My dad said Well we need to come up with a name something like the Super Bowl Lamar Hunt Jr said Then he said Actually that’s not a very good name We can come up with something better Turns out he didn’t have to Super Bowl sounded catchy but it needed something more So Hunt also suggested adding Roman numerals for each game so fans could tell them apart When the Baltimore Colts and Dallas Cowboys played in January 1971 it was Super Bowl V to mark the fifth Super Bowl As the numbers grew so did interest in the Super Bowl Even people who didn’t regularly watch the NFL would tune in More than 114 million people watched when Tom Brady and the New England Patriots held on to beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX that’s 49 in February 2015 That made it the most-watched show of all time It’s a pretty safe bet that the Super Bowl will be the most-watched show of any given year
Why all the viewers Although the commercials and halftime show have something to do with it mostly fans want to watch the game's best players face off on the sport's biggest stage Quarterback Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers cemented their legacy as the team of the 1980s with four Super Bowl titles The Super Bowl gives the NFL's greatest players a chance to secure their place in history Terry Bradshaw and the Super Steelers brought four titles in six seasons to Pittsburgh beginning after the 1974 season
Joe Montana made winning Super Bowls look easy while quarterbacking the San Francisco 49ers to four championships of their own beginning in the 1980s A few decades later in February 2017 Brady and the Patriots mounted a record-setting comeback to beat the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI That marked Brady’s fifth Super Bowl title the most ever for a quarterback Moments outside of the game have also stood out Singer Whitney Houston sang a pitch-perfect version of The Star-Spangled Banner as fans waved US flags before Super Bowl XXV That game in January 1991 came just as the United States began to fight Iraq in the Gulf War Two years later pop icon Michael Jackson seemingly appeared all over the Rose Bowl during the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show via body doubles Since then the halftime performer has been a who’s who of famous singers featuring everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Lady Gaga
Pop stars Beyoncé left and Bruno Mars perform the halftime show at Super Bowl 50 in February 2016 Yet the Super Bowl doesn't just focus on the superstar players and famous entertainers It also gives players you've never heard of a chance to claim their spot in history New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree had four catches during the entire 2007 regular season In Super Bowl XLII he used his helmet to help make a miracle catch to help New York score a shocking upset against the unbeaten Patriots Twenty years earlier in January 1988 little used Washington Redskins rookie running back Timmy Smith carved up the Denver Broncos for 204 yards rushing and two touchdowns in Super Bowl XXII And in February 2015 undrafted cornerback Malcolm
