Unknown Super Bowl Facts

The Super Bowl is one of the biggest sporting events in the world that draws in millions of viewers who tune in to watch the two best NFL teams and the famous half-time show.

Considering that the game is solely played between two teams in the USA, the worldwide popularity of the event is impressive. Here are some of the unknown facts about the biggest game of the NFL season. 

Some Rebranding Was Involved

While many people know the showpiece event as the Super Bowl, it wasn't always called that. When it all began, it was called "The AFL-NFL World Championship Game," which back then was more captivating. 

Yet, by 1969, more people started referring to the final game as the Super Bowl, and the name was used for that year's official matchday program. Slowly, the moniker started catching up, and in 1970 "Super Bowl" was printed on the game's tickets, and since then, it has wholly rebranded into what we all know now as the famous Super Bowl event. 

It Had A Slow Start

Currently, the Super Bowl is undoubtedly one of the most successful sporting events in the world, where about 100,000 people are guaranteed to attend the game, with millions (about 100 million) more watching on television. Unfortunately, gameday tickets always sell out as soon as they're announced, and they cost up to thousands of dollars. 

Still, back in the day, things were a bit different. Super Bowl I held in 1967 saw little success in terms of revenue. The tickets for the game between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs sold for $12 ($89 adjusted for inflation), and only 62,000 were bought for a stadium that had a capacity for 94,500 people. 

Unbeatable Montana

Joe Montana, famously known as "Joe Cool," is widely considered among the greatest players of all time, with the  San Francisco 49ers quarterback appearing in four Super Bowl games. The star was influential for his team, and all his appearances in 1981, 1984, 1988, and 1989 resulted in them winning the trophy. 

What's more, Montana put in the best performances of his career in the games where he won the MVP award in three of the four games. Also, did you know that in the 240 minutes of the Super Bowl games that Joe played, he never had a pass intercepted? Talk about efficiency. 

A Two-Way Commercial

Super Bowl XXI in 1987 saw the New York Giants clinch the title, and their talisman and games MVP Phil Simms gave us an unforgettable celebratory tagline. The lad shouted, "I'm going to Disney World!" which turned out to be an excellent piece of marketing for Disney. 

Apparently, Disney had paid Simms $75K to yell out the tagline if his team won, and they got it all on camera, using the footage in their commercials. On the other hand, they also paid the same amount to John Elway to do the phrase if his team, the Denver Broncos, won the tie.