Super Bowl Stats

First Super Bowl held in 1967.

I started to post a blog about "portmanteaux", words that are a blend of two other words, but my son Thomas told me to blog about the Super Bowl, saying that I would get more hits.  I took him up on his suggestion.  Here are ten things you may not know about the football classic.

1.  Super Bowl Sunday is the second biggest eating day of the year next to the American Thanksgiving.

2.  The Super Bowl was first played in 1967, pinning the American Football League against the National Football League.  The two leagues officially merged in 1970.  So far, the NFC division has claimed 25 victories while the AFC division has claimed 21.

3.  The Super Bowl is frequently the most watched television broadcast of the year.  In 2011, the viewing audience reached 111 million, bumping the TV show M*A*S*H from the record books after 28 years.

4.  The Green Bay Packers won the first Super Bowl while the New York Giants won last year's match.

5.  Sponsors pay $40 million for a 30 second commercial during the Super Bowl broadcast.

6.  New Orleans, this year's host, has hosted more Super Bowls than any other city.

7.  The Super Bowl winner receives the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after the three-time winning former coach of the Green Bay Packers.

8.  The closest score ever was posted in 1991 between the New York Giants, 20 vs. Buffalo Bills, 19.

9.  The biggest gap in a final score happened in 1990 between San Francisco, 55, versus Denver, 10.

10.  Over $90 million was wagered on the Super Bowl game this year.

Image courtesy stoketravel.com.