So, yes, it has now reached the 50th anniversary of the biggest single annual sporting event, at least in North America. While the World Cup is bigger, and probably the Euro tournaments, as well, possibly, as some of the South American tournaments, the Super Bowl stands out as one of the most viewed sporting events. And, unlike most of those other tournaments, the Super Bowl is an annual tradition, and it takes place every winter. A new champion is crowned each year, and in the last couple of decades, we started getting some wild and unpredictable Super Bowl games. There was a time when this was not so, and so we should be appreciative of the highly entertaining games that we have been blessed with in recent years. It used to be that Super Bowl blowouts were the norm, and interesting games were the exception. Now, most of these games are close and enticing, and the blowouts seem to be the exception.
Still, the history of the Super Bowl is fascinating. There was the first one, which followed the script, with the mighty Packers crushing the upstart Chiefs. Then, two short years later, the then Baltimore Colts were trying to solidify their status as most dominant team in NFL history, but that ended forever when they were shocked by the New York Jets, behind Joe Namath's famous guarantee. That was the game that changed it all, and this big game immortalized the Super Bowl as an event where the unexpected could indeed happen, and that it was a must see.
The traditions have changed, even greatly, over the course of the years. The halftime shows used to be really lame and hokey, to the point that The Simpsons made fun of it.
That has changed greatly, as halftime at the Super Bowl is now a huge event, where some huge act gets to entertain not just the stadium, but the entire nation and, indeed, much of the world. Last year, we had Katy Perry with Lenny Kravitz. But there have been some huge names now to play during the Super Bowl halftime show, including Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, The Who, U2, Michael Jackson, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madonna, and numerous others. On top of it, other huge acts have sung the National Anthem, although the most famous version will likely be Whitney Houston's 1991 version.
Another aspect that has changed was the postgame. It used to be, until the Cowboys won Super Bowl XXX over the Steelers, that the winners would come off the field and have their celebration in the locker room, privately. Oh, television viewers would see glimpses, but for the most part, the spectator sport championship would end with the champions celebrating in private. Dallas became the first team to celebrate before the crowd at the stadium, and this tradition has continued ever since. Even this has been modified, as nowadays, the presentation of the trophy itself has become a huge event itself, accompanied with a specific musical piece. Some past Super Bowl stars come out to present the new champions with the trophy, and then everyone is interviewed before the crowd.
Not surprisingly, the Super Bowl has gotten longer, too. All NFL games have.
Nowadays, though, everything about the Super Bowl seems to be bigger, and to take much longer. There is a big production about the pregames (they almost seem to run all day now), as well as the coin flip, the national anthem, the player introductions, and the kick off. Also, the halftime show is obviously so much bigger these days, as well.
Here is an interesting trend to keep in mind about Super Bowls: the team wearing the white (away) jerseys tends to be much, much better. In the prior 49 Super Bowls, the team wearing white holds a decisive 31-18 lead in terms of games won. Perhaps that is why the Denver Broncos this year, as the official "host team" of Super Bowl 50, made the relatively rare move to wear their white jerseys. It surely has to do with some measure of superstition or another, because the Carolina Panthers have a very strong record in their postseason history when wearing their white jerseys, although not so much when wearing their dark (black) home jerseys. Let's see if that all plays a factor in today's game.
Another thing to look at: which team score first. Whoever scores first has a decided advantage historically, as well. New England scored first last year, and ultimately won the game, joining the other 32 Super Bowl winners that scored first and went on to win. The teams scoring first who lost have, by way of comparison, only won 16 Super Bowls. The last time that a team scoring first in the big game lost would be all the way back in Super Bowl XLIV, when the Indianapolis Colts scored first and built a 10-0 lead, only to lose to the New Orleans Saints in that game.
Commercials have obviously become a huge part of the spectacle that nowadays is the Super Bowl, with a 30 second clip now running several millions of dollars. The commercials themselves now seem to generate discussion both inside and outside of the sports world, and some people find the commercials more entertaining than the game itself!
One generally underrated aspect of the Super Bowl would be how things look aesthetically. It seems that the NFL now prefers domed games and night games. But when I was growing up, it was wonderful to see the brilliantly green fields of sunny California or Florida. It really felt like a reward for the teams participating, especially when they were from cold weather areas. As a Giants fan, I remember being quite taken by their playing in the bright southern California sunshine as a sign that they had finally made it! It is hard to get quite the same feeling when it is a night game, or a game played inside of a dome. Aesthetically, it looks almost like any other game, really. When it is played in the California sunshine, as it will be today (and the weather is predicted to be sunny and pleasant for this game), it will be a break from the cold and overcast winter days that much of the country has experienced, which helps to make this game a pleasant excursion from every day worries. Without going too far with this, it is almost like a vacation for a couple of hours.
One trend that the NFL rather inexplicably decided to scrap for this year's Super Bowl was the Roman numerals. This should be Super Bowl L, but instead, the NFL officially dropped that for this one year, and decided to go with Super Bowl 50. Personally, I think that was dumb and lacked consistency, and have tried my best to refer to it as Super Bowl L. I like that only one Roman number is used, making it feel truly like an important anniversary. There have been only three previous Super Bowls with one Roman Numeral (I, V, and X), and I was looking forward to seeing it. Yet, the NFL chose to go another way, which was a minor disappointment.
Still, Super Bowl 50 it is, at least officially. And it should be a good one, between two capable and powerful teams. I will be watching it with my son, which will be a first (remember, that up until two years ago, I was always working at Prudential for the Super Bowls, and did not see the big game with him in either of the last two Super Bowls since.
I'm looking forward to it! Enjoy the big game, everybody!
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