Super Bowl Fun Facts
Super Bowl watchers will no doubt know the nickname for Green Bay Packer fans (Cheeseheads) or that the Broncos Barrelman is Tim McKernan -- the bare-chested fan has worn only a barrel with suspenders to nearly every Denver game in the past 20 years.
But here are some Super Bowl tidbits that even the most astute trivia buff may not know:
-- The California Avocado Commission reports Americans eat 8 million pounds of guacamole on Super Bowl Sunday, more than any other day of the year.
-- More drivers are involved in alcohol-related accidents on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day of the year except St. Patrick's Day, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
-- The game got its name from Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt from a "Super Ball" toy played with by his children. The name was first used at the third AFL-NFL championship game. Among the names discarded for the game were "The Big One" and "The Final Game."
-- Tickets the first Super Bowl tickets ranged from $6 to $12. Tickets for Sunday's Super Bowl were sold for $275-$350, but this week scalpers are asking as much as $5,000 for good seats.
-- Super Bowl cities are selected through 2001. They are Miami in 1999, Atlanta in 2000 and Tampa in 2001.
-- New Orleans has hosted the city more times than any other city. The game has been played there eight times. Los Angeles and Miami are next with seven each.
-- Every Super Bowl, except the first one, has been a sellout. The record was the one played in 1980 at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles. There were 103,985 fans to see Pittsburgh beat Los Angeles 31-19.
-- Sunday's Super Bowl will attract 800 million television viewers, reaching 188 countries in 17 languages. Ninety percent will see the game live.
-- An estimated 50 million women will watch Sunday's game, according to NFL surveys.
-- A one-minute commercial during the Super Bowl costs an estimated $2.6 million.
-- The median annual income of a Super Bowl ticket holder is $70,000, with 33 percent making over $100,000, according to the NFL.
-- About 35 percent of those who attend the game write it off as a corporate expense.
-- An estimated 68 percent who attend the game have never been to a Super Bowl.
-- Last year, $130 million worth of Super Bowl merchandise was sold, a record.
-- Green Bay played Kansas City in the first Super Bowl. They won 35-10. The Packers won last year over
New England 35-21 in New Orleans.
-- Denver lost to the Washington Redskins 42-10 in 1988, the last time the Super Bowl was played in San Diego.
-- Only one player has splayed in Super Bowls in three different decades. Hall of Famer Gene Upshaw played guard for the Oakland Raiders (1967-81) and played in Super Bowls II, XI and XV.
-- Linebacker Matt Milan is the only player to earn Super Bowl rings with three different teams -- the Raiders, the 49ers and the Redskins. Linebacker Ken Norton Jr. is the only player to win three Super Bowls in a row with the Cowboys and the 49ers.
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