Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion St. Louis Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Tennessee Titans to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The Rams defeated the Titans by the score of 23–16, capturing their first Super Bowl win and first NFL championship since 1951.^[2] The game, played on January 30, 2000 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, was the fourth Super Bowl to be held a week after the conference championship games (the previous time this happened was Super Bowl XXVIII, and coincidentally this game was also played on January 30 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta).^[3]

The Rams entered their second Super Bowl in team history with an NFC-best 13–3 regular season record. It was the franchise's first playoff appearance in 10 years. The Titans also finished the regular season with a 13–3 record, but advanced to their first Super Bowl in team history after entering the playoffs as a wild-card team. Tennessee finished in second place in the AFC Central Division behind the Jacksonville Jaguars.^[4]

The first two quarters of Super Bowl XXXIV were largely a defensive battle. Despite outgaining the Titans in total offensive yards in the first half, 294–89,^[5] the Rams held merely a 9–0 halftime lead on three field goals. St. Louis later scored their first touchdown midway through the third quarter to go up 16–0. Tennessee then responded by scoring 16 unanswered points to tie the game with 2:12 left in regulation. This was the largest deficit to be erased in a Super Bowl and the first greater than 10 points. On the Rams' ensuing drive, quarterback Kurt Warner completed a 73-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Isaac Bruce to regain the lead. The Titans then drove to the St. Louis 10-yard line with six seconds remaining, but on the final play of the game, Rams linebacker Mike Jones tackled Tennessee wide receiver Kevin Dyson one yard short of the goal line to prevent a potential game-tying touchdown. This play went into NFL Lore as ""One Yard Short", or simply "The Tackle."^[6]

Warner completed 24 out of 45 passes for 414 yards and 2 touchdowns and was named the Most Valuable Player. His 414 passing yards and 45 pass attempts without an interception were both Super Bowl records.^[7] Warner became the sixth player to win both the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and the Super Bowl MVP award during the same season. He follows Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Emmitt Smith and Steve Young.^[8]

Background[link]

St. Louis Rams[link]

The Rams shocked the NFL in 1999 with an NFC-best 13–3 regular season record, only a year after finishing 4-12, and outscored their opponents 526-242, the highest scoring margin (284) of any Super Bowl Champion in NFL history. This was the Rams' first playoff appearance in 10 years and only the second Super Bowl appearance in team history.^[9] St. Louis was led by undrafted quarterback Kurt Warner, who started the season as backup to Trent Green. Green suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason, making Warner the team's new starter. Warner previously played for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League and the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe.^[10]

In his first NFL season in 1998, Warner played only one game and threw just 11 passes. But in 1999, he experienced one of the most spectacular seasons ever by a quarterback, recording a passer rating of 109.2, completing 65.1 percent of his passes for 4,353 yards, 41 touchdowns, and just 13 interceptions, and earning the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. Warner was not the only Ram compiling significant statistics, though. Running back Marshall Faulk, in his first year in St. Louis after spending 5 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, won the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. He scored 12 touchdowns, rushed for 1,381 yards, and recorded a team leading 87 receptions for 1,048 yards. In all, Faulk gained a record 2,429 total yards and became just the second running back in NFL history to gain over 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season (Roger Craig was the first). .^[11] Faulk held the NFL record for yards from scrimmage in a single season until Tennessee's Chris Johnson broke it in 2009.

Faulk wasn't the only weapon at Warner's disposal in 1999. Veteran receiver Isaac Bruce was the top Rams receiver with 77 receptions for 1,165 yards and 12 touchdowns. while breakout rookie wide receiver Torry Holt recorded 52 receptions, 788 yards, and 6 touchdowns. Even the team's third wide receiver, Az-Zahir Hakim, was a big contributor by catching 36 passes for 677 yards and 8 touchdowns, while also returning punts for 461 yards and another touchdown. The Rams' offensive line was led by Pro Bowlers Orlando Pace and Adam Timmerman. Timmerman, acquired by the Rams in 1999, had previously won Super Bowl XXXI with the Green Bay Packers. On special teams, receiver Tony Horne returned 30 kickoffs for 892 yards and 2 touchdowns, giving him an NFL leading 29.7 yards per return average.^[12]

Overall, St. Louis' offense led the league in total yards gained (6,639), scoring (526 points), and passing touchdowns (42).

The Rams' defense led the league in fewest rushing yards allowed (1,189) and fewest rushing touchdowns allowed (4), while giving up just 242 points. Overall, the defense ranked 4th in the league in fewest total yards allowed (5,056).^[11] The line was anchored by Pro Bowl defensive end Kevin Carter and defensive end Grant Wistrom. Carter led the league with 17 sacks; while Wistrom recorded 8.5 sacks and 2 interceptions, returning both for touchdowns for a combined total of 131 yards. Behind him, the Rams had 3 linebackers: London Fletcher (66 tackles and 3 sacks), Mike Jones (4 interceptions for 96 return yards and 2 touchdowns, and 2 fumble recoveries for 51 return yards and 1 touchdown), and Todd Collins (72 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 interceptions for 16 yards). The secondary was led by Pro Bowler Todd Lyght (6 interceptions), Dexter McCleon (4 interceptions), and rookie Dre' Bly (3 interceptions).^[13]

Tennessee Titans[link]

The Titans advanced to their first Super Bowl in team history. From 1960 to 1996, the team was known as the Houston Oilers, an original charter member of the American Football League (AFL). Houston, Texas businessman Bud Adams owned the Oilers since its inception and guided the team through the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger.^[14] With Tennessee's Super Bowl appearance, every AFL team played in the Super Bowl. This includes the original eight AFL teams and the two AFL expansion teams, the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals.

But by 1995, Adams was lured to move his team from Houston to a new stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Since this new stadium was not ready until the 1999 season, Adams decided to move his team to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee in 1997 after playing before small Houston crowds in 1996. However, the renamed Tennessee Oilers also played before sparse Memphis crowds, and thus spent the 1998 season playing at Nashville's Vanderbilt Stadium. After the new Adelphia Coliseum, now known as LP Field, was completed in 1999, the team's name was changed to Tennessee Titans.^[15]

The 1999 Titans were led by quarterback Steve McNair and running back Eddie George. McNair had missed 5 games due to injuries during the season, but he was still able to put up solid numbers, throwing for 2,179 yards and 12 touchdowns with only 8 interceptions. Despite his injury problems, McNair finished the season as the second leading rusher on the team with 337 yards and scoring 8 touchdowns. George also had an outstanding season, rushing for 1,304 yards, and catching 47 passes for 458 yards (his receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns were all career highs). In all, George scored a grand total of 13 rushing and receiving touchdowns, and was selected to play in the Pro Bowl for the 3rd consecutive year.^[16]

Another contributor on the Titans offense was fullback Lorenzo Neal, who frequently served as George's lead blocker and was widely considered one of the best blocking backs in the league. The team did not have any outstanding deep threats, but wide receivers Yancey Thigpen recorded 38 receptions for 648 yards, Kevin Dyson had 54 receptions for 658 yards, and tight end Frank Wycheck gained 69 receptions for 641 yards. Up front, their line was anchored by Pro Bowl tackle Bruce Matthews.^[17]

Tennessee's defense was also extremely effective. Pro Bowl defensive end Jevon Kearse anchored the line recording 14.5 sacks to go along with 10 forced fumbles and was named Defensive Rookie of the Year. The linebacking core was led by Eddie Robinson, who recorded 64 tackles and 6 sacks. Their secondary was led by cornerback Samari Rolle, who led the team with 4 interceptions.^[18]

The Titans finished the regular season with a 13–3 record (including a home win over the Rams), but finished second behind the 14–2 Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC Central. The Jaguars' only two losses were to the Titans, but Tennessee's three losses forced them to enter the playoffs as a wild-card team.^[19]

Playoffs[link]

Playing in his first ever NFL playoff game, Warner threw for 395 yards and 5 touchdowns, with 1 interception, as the Rams defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 49–37, by scoring 35 unanswered points in the second half. Bruce caught 4 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown. Faulk gained 101 combined rushing/receiving yards and scored 2 touchdowns. Although Vikings quarterback Jeff George threw for 423 yards and 4 touchdowns, 3 of his scores occurred late in the fourth quarter after the Rams had already put the game away.^[20]

The Rams then narrowly defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 11–6 in a hard fought defensive struggle in the NFC Championship. The first half ended with the Rams leading 5–3 on a Jeff Wilkins field goal and after a bad snap by the Buccaneers went through their own end zone for a safety. Tampa Bay then scored a field goal in the third quarter to take the lead. But Warner threw a 30-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to receiver Ricky Proehl with 4:14 left in the game.^[21]

Meanwhile, the Titans started out their postseason by narrowly defeating the Buffalo Bills, 22–16, on a famous, trick kickoff return play that became known in NFL Lore as the Music City Miracle. Tennessee jumped to a 12–0 first half lead with an Al Del Greco field goal, a safety by Kearse, and a McNair touchdown run. However, Buffalo came back to take the lead, 13–12 with Antowain Smith's 2 touchdown runs in the second half (the two-point conversion after Smith's second touchdown failed). In the fourth quarter, the Titans regained the lead after Del Greco kicked his second field goal. With 16 seconds left in the game, Bills kicker Steve Christie made what seemed to be the game-winning 41-yard field goal to give his team the lead, 16–15. However, Neal received the ensuing kickoff and handed the ball off to Wycheck, who then lateraled the ball to Dyson on the other side of the field, who eventually ran 75 yards to the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.^[22] The play was reviewed to determine whether Wycheck had lateraled the ball to Dyson or made an illegal forward pass. Referee Phil Luckett upheld the original call on the field of a touchdown, giving Tennessee the win.

The Titans then defeated the Indianapolis Colts 19–16. After both teams exchanged field goals in the first half, George scored on a 68-yard touchdown run to give his team a 13–9 lead. Del Greco then kicked 2 more field goals in the final period to put the game away. George finished the game with a franchise playoff record 162 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Del Greco made 4 field goals.^[23]

The Titans then eliminated the Jacksonville Jaguars, 33–14, in the AFC Championship game. The Jaguars finished the 1999 regular season with a league best 14–2 record, and advanced to the AFC title game after crushing the Miami Dolphins, 62–7, and limiting future Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino to just 11 of 25 completions for 95 yards and 1 touchdown, with 2 interceptions. However, Tennessee's defense dominated the Jaguars in the AFC Championship game, forcing 6 turnovers.^[2] Jacksonville led 14–10 at halftime, but the Titans then scored 23 unanswered points on 2 touchdown runs by McNair, a safety, and Derrick Mason's 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Although McNair passed for only 112 yards and one touchdown with one interception, he rushed for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns on 9 carries. George rushed for 86 yards and caught 3 passes for 19 yards.^[24]

Pre-game notes[link]

In January 2000, two ice storms struck the Atlanta area within a week of each other. The second storm occurred during the week the Super Bowl was hosted. Despite the rare adverse weather conditions, city and state crews kept streets and sidewalks free of ice, and MARTA public transport kept running. The Atlanta region does not receive more ice storms than most other areas of the country, and Super Bowl XXXIV was played indoors and unaffected by the elements. But some residents believe the poor weather during Super Bowl week negatively impacted the city's chances of hosting another Super Bowl, including the bid it lost for the 2009 Super Bowl.^[25] That bid included meteorological data showing the rarity of such storms in the area.^[26]

Nashville, home of the Titans, is also the midway point of the Atlanta-St. Louis highway corridor, which contains the entirety of Interstate 24, and uses other highways to complete the route.

Television and entertainment[link]

ABC televised the game in the United States with play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and color commentator Boomer Esiason. Chris Berman from Disney-owned corporate sibling ESPN hosted all the events. Berman was joined by fellow ESPN analyst Steve Young, while ESPN's Mike Tirico was on hand for the post-game presentation of the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Lesley Visser and Lynn Swann served as sideline reporters.

It was also the first Super Bowl to be aired in high definition and 5.1 Dolby Digital. ABC Sports chose to use the 720p format.^[27]

Ironically, the ABC affiliate in St. Louis, KDNL-TV, has been regarded as one of the network's weakest affiliates since joining the network in 1995. The previous ABC affiliate, KTVI, in contrast, was one of the strongest affiliates - it had become a Fox station in 1995, and thus, has televised the majority of the Rams' games in this period.

The game was later featured as one of the NFL's Greatest Games as The Longest Yard.

Pregame ceremonies[link]

The pregame show featured a tribute to "The Great American Music of the 20th Century". Narrated by The Smothers Brothers, the show highlighted some of the unique American musical styles such as Gospel, Big Band, Classical, Country and Rock. Singers Tina Turner and Travis Tritt along with the Georgia Tech Marching Band and the Georgia Mass Choir performed during the show.

Country singer Faith Hill then sang the national anthem.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Super Bowl IV, the following participants of the game were featured during the coin toss ceremony: Bud Grant, Lamar Hunt, Bobby Bell, Paul Krause, Willie Lanier, Alan Page, and Jan Stenerud.^[28]

Halftime show[link]

The halftime show was produced by Disney and titled "Tapestry of Nations" after the Epcot parade of the same name. The show, narrated by actor Edward James Olmos, was inspired by Walt Disney World's millennium celebration. It featured a full symphony orchestra; a multi-generational, 80-person choir; and singers Phil Collins, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, and Toni Braxton.^[29]

Commercials[link]

This game is often referred to as the "dot-com" Super Bowl since it was held during the height of the dot-com bubble, and several internet companies purchased television commercials. Pets.com famously paid millions for an advertisement featuring a sock puppet.^[30]

Game summary[link]

The two teams' defenses seemed to dominate most of the first half. The Rams started the game out strong by taking the opening kickoff and marching to the Tennessee 17-yard line. But on third down, safety Blaine Bishop pressured quarterback Kurt Warner to throw an incomplete pass. Then the ensuing field goal attempt failed when punter/holder Mike Horan fumbled the snap. The Titans responded by moving the ball to the St. Louis 29-yard line, aided with running back Eddie George's 32-yard reception. But they also came up empty after kicker Al Del Greco missed a 47-yard field goal attempt.

For the rest of the half, the Titans were forced to punt on all of their possessions. In contrast, the Rams were able to reach inside the Tennessee 20-yard line on all 4 of their remaining drives before halftime, but on each one, the Titans defense forced St. Louis to settle for field goal attempts from kicker Jeff Wilkins, who was successful in making 3 of them, but missed one attempt from 34 yards. The Rams ended up leading at halftime, 9–0, but their scoring margin over the Titans seemed somewhat small considering they drove into scoring range on every one of their first half possessions and outgained Tennessee in total yards, 294–89.

Both teams' offenses started to get going in the second half. The Titans took the opening kickoff of the third period and drove 43 yards to the St. Louis 29-yard line. But Tennessee remained scoreless after defensive back Todd Lyght blocked Del Greco's 47 yard field goal attempt. After that, Rams quarterback Kurt Warner threw a 31-yard strike to Isaac Bruce and a 16-yard completion to tight end Ernie Conwell before finishing the 68-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Torry Holt, giving St. Louis a 16–0 lead. On the completion to Conwell, Titans cornerback Blaine Bishop made the tackle, but suffered a spinal injury and had to leave the game. The game was delayed for several minutes while Bishop was being treated.

Tennessee wide receiver Derrick Mason returned the ensuing kickoff 35 yards to the 34-yard line. From there, 5 runs by George and two completions from quarterback Steve McNair to tight end Frank Wycheck advanced the ball to the St. Louis 29-yard line. Then McNair scrambled 23 yards to the 2-yard line, setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by George two plays later. The touchdown cut the Titans' deficit to 16–6 after McNair's pass to Wycheck on the two-point conversion attempt fell incomplete.

The Titans first score sparked them to rally. After forcing the Rams to punt on their ensuing possession, a pair of 21-yard completions from McNair to tight end Jackie Harris and wide receiver Isaac Byrd aided a 13-play, 79-yard drive that was capped by George's 2-yard touchdown run to cut the score, 16–13. The Tennessee defense then forced the Rams to a three-and-out, and Horan's 30-yard punt gave them the ball back at their 47-yard line. The Titans offense then drove only 28 yards on their ensuing possession, but it was close enough for Del Greco to attempt a 43-yard field goal. This time, Del Greco's kick was good, tying the score 16–16 with just 2:12 left in the game. The 16-point deficit was the largest deficit to be erased in a Super Bowl and the first greater than 10 points, but the Titans only tied the game and never gained the lead. It was also the first time in any Super Bowl a team down double digits in the fourth quarter had tied the game.

However on the Rams' first play of their ensuing drive, Warner threw a long pass that was caught by Bruce at the Titans' 38-yard line, who then ran it all the way into the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown completion to give St. Louis a 23–16 lead.^[31]

The Titans took over the ball at their own 12-yard line with 1:48 left in the game after committing a holding penalty on the ensuing kickoff. McNair started out the drive with a pair of completions to Mason and Wycheck for gains of 9 and 7 yards to reach the 28-yard line. Then after throwing an incompletion, defensive back Dre' Bly's 15-yard facemask penalty while tackling McNair on a 12-yard scramble gave the Titans a first down at the St. Louis 45-yard line. On the next play, St. Louis was penalized 5 yards for being offsides, moving the ball to the 40-yard line with 59 seconds left. McNair then ran for 2 yards, followed by a 7-yard completion to wide receiver Kevin Dyson. On the next play, Tennessee nearly lost the ball when Bly stepped in front of a pass intended for Mason, only to have it go right through his arms. Two plays later, with the Titans facing 3rd down and 5 to go, McNair was hit by two Rams' defenders, but he escaped and completed a 16-yard pass to Dyson to gain a first down at the Rams 10-yard line. Tennessee then used up their final timeout with just six seconds left in the game, giving them a chance for one last play. This final play has gone down in NFL history as simply "The Tackle".^[32][33]

The final play[link]

The Titans had just used their final timeout with six seconds remaining. With no timeouts remaining and the ball on the Rams' 10 yard line, the Titans were trailing by a touchdown and had one last opportunity to tie the game. The plan was to use tight end Frank Wycheck as a decoy. Wycheck would run straight up the field on the right side, to lure linebacker Mike Jones away from receiver Kevin Dyson. Dyson would then slant left through the middle of the field. With Jones occupying Wycheck, quarterback Steve McNair would pass the ball to Dyson, who would be open from about five yards out for the score.

As the play began, everything appeared to go as planned. Jones ran with Wycheck up the field at the beginning of the play. However, as the pass was being delivered to Dyson, Jones, who was at the goal line, glanced over his left shoulder and noticed an open Dyson catching the ball. Jones switched directions and ran towards the Titans receiver. Dyson ran directly toward the end zone, but his legs were wrapped up by Jones with about two and a half yards left to the goal line.

Since Dyson was being tackled by the legs, there was still the possibility he could reach towards the end zone and get the ball above the goal line. Both players went into a rolling motion as Dyson outstretched his hand with the football towards the goal line in the hopes of scoring the touchdown. Though his reach was close, and the ball mere inches away from the end zone, it was still not enough to score. As the rolling motion came to an end, with Jones now on top of Dyson's legs, his shoulder had touched the ground and, therefore, the game was over. Had Dyson scored and the extra point been made, it would have been the first Super Bowl overtime period in history.

Considering the magnitude of the Super Bowl, and the wild game that preceded it, "The Tackle" is considered one of the greatest and most exciting game-ending plays in modern National Football League history. The image of Dyson stretching the ball towards the goal line with Jones wrapped around him has become a staple of NFL highlights. ESPN.com ranked "The Tackle" as the 35th greatest moment of the past 25 years in sports (as of 2007)^[34] and the second-greatest moment in Super Bowl history.^[35] Fox Sports ranked The Tackle as the Greatest Clutch Play in Super Bowl History (as of 2007). Like Dallas Cowboys cornerback Larry Brown, Mike Jones was included on the NFL Network's "Top 10 One-Hit Wonders" list (Jones was #10, Brown was #3), although Jones also mirrored Brown in having a solid if unspectacular career outside of his Super Bowl heroics.

After the game[link]

Kurt Warner at the Super Bowl XXXIV post-game press conference

After the game, many sports writers commented on Warner's rise from an unknown backup to a Super Bowl MVP, but Warner himself wasn't impressed by it. "How can you be in awe of something that you expect yourself to do?" Warner pointed out. "People think this season is the first time I touched a football; they don't realize I've been doing this for years – just not on this level, because I never got the chance. Sure, I had my tough times, but you don't sit there and say, 'Wow, I was stocking groceries five years ago, and look at me now.' You don't think about it, and when you do achieve something, you know luck has nothing to do with it."^[36]

Box score[link]

Final statistics[link]

Overview[link]

Bruce caught 6 passes for 162 yards (3rd highest) and a touchdown, an average of 27 yards per catch. Holt had 7 receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown. Bruce and Holt became the fourth pair of teammates to each have over 100 yards receiving in a Super Bowl, joining: Super Bowl XIII, the Steelers' John Stallworth and Lynn Swann, Super Bowl XVI, the Bengals' Cris Collinsworth and Dan Ross, and Super Bowl XXVI, the Redskins' Gary Clark and Art Monk.^[37]

Rams starting running back Marshall Faulk was held to just 17 rushing yards, but gained 90 receiving yards on 5 receptions. McNair set a Super Bowl record for rushing yards by a quarterback, recording 64 yards on 8 carries. He also completed 22 out of 36 passes for 214 yards. George finished the game with 95 rushing yards, 35 receiving yards, and 2 touchdowns. Harris was the top receiver for Tennessee with 7 catches for 64 yards. Mason returned 5 kickoffs for 122 yards, and caught 2 passes for 18 yards.^[38]

Statistical comparison[link]

Individual leaders[link]

^*Completions/Attempts ^aCarries ^bLong play ^cReceptions

Starting lineups[link]

Officials[link]

• Referee: Bob McElwee #95
• Umpire: Ron Botchan #110
• Head Linesman: Earnie Frantz #111
• Line Judge: Byron Boston #18
• Field Judge: Al Jury #106
• Side Judge: Tom Fincken #47
• Back Judge: Bill Leavy #127
• Alternate Referee: Walt Coleman #65
• Alternate Umpire: Bob Wagner #100^[39]

Notes and references[link]

External links[link]

• Super Bowl official 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: History of the Super Bowl (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
• Large online database of NFL data and statistics
• 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)

See also[link]

v t e Super Bowl I (1967) II (1968) III (1969) IV (1970) V (1971) VI (1972) VII (1973) VIII (1974) IX (1975) X (1976) XI (1977) XII (1978) XIII (1979) XIV (1980) XV (1981) XVI (1982) XVII (1983) XVIII (1984) XIX (1985) XX (1986) XXI (1987) XXII (1988) XXIII (1989) XXIV (1990) XXV (1991) XXVI (1992) XXVII (1993) XXVIII (1994) XXIX (1995) XXX (1996) XXXI (1997) XXXII (1998) XXXIII (1999) XXXIV (2000) XXXV (2001) XXXVI (2002) XXXVII (2003) XXXVIII (2004) XXXIX (2005) XL (2006) XLI (2007) XLII (2008) XLIII (2009) XLIV (2010) XLV (2011) XLVI (2012) XLVII (2013) XLVIII (2014) XLIX (2015) L (2016) Champions Coaches Vince Lombardi Trophy Most Valuable Players Records Broadcasters Officials National Anthem Halftime Advertising USA Today Ad Meter Commercials Pre-Super Bowl NFL champions Curse Counterprogramming Lead-out programming Quarterbacks Super Bowl Sunday

The Super Bowl

The Vince Lombardi Trophy is awarded to the Super Bowl winner
First played	January 15, 1967
Trophy	Vince Lombardi Trophy
Recent and upcoming games
2011 season
Super Bowl XLVI (Lucas Oil Stadium) (February 5, 2012) New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17
2012 season
Super Bowl XLVII (Mercedes-Benz Superdome) (February 3, 2013)
2013 season
Super Bowl XLVIII (MetLife Stadium) (February 2, 2014)

The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather than the year in which it is held. For example, Super Bowl I was played on January 15, 1967, following the 1966 regular season, while the most recent game, Super Bowl XLVI, was played on February 5, 2012, to determine the champion of the 2011 season.

The game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its then-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 to officially begin in 1970. After the merger, each league was redesignated as a "conference", and the game was then played between the conference champions. Currently, the NFC leads the series with 25 wins to 21 wins for the AFC.

The day on which the Super Bowl is played, now considered by some a de facto American national holiday,^[1][2] is called "Super Bowl Sunday". It is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day.^[3] In addition, the Super Bowl has frequently been the most watched American television broadcast of the year. Super Bowl XLV, played in 2011, became the most-watched American television program in history, drawing an average audience of 111 million viewers and taking over the spot held by the previous year's Super Bowl, which itself had taken over the #1 spot held for twenty-eight years by the final episode of M*A*S*H.^[4] The Super Bowl is also among the most watched sporting events in the world, mostly due to North American audiences, and is second to association football (soccer)’s UEFA Champions League final as the most watched annual sporting event worldwide.^[5]

Because of its high viewership, commercial airtime during 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.^[6] In addition, many popular singers and musicians have performed during the event's pre-game and halftime ceremonies because of the exposure.

Origin[link]

For four decades after its 1920 inception, the NFL successfully fended off several rival leagues. However, in 1960, it encountered its most serious competitor when the American Football League (AFL) was formed. The AFL vied heavily with the NFL for both players and fans, but by the middle of the decade the strain of competition led to serious merger talks between the two leagues. Prior to the 1966 season, the NFL and AFL reached a merger agreement that was to take effect for the 1970 season. As part of the merger, the champions of the two leagues agreed to meet in a "world" championship game for professional American football until the merger was effected.

Lamar Hunt, owner of the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs, first used the term "Super Bowl"^[7] to refer to this game in the merger meetings. Hunt would later say the name was likely in his head because his children had been playing with a Super Ball toy (a vintage example of the ball is on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio). In a July 25, 1966, letter to NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, Hunt wrote, "I have kiddingly called it the 'Super Bowl,' which obviously can be improved upon." Although the leagues' owners decided on the name "AFL-NFL Championship Game," the media immediately picked up on Hunt's "Super Bowl" name, which would become official beginning with the third annual game.^[8]

The "Super Bowl" name was derived from the bowl game, a term used to describe post-season college football games. The original "bowl game" was the Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, California, which was first played in 1902 as the "Tournament East-West football game" as part of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses and moved to the new Rose Bowl Stadium in 1923. The stadium got its name from the fact that the game played there was part of the Tournament of Roses and that it was shaped like a bowl, much like the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut; the Tournament of Roses football game itself eventually came to be known as the Rose Bowl Game. Exploiting the Rose Bowl Game's popularity, post-season college football contests were created for Miami (the Orange Bowl) and New Orleans (the Sugar Bowl) in 1935, and for Dallas (the Cotton Bowl) in 1937. Thus, by the time the first Super Bowl was played, the term "bowl" for any big-time American football game was well established.

After the NFL's Green Bay Packers 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 their NFL counterparts, though that perception changed when the AFL's New York Jets defeated the NFL's 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 in Super Bowl IV in New Orleans, which was the final AFL-NFL World Championship Game played before the merger. Beginning with the 1970 season, the NFL realigned into two conferences; the former AFL teams plus three NFL teams (the Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns) would constitute the American Football Conference (AFC), while the remaining NFL clubs would form the National Football Conference (NFC). The champions of the two conferences would play each other in the Super Bowl.

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 fourteen-game regular season and two rounds of 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 currently played on the first Sunday in February, given the current seventeen-week (sixteen games and one bye week) regular season and three rounds of playoffs. Also, February is television's "sweeps" month, thus affording the television network carrying the game an immense opportunity to pad its viewership when negotiating for advertising revenue. The progression of the dates of the Super Bowl was caused by several factors: the expansion of the NFL's regular season in 1978 from fourteen games to sixteen; the expansion of the pre-Super Bowl playoff field from six teams (two AFL and four NFL) prior to the merger, to eight in the 1970-71 season, then to ten in 1978-79, and finally twelve in 1990-91, necessitating the addition of additional rounds of playoffs; the addition of the regular season bye-week in the 1990s; and the decision to start the regular season the week following Labor Day.

The winning team receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after the coach of the Green Bay Packers, who won the first two Super Bowl games and three of the five preceding NFL championships in 1961, 1962, and 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 following their win in Super Bowl V in Miami.

Game history[link]

The Pittsburgh Steelers have won six Super Bowls, the most of any team; the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers have five victories each; and both the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants have four Super Bowls championships. Thirteen other NFL franchises have won at least one Super Bowl. Ten teams have appeared in Super Bowl games without a win. The Minnesota Vikings were the first team to have lost a record four times without a win. The Buffalo Bills played in a record four Super Bowls in a row, and lost every one. Four teams (the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Texans) have never appeared in a Super Bowl. The Browns and Lions both won NFL Championships prior to the Super Bowl's creation, while the Jaguars (1995) and Texans (2002) are both recent NFL expansion teams. The Minnesota Vikings won the last NFL Championship before the merger, but lost to the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl IV.

1960s: Early history[link]

The Green Bay Packers won the first two Super Bowls, defeating the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders following the 1966 and 1967 seasons, respectively. The Packers were led by quarterback Bart Starr, who was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for both games. These two championships, coupled with the Packers' NFL championships in 1961, 1962, and 1965, amount to the most successful stretch in NFL History; five championships in seven years. As owners of arguably the only true NFL dynasty, Green Bay, Wisconsin has been named Titletown, USA." ^[9][10]

In Super Bowl III, the AFL's New York Jets defeated the eighteen-point favorite Baltimore Colts of the NFL, 16–7. The Jets were led by quarterback Joe Namath (who had famously guaranteed a Jets win prior to the game) and former Colts head coach Weeb Ewbank, and their victory proved that the AFL was the NFL's competitive equal. This was reinforced the following year, when the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs defeated the NFL's Minnesota Vikings 23–7 in Super Bowl IV.

1970s: Dominant franchises[link]

After the AFL-NFL merger was completed in 1970, three franchises – the Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins, and Pittsburgh Steelers – would go on to dominate the 1970s, winning a combined eight Super Bowls in the decade.

The Baltimore Colts, now a member of the AFC, would start the decade by defeating the Cowboys in Super Bowl V, a game which is notable as being the only Super Bowl to date in which a player from the losing team won the MVP award (Cowboys' linebacker Chuck Howley).

The Cowboys, coming back from a loss the previous season, won Super Bowl VI over the Dolphins. However, this would be the Dolphins' final loss in over a year, as the next year, the Dolphins would go 14–0 in the regular season, and cap it off with a victory in Super Bowl VII, becoming the first and only team to finish an entire regular season and post season perfect. The Dolphins would win Super Bowl VIII a year later.

In the late 1970s, the Steelers became the first NFL dynasty of the post-merger era by winning four super bowls (IX, X, XIII, and XIV) in six years. They were led by head coach Chuck Noll, the play of offensive stars Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, and Mike Webster, and their dominant "Steel Curtain" defense, led by "Mean" Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Ernie Holmes, Mel Blount, Jack Ham, and Jack Lambert. The coaches and administrators also were part of the dynasty's greatness as evidenced by the team's "final pieces" being part of the famous 1974 draft. The selections in that class have been considered the best by any pro franchise ever, as Pittsburgh selected four future Hall of Famers, the most for any team in any sport in a single draft. 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 in eight straight seasons. Nine players and three coaches and administrators on the team have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Pittsburgh still remains the only team to win back-to-back Super Bowls twice and four Super Bowls in a six-year period.

The Steelers' dynasty was interrupted only by the Cowboys winning their second Super Bowl of the decade, and the Oakland Raiders' Super Bowl XI win.

1980s and 1990s: The NFC's winning streak[link]

In the 1980s and 1990s, the tables turned for the AFC, as the NFC dominated the Super Bowls of the new decade and most of those of the 1990s. The NFC won 16 of the 20 Super Bowls during these two decades, including 13 straight from Super Bowl XIX to Super Bowl XXXI.

The most successful franchise of the 1980s was the San Francisco 49ers, which featured the West Coast offense of head coach Bill Walsh. This offense was led by three-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback Joe Montana, Super Bowl MVP wide receiver Jerry Rice, and tight end Brent Jones. Under their leadership, the 49ers won four Super Bowls in the decade (XVI, XIX, XXIII, and XXIV) and made nine playoff appearances between 1981 and 1990, including eight division championships, becoming the second dynasty of the post-merger NFL. The 1980s also produced the 1985 Chicago Bears, who posted an 18–1 record under head coach Mike Ditka, colorful quarterback Jim McMahon, and Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton and won Super Bowl XX in dominating fashion. The Washington Redskins and New York Giants were also top teams of this period; the Redskins won Super Bowls XVII and XXII and the Giants claimed Super Bowls XXI and XXV. As in the 1970s, the Oakland Raiders were the only team to interrupt the Super Bowl dominance of other teams; they won Super Bowls XV and XVIII (the latter as the Los Angeles Raiders).

Following several seasons with poor records in 1980s, the Dallas Cowboys rose back to prominence in the 1990s. During this decade, the Cowboys made post season appearances every year except for the seasons of 1990 and 1997. From 1992 to 1996, the Cowboys won their division championship each year. In this same period, the Buffalo Bills had made their mark reaching the Super Bowl for 4 consecutive years, only to lose in all of them. After Super Bowl championships by division rivals New York (1990) and Washington (1991), the Cowboys won three of the next four Super Bowls (XXVII, XXVIII, and XXX) led by quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith, and wide receiver Michael Irvin. The Cowboy's streak was interrupted by the 49ers, who won their league-leading fifth title overall with Super Bowl XXIX; however, the Cowboys' victory in Super Bowl XXX the next year also gave them five titles overall. The NFC's winning streak was continued by the Green Bay Packers who, under quarterback Brett Favre, won Super Bowl XXXI, their first championship since Super Bowl II in the late 1960s.

1997-2008:AFC Dominance[link]

During this period, the AFC had ended the NFC's long Super Bowl streak and started a stretch of its own in which AFC teams won 9 out of 12 Super Bowls. The remainder were won between the Broncos, Steelers, and Colts. In the years between 2001 and 2011, three teams – the Patriots, Steelers, and Colts – accounted for ten of the AFC Super Bowl appearances, with those same teams often meeting each other earlier in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the NFC saw a different representative in the Super Bowl every season from 2001 through 2010.

Super Bowl XXXII saw quarterback John Elway and running back Terrell Davis lead the Denver Broncos to an upset victory over the defending champion Packers, snapping the NFC's winning streak and starting a streak in which AFC teams would win eight of the next ten Super Bowls. This marked Elway's first Super Bowl championship in four attempts. The Broncos defeated the Atlanta Falcons in the following Super Bowl, which would be Elway's final game. The surprising St. Louis Rams would close out the 1990s by logging an NFC win in Super Bowl XXXIV.

The New England Patriots became the dominant team throughout the early 2000s, winning the championship three out of four years early in the decade. They would become only the second team in the history of the NFL to do so (after the 1990s Dallas Cowboys). In Super Bowl XXXVI, first-year starting quarterback Tom Brady led his team to a 20–17 upset victory over the St. Louis Rams. Brady would go on to win the MVP award for this game The Patriots also won Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX defeating the Carolina Panthers and the Philadelphia Eagles respectively. This four year stretch of Patriot dominance was only interrupted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Super Bowl XXXVII title.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts continued the era of AFC dominance by winning Super Bowls XL and XLI. Two years later the Steelers won an NFL record sixth Super Bowl championship in Super Bowl XLIII.

In the 2007 season, the Patriots came back by becoming the first team in NFL history to have a 16–0 record in the regular season. They easily marched through the AFC playoffs and were heavy favorites in Super Bowl XLII. However, they lost that game to the New York Giants 17–14, in large part due to a play that would become known as the Helmet Catch, in which Giants receiver David Tyree caught an Eli Manning pass by securing it against the side of his helmet. This pass would set up the eventual game-winning touchdown.

2009-Present: NFC turnaround[link]

NFC teams won four of five Super Bowls in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The Giants won the two championships (XLII as described above and XLVI over the Patriots) in this period. Between these titles, the New Orleans Saints won their first title and the Green Bay Packers won their fourth Super Bowl and record 13th NFL championship overall.

The Super Bowls of the late 2000s and early 2010s are marked by the performances of the several of the winning quarterbacks. Peyton Manning, Eli Manning twice, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers all added championships and Super Bowl MVP awards to their lists of individual accomplishments.

Television coverage and ratings[link]

For many years, the Super Bowl has possessed a large US and global television viewership, and it is often the most watched television program of the year. The game tends to have high Nielsen television ratings, which is usually around a 40 rating and 60 share. This means that on average, 80 to 90 million people from the United States are tuned into the Super Bowl at any given moment.

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.^[11][12] In reality, the NFL states one billion as the game's potential worldwide audience, or the number of people able to watch the game.^[13] The New York-based media research firm Initiative measured the global audience for the 2005 Super Bowl at 93 million people, with 98 percent of that figure being viewers in North America, which meant roughly 2 million people outside North America watched the Super Bowl.^[11]

2012's Super Bowl XLVI holds the record for total number of U.S. viewers, attracting an average U.S. audience of over 111 million and an estimated total audience of nearly 167 million, making the game the most-viewed television broadcast of any kind in American history.^[14]

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 aided by a large blizzard that had affected much of the northeastern United States on game day, leaving residents to stay at home more than usual. Also, because network television was still the predominant means of viewership and pay television services (cable, and later satellite) were still relatively unavailable, there were not many choices of things to watch on television.^{[citation needed]} Super Bowl XVI still ranks fourth on Nielsen's list of top-rated programs of all time, and three other Super Bowls, XII, XVII, and XX, made the top ten.^[15]

Famous commercial campaigns include the Budweiser "Bud Bowl" campaign and the 1999 and 2000 dot-com ads. Prices have increased every year, with advertisers paying as much as $3.5 million for a thirty-second spot during Super Bowl XLVI in 2012.^[16] A segment of the audience tunes in to the Super Bowl solely to view commercials.^[6] The Super Bowl halftime show has spawned another set of alternative entertainment such as the Lingerie Bowl, the Beer Bottle Bowl, and other facets of American culture.

Super Bowl on TV[link]