The Super Bowl was created as part of the merger
agreement between the National Football League (NFL) and its
competitive rival, the American Football League
(AFL). After its inception in 1920, the NFL fended off several rival
leagues before the AFL began play in 1960. The intense competitive war
for players and fans led to serious merger talks between the two
leagues in 1966, culminating in a merger announcement on June 8, 1966.
One of the conditions of the AFL-NFL Merger
was that the winners of each league's championship game would meet in a
contest to determine the "world champion of football". According to NFL
Films President Steve Sabol, then NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle wanted
to call the game "The Big One". During the discussions to iron out the
details, AFL founder and Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt
had jokingly referred to the proposed interleague championship as the
"Super Bowl". Hunt thought of the name after seeing his kids playing
with a toy called a Super Ball. The ball is now on display at the Pro
Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The name was consistent with
postseason college football games which had long been known as "bowl
games". The "bowl" term originated from the Rose Bowl Game, which was
in turn named for the bowl-shaped stadium
in which it is played. Hunt only meant his suggested name to be a
stopgap until a better one could be found. Nevertheless, the name
"Super Bowl" became permanent.
After the NFL's Green Bay Packers
convincingly 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 NFL counterparts. That perception all
changed with one of the biggest upsets in sports history, the AFL's New
York Jets defeat of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in Miami. One
year later, the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs defeated the NFL Minnesota
Vikings 23-7 and won Super Bowl IV in New Orleans, the last World
Championship game played between the champions of the two leagues.
These first four Super Bowls were actually AFL-NFL World Championships
at the time. After the merger, they were redesignated as Super Bowls I
through IV.
The game has been played annually on a Sunday as the
final game of the playoffs,
originally early to mid-January when there was a 14 game schedule, but
late January or even the first Sunday in February as the current 16
game schedule dictates.
Former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle
is often considered the mastermind of both the merger and the Super
Bowl. His leadership guided them into the merger agreement and cemented
the preeminence of the Super Bowl.
The winning team gets the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named
after the coach of the Green Bay Packers, who won the first two Super
Bowl games and 3 of the 5 preceding NFL championships
(1961-62, 1965). Following his death in September 1970, the trophy was
then named the Vince Lombardi Trophy, first awarded as such to the
Baltimore Colts at Super Bowl V in Miami.
|
The last ten
years
| Game |
Date |
Winning Team |
Score |
Losing Team |
Venue |
| XLII |
3 Feb 2008 |
New York Giants |
17-14 |
New England Patriots |
University of Phoenix
Stadium, Phoenix |
| XLI |
4 Feb 2007 |
Indianapolis Colts |
29-17 |
Chicago Bears |
Dolphin Stadium, Miami |
| XL |
5 Feb 2006 |
Pittsburgh Steelers |
21-10 |
Seattle Seahawks |
Ford Field, Detroit |
| XXXIX |
6 Feb 2005 |
New England Patriots |
24-21 |
Philadelphia Eagles |
ALLTEL Stadium,
Jacksonville |
| XXXVIII |
1 Feb 2004 |
New England Patriots |
32-29 |
Carolina Panthers |
Reliant Stadium, Houston |
| XXXVII |
26 Jan 2003 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
48-21 |
Oakland Raiders |
Qualcomm Stadium, San
Diego |
| XXXVI |
3 Feb 2002 |
New England Patriots |
20-17 |
St Louis Rams |
Louisiana Superdome, New
Orleans |
| XXXV |
28 Jan 2001 |
Baltimore Ravens |
34-7 |
New York Giants |
Raymond James Stadium,
Tampa |
| XXXIV |
30 Jan 2000 |
St Louis Rams |
23-16 |
Tennessee Titans |
Georgia Dome, Atlanta |
| XXXIII |
31 Jan 1999 |
Denver Broncos |
34-19 |
Atlanta Falcons |
Dolphin Stadium, Miami |
|
