Super Bowl Facts: 21 Things You (Probably) Don't Know About the Big Game
Super Bowl XLIX is just two days away and Moviefone has football fever.
But we're not here to talk about the Patriots. Or even the Seahawks. We're here to share the weirdest, most incomprehensible facts about the Big Game. (Don't get us started on the hundreds of tons of guac that America will be putting down on Sunday.)
From the original cost of a Super Bowl ticket to the most unlucky teams in football, here are 21 mind-blowing facts you probably don't know about the NFL's biggest game.
1. The Super Bowl will be broadcast in 34 languages around the globe!
2. Look at the person to your right, then look at the person to your left. One of you will place some sort of wager on the Super Bowl. That is, as long as you're an American.
3. The Super Bowl coin toss has resulted in heads and tails an equal 24 times.
4. The opening kickoff in a Super Bowl was returned for a touchdown only once. Devin Hester accomplished the feat in Super Bowl XLI.
5. Thirty-five points is the most scored in the first half of a Super Bowl, courtesy of the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XXII.
6. Of the first 48 Super Bowls, a quarterback has been named Super Bowl MVP 26 times.
7. A defensive player has been named MVP 9 times. The last to do it? Seattle Seahawks linebacker Malcolm Smith just last year.
8. Minnesota and Buffalo have had some tough breaks. The two teams have played in four Super Bowls without winning one, a record for most appearances without a title.
9. On the flip side, there are four current NFL teams who have never played in a Super Bowl (Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, and Jacksonville).
10. The Denver Broncos have lost the Big Game more than any other team in history. Don't feel too bad for them, though; they've also won a couple of times.
11. Back in 1967, a ticket to Super Bowl I cost just six dollars. As of Thursday morning, the cheapest ticket for Super Bowl XLIX was $8,070. Yes, that's cheapest.
12. The series finale of M.A.S.H was the most-watched program in television history for 20 years until Super Bowl XLIV. It's also the only other event to surpass 100 million viewers in America.
13. Nine of the 10 most-watched U.S. television programs in history were Super Bowls.
14. No Super Bowl game has ever gone past regulation, and only a combined 5 AFC and NFC Championships have gone to overtime.
15. A 30-second commercial spot for Super Bowl I cost about $40,000. Today, a 30-second spot will run you about $4.5 million.
16. Last year, Renée Fleming was the first-ever opera singer to sing the national anthem.
17. When the New England Patriots played the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI, it was the first time two reigning Super Bowl MVP quarterbacks, Tom Brady and Eli Manning, were facing off against each other. Coincidentally, Manning won his MVP versus Brady's undefeated Pats in Super Bowl XLII.
18. Super Bowl Sunday is the second biggest day of the year for food consumption in the U.S. Thanksgiving is the first.
19. Reportedly, eight million pounds (or more!) of guacamole will be eaten on Super Bowl Sunday.
20. As far as pizza goes, Domino's expects to sell about 9 million slices for the Big Game, nearly 50% more than a typical Sunday.
21. Thought the Super Bowl was the most-watched sporting event in the world? Think again. The Champions League Final takes the prize. That's a soccer (ahem, football) match!
[Sources: TIME, New York Post, The FW]