The Super Bowl has been the championship game of the National Football League (NFL), the premier association of professional American football, since 1967. In most years, the Super Bowl is the most-watched American television broadcast. Many popular singers and musicians have performed during the event’s pre-game and halftime ceremonies. The day on which the Super Bowl is played is now considered a de factoAmerican national holiday,^[1][2][3] called Super Bowl Sunday. Super Bowl Sunday is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption, afterThanksgiving Day.^[4]

Exclusive television broadcast rights for the Super Bowl rotate each year among three of the four major American television networks: CBS,Fox, and NBC. Because of its high viewership, commercial airtime for the Super Bowl broadcast is the most expensive of the year. Due to the high cost of investing in advertising on the Super Bowl, companies regularly develop their most expensive advertisements for this broadcast. As a result, watching and discussing the broadcast’s commercials has become a significant aspect of the event.

The Super Bowl was first played on January 15, 1967, as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and a rival league, the American Football League (AFL). It was agreed that the two leagues’ champion teams would play in an AFL–NFL World Championship Game, until the merger was consummated. After the merger of the two leagues in 1970, each league became a "conference", and the game was played between conference champions. Lamar Hunt, former owner of the Kansas City Chiefs and founding member of the American Football League, coined the name Super Bowl after watching his children playing with a Super Ball. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather than the year in which it is held. Super Bowl I was played in 1967 to determine the championship of the regular season played in1966, and Super Bowl XLIV, on February 7, 2010, will be played to determine the champion of the 2009 regular season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have won six Super Bowls, while the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers have each won five. Seventeen other NFL franchises have won at least one Super Bowl. Only four active NFL franchises have not appeared in the Super Bowl. They are the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans. The Lions are the only NFC team yet to play in one, the other three are in the AFC. The Browns and Lions have both won NFL championships prior to the Super Bowl era, while the Jaguars (who joined the NFL in 1995) and Texans (2002) joined the league after the Super Bowl era began.

Origin

The Super Bowl was created as part of the merger agreement between the National Football League (NFL) and its competitive 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, culminating in a merger agreement announcement on June 8, 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".^[5] During the discussions to iron out the details, one of the AFL's founders and Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt had jokingly referred to the proposed inter league championship as the "Super Bowl". Hunt thought of the name after seeing his children playing with a toy called a Super Ball;^[6] the small, round ball is now on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame inCanton, Ohio. The name was consistent with postseason college football games which had long been known as "bowl games." Hunt only meant his suggested name to be a stopgap until a better one could be found; nevertheless, the name "Super Bowl" became permanent.

After the NFL's Green Bay Packers convincingly won the first two Super Bowls, some team owners feared for the future of the merger. At the time, many doubted the competitiveness of AFL teams compared with NFL counterparts, though that perception changed with the AFL's New York Jets' defeat of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in Miami. One year later, the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs defeated the NFL's Minnesota Vikings 23-7 and won Super Bowl IV in New Orleans, the last World Championship game played between the champions of the two leagues, as the league merger finally took place later that year.

The game is played annually on a Sunday as the final game of the NFL Playoffs. Originally the game took place in early to mid-January, following a 14-game regular season and playoffs. Over the years, the date of the Super Bowl has progressed from the second Sunday in January, to the third, then the fourth Sunday in January; the game is now played on the first Sunday in February, given the current 17-week (16 games and one bye week) regular season and three rounds of playoffs. This progression of the date of the Super Bowl has been caused by the following: the expansion of the NFL regular season in 1978 from 14 games to 16, the expansion of the pre-Super Bowl playoff field from eight to twelve teams, necessitating the addition of a third round of playoffs (also in 1978), the addition of the regular season bye-week in the 1990s, and the decision prior to the 2003 season to start the regular season the week after Labor Day, moving the start of the season to a week later than it had been (in 1997, for example, the regular season started on Sunday, August 31). Former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle is often considered the mastermind of both the merger and the Super Bowl. His leadership guided the two competitors into the merger agreement and cemented the preeminence of the Super Bowl.

The winning team receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named for the coach of the Green Bay Packers, who won the first two Super Bowl games and three of the five preceding NFL championships (1961, 1962, 1965). Following his death in September 1970, the trophy was named the Vince Lombardi Trophy, and was first awarded as such to the Baltimore Colts atSuper Bowl V in Miami. Super Bowl III was the first to be numbered. Super Bowls I and II were not known as such until the game's third year and were named "The AFL-NFL World Championship Game" when they were played.

Game history

[1966–1967: Packers early success

The Green Bay Packers won the first two Super Bowls, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders. The Packers were led by quarterback Bart Starr, who was named MVP for both games. These two championships, along with the Packers' NFL championships in 1961, 1962, and 1965 have led many people to consider the Packers to be the "Team of the 60s." Green Bay is often referred to as "Title Town."

[1968–1980 AFL/AFC dominance

In Super Bowl III, behind the guarantee of Joe Namath, the New York Jets defeated the 18-point favorite Baltimore Colts 16–7. The win helped solidify the AFL as a legitimate contender with the NFL. And as it turned out, the 1970s were dominated by the AFC. Only one NFC franchise won a Super Bowl during the decade: the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas appeared in five Super Bowls and won Super Bowls VI and XII.

[Perfection  During the 1970s, a majority of the Super Bowls were won by just two teams, the Miami Dolphins and the Pittsburgh Steelers, winning a combined six championships in the decade. Miami won Super Bowls VII and VIII. The first of these Super Bowl wins capped the only undefeated and untied season in the history of the NFL. The 2007 New England Patriots who went 16-0 during the regular season ended up losing Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants in historic and spectacular fashion.

The Steelers Dynasty

Pittsburgh won four Super Bowls between 1974 and 1980 (IX, X, XIII, and XIV) behind the coaching of Chuck Noll and play of Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, and Franco Harris—each receiving at least one MVP award—and their "Steel Curtain" defense led by "Mean" Joe Greene and Jack Lambert. The Steelers were the first team to win three and then four Super Bowls and appeared in six AFC Championship Games during the decade making the playoffs eight straight seasons. Nine players and three coaches/administrators that were on each of the championship seasons have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Pittsburgh is also the only team to win back-to-back Super Bowls on two different occasions.

1981-1996: The NFC's winning streak

NFC teams won fifteen of sixteen Super Bowls in this stretch, including thirteen in a row from 1984 to 1996.

The 49ers lead the NFC domination of the 1980s

The most successful franchise of the 1980s was the San Francisco 49ers, who won four Super Bowls in the decade (XVI, XIX, XXIII, and XXIV). They were known for using Bill Walsh's west coast offense. The 1980s also included the 1985 Chicago Bears who finished the season with an 18–1 record (a feat accomplished the prior year by the 49ers), and two championships for the Washington Redskins. The Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders were the only AFC franchise to win a Super Bowl in the 1980s, winning Super Bowls XV and XVIII. The remaining Super Bowl from the decade was won by the New York Giants following the 1986 season.

The Cowboys dominate the early 1990s

The Dallas Cowboys became the dominant team in the NFL in the early 1990s. After championships by division rivals New York and Washington to start the decade, the Cowboys won three of the next four Super Bowls. With Super Bowl XXIX, the 49ers became the first team to win five Super Bowls. The Cowboys also won their fifth title ( Super Bowl XXX  in the decade and appeared in four NFC championship games as well, winning with both a balanced offense and dominant defense. The 49ers and the Cowboys faced each other in three consecutive NFC championships. As both teams began to lose their dominance late into the decade, another NFC powerhouse, the Green Bay Packers, led by three time MVP quarterback Brett Favre, emerged, winning Super Bowl XXXI following the 1996 season.

The early 1990s also featured the Buffalo Bills, who became the only team to date to appear in four consecutive Super Bowls. However, they lost all of them.

[1997–Present: The AFC Rises Again

In Super Bowl XXXII, quarterback John Elway led the Denver Broncos to an upset victory over the defending champion Packers, snapping the NFC's 13-game winning streak, and beginning a streak in which the AFC would win nine of the next twelve Super Bowls. The Broncos would go on to win Super Bowl XXXIII the next year, over the Atlanta Falcons, in Elway's final game before retiring. After an NFC win by the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV, the AFC continued its winning ways, with wins by the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots.

The Patriots dominate the early 2000s

The Patriots became the dominant team through the early 2000s, winning the championship in three of the first five years of the decade. In Super Bowl XXXVI Super Bowl MVP quarterbackTom Brady led his team to a 20-17 upset victory over the Rams. The Patriots also went on to win Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX. They lost Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants in 2008 becoming the only team to go 18-1 and not win the the Super Bowl. (Had they won they would have been the first team to finish a season 19-0 and also join the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only teams to have perfect seasons.)

Beside the Patriots' championships, other AFC Super Bowl wins were logged by Indianapolis in Super Bowl XLI and Pittsburgh, which won Super Bowls XL and XLIII. With this most recent championship, the Steelers became the only team with six Super Bowl victories.

Security

The Super Bowl has been designated a National Special Security Event by the United States Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security every year since Super Bowl XXXVI, which was the first Bowl played following the September 11 attacks. That means that the stadium and surrounding area face increased security measures, especially on game day. Among other things, this means that the once-ubiquitous blimps (according to NFL Films' Steven Sabol, Super Bowl XIX had four of them) have been grounded.

Television coverage and ratings

For many years, the Super Bowl has had a very large television audience in the U.S., and it is often the most watched television program 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.

A frequently-misquoted figure from NFL press releases has led to the common perception that the Super Bowl has an annual global audience of around one billion people. In fact, the NFL states one billion as the game's potential worldwide audience – i.e. the number of people able to watch the game. Independent studies suggest that the average global viewership is just over 100 million, the vast majority of whom are U.S. viewers. This is comparable with the final of the European UEFA Champions League  making both the most watched annual sporting events (both the 4-yearly Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup exceed this total).

The highest-rated game according to Nielsen was Super Bowl XVI in 1982, which was watched in 49.1 percent of households (73 share) or 40,020,000 households at the time. Ratings for that game, a San Francisco victory over Cincinnati, may have been boosted by a large blizzard that affected much of the northeastern United States on game day, keeping even more people than usual at home in front of the TV. Super Bowl XVI still ranks #4 on Nielsen's list of top-rated programs of all time, and three other Super Bowls (XII, XVII, and XX) made the top 10.^[13] Super Bowl XLIII in 2009 holds the record for total U.S. viewership, attracting an average audience of 98.7 million and ranking second only to the final episode of M*A*S*H in 1983. Although the proliferation of cable and satellite television has undercut broadcast ratings somewhat in recent years, the game is still sufficiently popular that a number of networks actually schedule original programming during the game, such as independently produced halftime entertainment, simply to take advantage of a large audience already in front of the television. Other networks air reruns or syndicated programming to avoid wasting a potentially highly rated new episode.

Following Apple Computer's 1984 commercial introducing the Macintosh computer, directed by Ridley Scott, the broadcast of the Super Bowl became the premier showcase for high concept or simply extravagantly expensive commercials.^ded] Famous commercial campaigns include the Budweiser "Bud Bowl" campaign, and the 1999 and 2000 dot-com ads. Prices have increased each year, with advertisers paying as much as $3 million for a 30-second spot during Super Bowl XLIII in 2009 (though this dropped to $2.8 million for Super Bowl XLIV). A segment of the audience tunes in to the Super Bowl solely to watch the creative commercials