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The winning Super Bowl team receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

In professional American football, the Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). It and its ancillary festivities constitute Super Bowl Sunday, which over the years has become the most-watched U.S. television broadcast of the year, and has become likened to a de facto U.S. national holiday. In addition, many popular singers and musicians have performed during the Super Bowl's pre-game and halftime ceremonies. This is also the second-largest U.S. food consumption day, following Thanksgiving.^[1] The Super Bowl was first played on January 15, 1967 as part of an agreement between the NFL and its younger rival, the American Football League (AFL) in which each league's championship team would play each other in an "AFL-NFL World Championship Game". After the leagues merged in 1970, the Super Bowl became the NFL's championship game.

The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather than the year it was held since the NFL season extends beyond New Year's Eve. For example, the Indianapolis Colts, winners of Super Bowl XLI are the champions of the 2006 season, even though the championship game was played in February 2007.

A Super Bowl ring and a ticket for Super Bowl XI. A Super Bowl ring is given to each member of the winning team to commemorate their Super Bowl victory.

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 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".^[2] 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 kids playing with a toy called a Super Ball.^[3] The ball is now on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The name was consistent with postseason college football games which had long been known as "bowl games". The "bowl" term originated 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. 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. That perception all changed with one of the biggest upsets in sports history, 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 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. These first four Super Bowls were actually AFL-NFL World Championships at the time. After the merger, they were redesignated as Super Bowls I through IV.

The game has been played annually on a Sunday as the final game of the playoffs, originally early to mid-January when there was a 14 game schedule, but late January or even the first Sunday in February as the current 16 game schedule dictates. (A 17th bye-week has been added for TV exposure.)

Former NFL commissioner 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 winning team gets the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named for the coach of the Green Bay Packers, who won the first two Super Bowl games and 3 of the 5 preceding NFL championships (1961-62, 1965). Following his death in September 1970, the trophy was then named the Vince Lombardi Trophy, first awarded as such to the Baltimore Colts at Super Bowl V in Miami.

The first Super Bowl was played in 1967, as commemorated by this stamp issued in 1999 by the United States Postal Service featuring the ticket for that first game.

The following trends occur regarding Super Bowl games:

• Teams scoring first are currently 26-15 (.634); 14-7 (.667) with a touchdown, 11-8 (.579) with a field goal and 1-0 with a safety.
• Teams scoring 30 or more points are currently 21-1 (.955) {only team to date to lose with 30 or more: Dallas in XIII}; teams scoring 19 points or fewer are currently 4-31 (.114) {last team to win with 19 or fewer: Pittsburgh in IX}. More specifically, teams scoring 32 points or more are undefeated (18-0) and teams scoring 13 points or fewer are winless (0-17).
• Field goals have been converted in all but two Super Bowls (VII and IX).
• Teams scoring the game's first touchdown are currently 30-11 (.732); teams scoring the game's first field goal, 21-18 (.538).
• Teams leading at halftime are 32-7 (.821) (two Super Bowls {XXIII and XXXIX} have been tied at halftime); teams shutout in the first half are 0-11; teams shutout in the second half are 1-7 (.125) {Miami in VII}.

Notable stretches

• 1969-81: AFL/AFC, 11-2

• 1982-97: NFC, 15-1

• 1998-Present: AFC, 8-2

Longest winning streak

• 13: NFC, 1985-97 (AFC's longest is 5, 1973-77)

By regular decades (based on regular season year, not Super Bowl calendar year)

• 1960s (I-IV): tied, 2-2
• 1970s (V-XIV): AFC, 8-2
• 1980s (XV-XXIV): NFC, 8-2
• 1990s (XXV-XXXIV): NFC, 8-2
• 2000s (XXXV-XLI): AFC, 6-1

In the history of the Super Bowl, the following "firsts" have yet to occur:

• While Super Bowl XLI was the first to feature rain, there has yet to be snowy conditions during the game (which is highly unlikely to occur due to the strict non-usage of northern-based open-air stadiums).
• An all-wild card matchup, i.e., teams who failed to win their divisions. Eight wild card teams (since the 1970 merger) have won conference titles, but never two in the same season.
  • Dallas Cowboys, 1975 NFC Champions - lost Super Bowl X
  • Oakland Raiders, 1980 AFC Champions - won Super Bowl XV
  • New England Patriots, 1985 AFC Champions - lost Super Bowl XX
  • Buffalo Bills, 1992 AFC Champions - lost Super Bowl XXVII
  • Denver Broncos, 1997 AFC Champions - won Super Bowl XXXII
  • Tennessee Titans, 1999 AFC Champions - lost Super Bowl XXXIV
  • Baltimore Ravens, 2000 AFC Champions - won Super Bowl XXXV
  • Pittsburgh Steelers, 2005 AFC Champions - won Super Bowl XL
• Every Super Bowl team has scored, which means no team has posted a shutout. In Super Bowl VII, the Washington Redskins scored their only points by a touchdown off a blocked field goal, with 2:07 remaining in the game. The fewest number of points scored in a Super Bowl is 3, put up by the Dolphins the previous year.
• While many kickoffs have been returned for a touchdown, a punt has yet to be returned for one.
• No team has literally had home field advantage (playing in their own home stadium). The closest instances to this have been Super Bowl XIV being played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena near the Rams' then-hometown of Los Angeles and Super Bowl XIX being played at Stanford Stadium which is a short distance from the 49ers' home stadium, Candlestick Park. While many Super Bowls have occurred in the Miami and New Orleans areas, neither of the area's teams (the Dolphins and Saints) have ever taken advantage of these opportunities.
• Overtime. The closest instances to overtime play were:
  • Baltimore's Jim O'Brien kicking a game-winning field goal with :05 left (Super Bowl V).
  • Tennessee's Kevin Dyson being stopped one yard short of a tying touchdown as time expired (Super Bowl XXXIV).
  • New England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri kicking two game-winning field goals in the closing seconds (Super Bowl XXXVI as time expired, and Super Bowl XXXVIII with :04 left).
• Appearance by every team. The following six teams have yet to reach their first Super Bowl:
  • Arizona Cardinals (0-2 in NFC Divisional Playoffs)
  • Cleveland Browns (0-2 in NFL Championship Game {during Super Bowl era}; 0-3 in AFC Championship Game)
  • Detroit Lions (0-1 in NFC Championship Game)
  • Houston Texans (no playoff berths to date)
  • Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2 in AFC Championship Game)
  • New Orleans Saints (0-1 in NFC Championship Game)

The Seattle Seahawks are the last team to make their inaugural appearance, in Super Bowl XL.

By any measure, the Super Bowl is the most watched television program of the year in the U.S.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[4] NFL press releases have stated that recent Super Bowls have been available to potential audiences of approximately one billion worldwide, although independent studies suggest that the average global viewership is just over 100 million – the vast majority of whom are U.S. viewers.^[5]

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 not known 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, known as wiping, mainly because nobody thought anyone would want to watch the same show they had just seen. Another reason was that videotape in those days was prohibitively expensive.

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, and XX) made the top 10.^[6] 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 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 US$2.6 million for a 30 second spot during Super Bowl XLI in 2007.^[7] Many people tune in to the Super Bowl solely to watch the creative commercials.

The first Super Bowl was simultaneously broadcast by CBS and NBC.

*currently not broadcasting NFL

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 pre-game ceremonies, the halftime show, or even just singing the national anthem of the United States, "The Star-Spangled Banner" (see Super Bowl entertainment). Super Bowl XL in 2006 featured Stevie Wonder, Joss Stone, and John Legend during the pre-game ceremonies; Aaron Neville, Aretha Franklin, and Dr. John performed the Star Spangled Banner; and The Rolling Stones played during the halftime show. Unlike regular season or playoff games, one hour is allocated for the Super Bowl halftime.

One especially memorable performance came in 2002, when U2 performed. During their second song, "Where the Streets Have No Name," the band played under a large projection screen which scrolled through all the names of the victims of 9/11.

The halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 generated controversy, when 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." The game was airing live on CBS, and MTV (at the time, a corporate sister company of CBS within Viacom) produced the halftime show. Immediately after that moment, the producer cut to a very wide-angle shot and cut to a commercial break. However, video captures of the moment in detail circulated quickly on the Internet. The NFL, embarrassed by 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 US$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.

Except for Super Bowl XXXIX, the famous "I'm Going to Disney World!" advertising campaign took place at every Super Bowl since it started at Super Bowl XXI. Typically, Disney ran the ad several times during the game showing several players from both teams practicing the catch-phrase. The campaign has been restarted for Super Bowl XLI.

Looking toward Ford Field the night of Super Bowl XL.

Twenty-five out of forty-one Super Bowls have been played in one of three cities: New Orleans, Louisiana (nine times), the Greater Miami Area (nine total), and the Greater Los Angeles Area (seven total). The 3 "big" hosts are then followed by Tampa, Florida and San Diego, having hosted the Super Bowl three times each.

Miami Gardens has been selected to host Super Bowl XLIV in 2010. Although Hurricane Katrina damaged the Louisiana Superdome and the city of New Orleans, it was renovated. 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.

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.^[8] 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.^[9]

The location of the Super Bowl is chosen by the NFL well in advance, usually 3 to 5 years before the game. Cities place bids to host a Super Bowl. Candidate cities are evaluated in terms of stadium renovation and ability to host a Super Bowl.^[10] Then the NFL owners meet to make a selection on the site. The sites for the next 4 Super Bowls have been determined, up to Super Bowl XLV in 2011. On October 16, 2007, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suggested that a future Super Bowl might be played in London, England.^[11]

The designated "home team" alternates between the NFC team in odd-numbered years (the Chicago Bears in 2007), 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. 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. The Cowboys (since 1965) and Redskins (since the arrival of coach Joe Gibbs in 1981) have traditionally worn white at home. Meanwhile, the Steelers, who have always worn their black jerseys at home since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, opted for the white jerseys after winning three consecutive playoff games on the road wearing white. The Steelers' decision was a mirror opposite of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. The Patriots traditionally wore white jerseys at home during the 1985 season, but after winning playoff games on the road against the New York Jets, and Miami Dolphins wearing their red jerseys, New England opted to wear red for the Super Bowl as the designated home team.

Future games in italics.

Of the above-mentioned ballparks, only Qualcomm Stadium hosted both events in the same calendar year (1998).

Future game in italics

The NFL is vigilant on stopping unauthorized commercial use of its trademarked terms "NFL," "Super Bowl," or "Super Sunday"; as a result, many events and promotions timed to the game but not sanctioned by the NFL are forced to refer to it as "the Big Game", or with other generic descriptions.^[12]

In 2006, the NFL made an attempt to trademark "The Big Game" as well. However, it withdrew their application in 2007 due to growing commercial opposition to the move.^[13]

• List of Super Bowl champions
• Super Bowl MVP
• National Football League championships
• List of quarterbacks with multiple Super Bowl wins
• Super Bowl records
• Advertising in the Super Bowl
• Super Bowl Halftime Shows
• Super Bowl ring
• National Football League lore
• List of NFL franchise post-season droughts
• Grey Cup, the equivalent event for the Canadian Football League
• NFC Championship Game
• AFC Championship Game

• 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. 
• (2005) The Super Bowl: An Official Retrospective with DVD. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-48719-2. 
• MacCambridge, Michael (2004). America's Game. Random House. ISBN 0-375-50454-0. 
• Chris Jones (2 February 2005). "NFL tightens restrictions on Super Bowl advertisements". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
• John Branch (4 February 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)
• 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 January 2001.
• "MTV's Super Bowl Uncensored". MTV. 27 January 2001.
• "Talk Shows." CBS: 50 Years from Television City. CBS. 27 April 2002.
• Dee, Tommy. ""Super Bowl Halftime Jinx"", Maxim Magazine Online, January 2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-25. 

• Official Super Bowl website
• Super Bowl at the Open Directory Project
• U.S. Census Bureau Facts for Features: Super Bowl XLI
• Super Bowl Discussion- Football Discussion Website.
• Adland Commercial Archive- The Commercial Archive has 35 years of Super Bowl commercials in QuickTime format.