Did You Know? Football Facts-Super Bowl Trivia and Other Interesting Information

• Super Bowl Sunday is the second biggest eating day of the year in the United States. Thanksgiving is the biggest.
• It is estimated that $50 million is spent on food including Super Bowl Sunday and the three days prior to the game.
• Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest BBQ day of the winter season.  More people light up their grill on this Sunday, than any other day during the winter.
• Nine out of the ten most viewed tv shows are Super Bowls.
• calls to Gamblers Anonymous (888-GA-HELPS) go up the day after the Super Bowl. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Las Vegas expects approximately $90 million in betting on the game. In 2010, Las Vegas took in $82 million dollars in bets for Super Bowl XLIV.  
• the Monday following the Super Bowl has an increase in employees calling in sick. Many of the complaints range from headaches, hoarse voices, stomach upset and exhaustion. Approximately 5% to 6% of the work force does not show up which amounts to approximately 7 million people taking a sick day from their jobs. And the people who do show up at work who stayed up to watch the Super Bowl are usually less productive, due to having the same symptoms as those who stayed home.   The good news is this Super Bowl ‘sick syndrome’ only lasts for 1 day. On this same Monday, antacid sales increase by.

• Sales of big television sets increase right before the Super Bowl. About 4.5 million Americans will buy a brand new tv in 2011 from the January sales on televisions. In 2010, about 3.6 million people were expected to buy a new tv. Many stores run specials on Super Bowl Sunday, and people buy all day long, according to J&R Electronics in New York. Historically, Super Bowl Sunday has been a hot selling tv day, especially for big screen televisions. In 2009, nearly 3 million HD televisions were bought around Super Bowl time.

• The average American spends slightly less than $60 on football merchandise before the Super Bowl. This includes, clothing, food, and electronics. Despite the recession, 2011 is expected to be 13% higher than 2010.
• In total, approximately $10.1 billion is spent around the Super Bowl event. Budweiser beer has advertised in the Super Bowl for 13 years.
• More people throw a Super Bowl party at home, than a New Year’s Eve party in their house. Approximately 7.5 million parties are held and approximately 43.9 million people attend Super Bowl parties.
• The 2010 Super Bowl XLIV New Orleans Saints vs Indianopolis Colts was the most watched television show of all time at 106.5 million viewers.
• Las Vegas is expecting $85.6 million in revenue from the 2011 Super Bowl XLV, an increase from 3% in 2010. Approximately 275,000 tourists will celebrate Super Bowl weekend in Las Vegas. Most come so they can bet on the game.
• The Green Bay Packers have the most NFL championships (12) in the history of the game of football
• A little more than a third of the people who attend the Super Bowl deduct it as a corporate expense.
• About 228 official footballs are produced for the Super Bowl. According to ESPN 108 balls go to each team. They use 54 for practice and 54 for the actual game. There are 12 special balls designated for kicking plays.
• The first Super Bowl game was on Jan 15, 1967. Over 61,946 people attended the game in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in California, but the game did not sell out and the tickets sold for $12 each. In 1967 during the first Super Bowl, a 30-second television commercial cost $42,000. The same length commercial during the 2011 Super Bowl will cost up to $3 million. ($100,000 per second)
• Super Bowl XLV is the first Super Bowl to not have cheerleaders.
• All official NFL footballs are made by Wilson Sporting Goods. They manufacture 3,000 - 4,000 footballs each day. 300 are used as game balls by the NFL teams.
• According to the National Restaurant Association 1 out of 7 Americans will order delivery or take out food during the game.The majority of food eaten will be pizza. 4% will be at a restaurant or bar to watch the game.
• The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most Super Bowl titles. They have appeared in 7 Super Bowl games and have only lost once in 1996 to the Dallas Cowboys.
• The Green Bay Packers were formed in 1919. One of the co founders of the Packers, Curly Lambeau, worked at the Indian Packing Company and that is how the Green Bay Wisconsin football team got their name.
• The Steelers were formed in 1933 and called the same name as the baseball team, the Pirates. The team changed their name to the Steelers in 1940.

The terrible towel has become an iconic symbol of the Pittsburgh Steelers football fans. These towels mean so much they are even passed down from one generation to another and are bought for newborn baby Steeler fans.

The terrible towel history began in 1975 when the Steelers won the playoffs against the Baltimore Colts in 1975, and the towels were believed to bring good luck as they played the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X and won. Myron Cope, a radio announcer came up with the idea at a meeting with Steeler executives. They were looking for a promotional gimmick to increase the level of excitement during the playoff games. The towels became an immediate success. They used the towels to wipe off their seats or giving some protection on a chilly day. It was Myron Cope who called them the terrible towels. During the Super Bowl fans started waving the towels This prompted the Steelers to win their second consecutive Super Bowl. Soon afterwards they were trademarked and then mass produced.

In the AFC Championship game on January 23, 2011, the Steelers beat the NY Jets and went on to their third Super Bowl appearance in 6 years.

• For the first time, closed captioning will be available for all national commercials and promotions during the Super Bowl.
• The Detroit Lions is the only NFC team to never attended a Super Bowl, although they won 4 of the championships before the Super Bowl started in 1967.
• The newest team to join the NFL is the Houston Texans in 2002. They have never gotten into the NFL playoffs.
• The next Super Bowl to have a single roman numeral, is Super Bowl L (50) in 2016, and then again in 2066, Super Bowl C (100).
• The Steelers were last in the Super Bowl in 2009 against the Arizona Cardinals For the Cardinals, the last time they were in the Super Bowl was never. The last time they were in a championship game was In 1947 as the Chicago Cardinals
• In 2012, Indianopolis will host the Super Bowl
• In 2013, Louisiana will host the Super Bowl for a 7th time, more than any other city.
• In 2014, The Meadowlands, home to the New York Jets and Giants will host the Super Bowl. This is the first time in history the Super Bowl will be held in an outdoor stadium in a cold weather city.
• More than half of the MVP Super Bowl awards have gone to the quarterback.
• English is the only language where the word for football, does not mean soccer.
• There will be approximately 90 million pounds of popcorn, potato chips, and avocados consumed on Super Bowl Sunday and it will take a little less than 223,000 football fields of farms to grow all this food.
• It is estimated that a billion chicken wings will be eaten during the big game.
• Approximately 325.5 gallons of beer is expected to be consumed, filling 493 swimming pools of olympic size proportion.
• The Insurance Information Institute states that Super Bowl Sunday is the 2nd most dangerous drinking and driving day besides New Year’s Day. Be sure to take care of your guests and make sure someone is a designated driver.
• No Super Bowl game has ever gone into overtime

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