The Super Bowl Phenomenon 1967-Present

Since its inception, the Super Bowl has become a worldwide phenomenon, garnering millions of viewers every year. Advertisers pay premium dollars for a .30-second spot during the game. Its ratings have skyrocketed over the years, and it is the largest sports gambling day every year. The game’s halftime shows have become must-see-TV, and the players who star in the game can become very rich with the endorsements that follow.

So, how did this simple inter-league championship turn into an international spectacle? Come along, and we will examine how the Super Bowl has become so popular and lucrative for so many people.

Game Origins and History

When the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs lined up to play the first Super Bowl, the game was not even referred to by its famous moniker. When the American Football League (AFL) was born in 1960, it served as the most serious competitor that the NFL had ever faced. Merger talks between the two leagues intensified in the mid-1960s, and that is when Lamar Hunt, owner of the upstart Chiefs, first coined the phrase “Super Bowl.”

However, the league owners settled on the name “AFL-NFL World Championship Game” for the big game. It took until the 1968 game between the Packers and Oakland Raiders for the words “Super Bowl” to appear on the game ticket, and it appeared only as very small lettering at the top of the ticket. It took until Super IV, when the Chiefs played the Minnesota Vikings, for the words “Super Bowl” to be featured prominently on the ticket.

The Packers dominated the first two Super Bowls, and many AFL league owners felt the merger might be slipping away from them. But two consecutive AFL victories in the game, the New York Jets over the Baltimore Colts and the Chiefs over the Vikings, convinced owners in both leagues that a merger was the best path forward. Beginning in 1970, the two leagues realigned into the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference under the umbrella of the NFL. That was also the first year the trophy presented to the winning team was named the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the legendary Packer coach who won the first two Super Bowls and who had just recently passed away.

The game was played in January until 2001, when the game was rescheduled into February in response to the September 11 attacks. The game officially moved to a February date in 2003. The New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers are tied for most Super Bowl wins with six. Next comes the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers with five victories apiece. Conversely, the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings have played in four games and have yet to win. And sadly, the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, and Jacksonville Jaguars have never played in a Super Bowl.

Super Bowl Television Ratings

Every year, the Super Bowl is the most watched annual sporting television event in the United States and second worldwide to the Union of European Football Associations Championship final. Last year’s game, Super Bowl between the Chiefs and 49ers, was the most-watched television broadcast of any kind in U.S. history with 123. 7 million viewers. And its halftime show garnered a total of 129.2 million viewers.

Television viewership for the game has risen rapidly through the years. Super Bowl I had a total viewership of 24.4 million. By 1972, that total had more than doubled to 56.6 million. Super Bowl XLIV in 2010 was the first to break the 100 million mark with 106.5 million viewers. And last year’s game was the first to break the 120 million barrier. A similar audience is expected for today’s game.

Ad Prices

Those Super Bowl television ads are one of the game’s highlights, but somebody has to pay for them. Commercial costs for the game have skyrocketed over the years. During Super Bowl I, it cost an entity $37,500 for a 30-second spot. By 1974, that price had risen to $103,500. It climbed over the half-million mark in 1985 to $525,000 for a 30-second commercial. And the million-dollar barrier was broken for Super Bowl XXIX in 1995 when an ad cost $1.15 million.

It rose rapidly after that until it reached $7 million for last year’s Super Bowl. The price tag for this year is $8 million. So enjoy your Budweiser Clydesdales commercial. Anheuser Busch spent a lot of money to bring it to you to entice you to buy their product.

Halftime Show

The Super Bowl halftime show has taken on a life of its own. There are now musicians and music groups jostling to see who will be this year’s attraction. Not only is an appearance at halftime great exposure for the act, but it can also make them a household name, spur record sales, and give a significant lift to an upcoming tour. It’s hard to believe it wasn’t always that way. The early Super Bowl halftime affairs were modest endeavors almost added more to fill space between halves than to entertain. Super Bowl I’s performers were the University of Arizona and Grambling State marching bands. And Grambling repeated its performance the following year.

It wasn’t until Broadway star Carol Channing performed in 1970 that a featured halftime act could be considered famous. Then, after a lengthy period of marching bands, jazz performers, and even ice skaters, Michael Jackson took the Stage in 1993, and the trajectory of the halftime entertainment pivoted.  That and corporate sponsorships for the halftime show starting in 1998 upped the ante on performance quality.

Highlight performances from the ensuing years include Diana Ross (1996), Britney Spears and Aerosmith (2001), Paul McCartney (2005), the Rolling Stones (2006), Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (2009), Madonna (2012), Beyonce (2013), Lady Gaga (2017), and Rihanna (2023). And what, in my opinion, was the greatest Super Bowl halftime show in history, Prince singing in the rain in 2007.

Finally

I hope you enjoyed our journey down Super Bowl memory lane. Whether you are a Chiefs or Eagles fan, a football fan, or just along for the happening, enjoy the game and pass the chicken wings.