Super Bowl 50: Just the facts
The Super Bowl is always more than just a game, between the pregame and halftime musical performances, multi-million-dollar commercials, hype and other sometimes strange occurrences.
With Super Bowl 50 on Sunday, though, the spectacle becomes even bigger as the NFL takes an opportunity to celebrate a half-century of its championship game.
Pro Football Hall of Fame voters were asked to select the “Super Bowl 50 Golden Team,” which features 22 Hall of Famers. And the broadcast will feature highlights from Super Bowls of the past.
And really, the buildup to this game started last year when all teams painted their 50-yard line gold.
I
Super Bowl I initially was called the First AFL-NFL World Championship Game
II
The Patriots ring from Super Bowl XLIX has 205 diamonds
III
The Panthers will try to become the third 15-1 team to win the Super Bowl (49ers XIX, Bears XX)
IV
Super Bowls XLV-XLIX have been the five most watched telecasts in U.S. television history; Super Bowl XLIX drew 114.4 million viewers, making it the most-watched TV show in U.S. history
V
In Super Bowl V, Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley became the first non-quarterback to be named MVP
VI
49ers quarterback Steve Young holds the record for most passing touchdowns — six in Super Bowl XXIX
VII
A quarterback has been named MVP seven of the last nine Super Bowls
VIII
Jerry Rice has eight receiving touchdowns in Super Bowl history; nobody else has more than three
IX
The National Chicken Council expects about 1.3 billion wings to be eaten during Super Bowl weekend
X
Super Bowl 50 halftime band Coldplay’s “X&Y” album spent three weeks atop the Billboard 200 in 2005
XI
Peyton Manning is the only quarterback to lead two teams to the Super Bowl — once with the Colts and twice with the Broncos
XII
The first appearance for the Broncos was Super Bowl XII, a 27-10 loss to the Cowboys
XIII
Four teams never have played in the Super Bowl — Lions, Browns, Jaguars and Texans
XIV
The Steelers won Super Bowl XIV, their fourth in a six-season span (1974-75 through 1979-80).
XV
The cheapest Super Bowl tickets available on StubHub on Wednesday were $3,000
XVI
Tom Brady’s 16 consecutive completions in Super Bowl XLVI are the most in a Super Bowl
XVII
Peyton Manning has thrown 17 interceptions this year, the most in four seasons with the Broncos
XVIII
There are 72 footballs used for every Super Bowl; more than 700,000 are purchased for the NFL each year
XIX
Joe Montana, who won four Super Bowls with the 49ers, wore No. 19 when he played his last two years with the Chiefs
XX
Panthers coach Ron Rivera was a linebacker for the champion Bears in Super Bowl XX.
XXI
The over-under for time of Lady Gaga’s national anthem is 2 minutes 20 seconds, according to Bovada
XXII
CBS analyst Phil Simms, who won Super Bowls XXI and XXV with the Giants, will call the game for the eighth time, second behind John Madden
XXIII
Michael Jordan has done Super Bowl commercials with Larry Bird and Bugs Bunny
XXIV
Denver’s Gary Kubiak is the third first-year coach to take his team to a Super Bowl — Jim Caldwell with the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV and George Seifert with the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV
XXV
At Super Bowl XXV, Whitney Houston sang what most people consider the best rendition of the national anthem in Super Bowl history
XXVI
Broncos pass rusher Von Miller is 26 years old, but already has 60 sacks
XXVII
In Super Bowl XXI, Phil Simms received $75,000 for saying, “I’m going to Disney World!”
XXVIII
Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart had 989 rushing yards this season, the second-best total of his career
XXIX
The Rams rushed for the fewest yards in a victory in Super Bowl history — 29 in Super Bowl XXXIV
XXX
The cost of a 30-second Super Bowl ad last year was $4.5 million
XXXI
If quarterback Cam Newton is named MVP, he’ll be the fifth player in history to win the Heisman Trophy and Super Bowl MVP — Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach (Navy, Super Bowl VI), Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett (Stanford, Super Bowl XV), Raiders running back Marcus Allen (USC, Super Bowl XVIII), and Packers returner Desmond Howard (Michigan, Super Bowl XXXI)
XXXII
The NFL expanded to 32 teams in 2002
XXXIII
The last title the Broncos won was Super Bowl XXXIII, when current coach Gary Kubiak won his third title as an assistant (two with the Broncos, one with the 49ers)
XXXIV
Kurt Warner was the last NFL MVP to take home the Super Bowl MVP, doing it with the Rams at Super Bowl XXXIV
XXXV
The Ravens won Super Bowl XXXV five seasons after the franchise moved from Cleveland to Baltimore
XXXVI
Five AFC or NFC Championship games have gone to overtime, but no Super Bowl ever has
XXXVII
Dexter Jackson was the last cornerback to be named Super Bowl MVP, doing it with the Buccaneers at Super Bowl XXXVII
XXXVIII
In Super Bowl XXXIII, John Elway became the oldest Super Bowl MVP at age 38
XXXIX
Sunday, Broncos star Peyton Manning will become the oldest quarterback (39) to start a Super Bowl
XL
Michigan has hosted the game twice — Super Bowl XVI at the Pontiac Silverdome and Super Bowl XL at Ford Field
XLI
Lions coach Jim Caldwell won two rings as an assistant — Super Bowl XLI with the Colts and Super Bowl XLVII with the Ravens
XLII
Hall of Fame defensive back Ronnie Lott won four Super Bowls with the 49ers
XLIII
Marshawn Lynch had his second-lowest rushing total of the season — 39 yards — when the Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII
XLIV
Super Bowl XXXVIII featured the infamous Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction
XLV
The 45-point victory (55-10) by the 49ers over the Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV is the largest margin of victory in Super Bowl history
XLVI
Giants quarterback Eli Manning won his second title — one more than brother Peyton — in Super Bowl XLVI
XLVII
According to ESPN Stats & Info, teams are 2-5 after winning the conference championship by 30-plus points, which the Panthers did
XLVIII
The Vikings and Bills are 0-4 in Super Bowls, the worst mark in the NFL; the Bills, however, are the only team to lose four straight
XLIX
It was 49 degrees at Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey
50
For one year, the NFL abandons the Roman numeral designation for Super Bowls; looking ahead to the reboot, however, offers up some interesting takes — Super Bowl 54 (LIV) and Super Bowl 59 (LIX)