX (1986) to the Chicago Bears 46 to 10. The 1985 Bears, by the way, made the ``46’’ defense (four down linemen, three linebackers, and four defensive backs) famous, which featured imposing stars like Mike Singletary, Richard Dent, William ``The Refrigerator’’ Perry, and the late Dave Duerson. And in Super Bowl IV (1970), Len Dawson of the Kansas City Chiefs built on their 16-7 lead when connecting with Otis Taylor on 46-yard touchdown pass in the 3rd quarter as the Chiefs stunned the Minnesota Vikings, 23-7. Also, both Super Bowls XXX (1996) and XLV (2011) received a 46.0 television rating; while the game time temperature for Super Bowl IX (1975) in New Orleans was a chilly 46 degrees.
So as we anxiously await the opening kickoff on February 5, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. (ET) on NBC from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, what follows are some facts, feats, and historic footnotes of past Super Bowls to consider.
• According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first time the term ``Super Bowl’’ appeared in print was in a Los Angeles Times article on October 22, 1966: ``The capacity of the Coliseum for the Super Bowl will be 90,000.''
• The NFC have won 14 consecutive coin tosses, with the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI (1997) being the last AFC team to win the toss.
• Tickets for Super Bowl I (1967) could be had for as low as $6, $10, or $12. Last year, by contrast, in Super Bowl XLV, ticket prices were an exorbitant $600, $800, $900, and $1,200.
• During Super Bowl I (1967) a 30-second television advertisement spot cost $42,000. This year, NBC will be charging advertisers a whopping $3.5 million.
• Tickets to the Super Bowl are distributed as follows: AFC Champion (17.5 percent); NFC Champion (17.5 percent); Host city team(s) (5.0 percent); other 29 teams: 34.8 percent (1.2 percent each); NFL Distribution for fan lottery, NFLPA, media, and other NFL associates-(25.2 percent).
• Roman numerals to designate a Super Bowl first began with Super Bowl V (1971).
• According to a new survey by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association conducted by BIGinsight, 173 million people will watch the Super Bowl on February 5th.
• The National Retail Federation estimates that nearly 63.6 million (27.1 percent) are planning to attend a Super Bowl party, up from last year’s 61.2 million, and another 35.9 million (15.3 percent) plan to throw a party, also up from the 34.9 million who said they would host a party in 2011.
• Consumer spending for the Super Bowl is expected to reach an all-time high, with the average television viewer expected to spend $63.87 on related merchandise, apparel and snacks, up from $59.33 last year. Total Super Bowl spending, meanwhile, is expected to reach $11.0 billion.
• Research by the Calorie Control Council (the “Council”) and Snack Food Association finds that Americans will consume 30 million pounds of snacks on Super Bowl Sunday, including 11.2 million pounds of potato chips, 8.2 million pounds of tortilla chips, 4.3 million pounds of pretzels, 3.8 million pounds of popcorn and 2.5 million pounds of nuts.
• The Calorie Council’s research additionally reveals that potato chips, consumer’s number one snack, will account for 27 billion calories and 1.8 billion grams of fat. These 1.8 billion fat grams nationwide translate to four million pounds of fat, which is equivalent to the weight of 13,000 National Football League (NFL) offensive linemen at 300 pounds each.
• The Super Bowl Trophy (the Lombardi Trophy), which is crafted by Tiffany & Co., is valued at $25,000.
• The most fourth quarter lead changes in a Super Bowl were in Super Bowl XLII (2008) between the New York Giants and New England Patriots. There were 3 lead changes during the final quarter.
• Super Bowl XLVI will be carried nationally by NBC on more than 200 television stations throughout the United States, plus Bermuda and Guam.
• Super Bowl XLVI will be televised live in more than 180 countries and territories.
• Westwood One Radio will carry the Super Bowl on more than 600 radio stations within the United States. Armed Forces Radio will provide the broadcast to 175 foreign countries and ships at sea; while Univision Radio will broadcast in Spanish to more than 30 radio stations in the U.S., reaching more than 500,000 Spanish-speaking NFL fans.
• In 2012, each player for the winning team will receive $88,000; each member of the losing team will receive $44,000.
• Don Shula holds the record for most Super Bowl appearances by a head coach at 6: Baltimore, III; Miami, VI-VIII, XVII, XIX.
• Jerry Rice holds the record with most career Super Bowl touchdowns with 8 over four games with San Francisco and Oakland.
• San Francisco 49'ers Joe Montana registered the highest career passer rating (127.8) in Super Bowl history over four games.
• After the New York Giants won Super Bowl XXI (1987), they ended up in last place in the NFC Eastern Division the following year with a 6-9 record.
• Joe Montana completed 11 touchdown passes over four games, the most in Super Bowl history.
• Tom Brady holds the Super Bowl record among quarterbacks with 100 completions; and 156 pass attempts.
• Most points racked up in a single Super Bowl game was 55 by the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV (1990) when they smothered the Denver Broncos by 45 points.
• The fewest points scored in a Super Bowl game came during Super Bowl VI (1972), when the Miami Dolphins only managed 3 points on a Garo Yepremian 31-yard field goal in the 2nd quarter to become the first team in Super Bowl history without a touchdown. The Dallas Cowboys limited the Dolphins to 185 yards in their 24-3 drubbing of the Dolphins.
• 47 NFL players have won Super Bowls with more than one team.
• 23 NFL head coaches have won Super Bowls with more than one team.
• 17 individuals have won Super Bowls both as a player and coach.
• 13 Fathers and Sons have reached the Super Bowl.
• 22 sets of brothers have reached the Super Bowl.
• 6 NFL coaches led their teams to the Super Bowl in their first year with the team, the last being Jim Caldwell of the Indianapolis Colts in 2010.
• The oldest head coach to win a Super Bowl was Dick Vermeil, who was 63 when the St Louis Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV (2000).
• The youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl was Mike Tomlin, who was 36 when the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII (2009).
• Two teams in Super Bowl history overcame deficits of 10 points to go on to win the Super Bowl: the Washington Redskins in 1988 and the New Orleans Saints in 2010.
• The last time there was only one week between the Championship Game(s) and the Super Bowl was in Super Bowl XXXVII (2003) between the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• South Florida has been host city to the Super Bowl a record 10 times, followed by New Orleans with 9.
• The most viewers to watch a Super Bowl was on February 6, 2011 when a record 162,900,000 tuned in to watch the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers on FOX.
• 2012 will be NBC’s 17th time broadcasting the Super Bowl, tying them with CBS for the most ever.
-Bill Lucey
January 30, 2012
[email protected]
Source: NFL Press Office; Nielsen Media Research; National Retail Federation; Calorie Control Council; Snack Food Association
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Web Sites to Keep in Mind:
Box Scores/Game Summaries of Previous Super Bowls (NFL.com)
Super Bowl Stats (NFL.com)
Super Bowl Central (ESPN.com)
The Official Super Bowl Twitter Account
Live Streaming of Super Bowl 46 (NBC Sports)
Live Streaming on Mobile Device (Verizon)
Super Bowl XLVI play-by-play will be posted at the end of each quarter at http://www.nflgsis.com/
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