Learn more about the big game in this blog post
Super Bowl LVI is right around the corner — whether you’re a die-hard gridiron fan or just watching for the tasty snacks and the halftime show, there’s a lot to be excited about. Here are a few fun facts about football’s biggest game of the year.
Why Roman Numerals?
Why is the number of the Super Bowl always expressed in Roman numerals? In 1966, the National Football League and the American Football League agreed to merge the two leagues for the following season. Since both leagues’ regular season play occurred mainly in the fall and this new game would be played the following year, organizers decided to assign each championship game (aka the Superbowl) a number.
As for how Roman numerals were introduced, Kansas City Chiefs founder, Lamar Hunt, suggested using them to add “pomp and gravitas to the game.” As a result, super Bowl V in 1971 was the first to use Roman numerals and the tradition continues today.
Commercial Success
The Super Bowl has become the most-watched American sporting event each year. With an average of around 100 million viewers, it’s prime time for companies and brands to showcase their most creative and bold advertisements.
During the first-ever Super Bowl in 1967, a 30-second spot cost around $40,000 — compared to 2019, that same ad spot cost advertisers over $5 million. From Pepsi’s 1992 ad featuring supermodel Cindy Crawford to Snickers’ 2010 “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” spot featuring Betty White, the Super Bowl is a massive platform for both new and established brands to reach consumers.
Super Bowl of Chips
The Super Bowl is the second-largest food consumption day in America — the first being Thanksgiving. Some 8 million pounds of guacamole, 14,500 tons of chips, and 50 million cases of beer are consumed on Super Bowl Sunday.
In 2020, the National Chicken Council projected that Americans would eat a record-breaking 1.4 billion chicken wings over Super Bowl weekend. Not surprisingly, in 2019, over 17 million employees called in sick the day after the Super Bowl, leading to petitions advocating that the Monday after the Super Bowl be a national holiday.
Plenty of Pigskin
Over 700,000 footballs are produced each year for NFL use, and over 100 footballs can be used during the Super Bowl. Each of those balls is inspected for air pressure and proper protocols two hours and fifteen minutes before each game. Every football used at the Super Bowl in 2021 was manufactured at the same Wilson Sporting Goods Factory in Ada, Ohio.
“I’m Going to Disney World!”
This famous tagline was first uttered by New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms after the big game in 1987. Disney paid both Simms and the Denver Broncos quarterback, John Elway, $75,000 to say the now-famous slogan. This way, no matter which team won, Disney would have their viral moment with the winning quarterback.
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