When the AFL and NFL agreed that they would merge into a single league in 1971, they also agreed to begin playing a championship game after the 1966 season.
Formally called the AFL-NFL Championship, it was soon became informally known as the Super Bowl. That nickname came from the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs and one of the founders of the AFL, Lamar Hunt. He told reporters on July 1966, "I think one of the first things we'll consider is the site of the Super Bowl -- that's my term for the championship game." Later, Hunt said that the name came to him after he saw his daughter playing with a super ball.
The Super Bowl name didn't become official until the third game. Since the merger, the Super Bowl has been the NFL championship game, played between the NFC and AFC champions, who emerge from a round of playoffs.
It's meant to be the climax of the season, but in fact the Super Bowl has all too often been anti-climactic. The average margin of victory has been about 14 points, well above the average for a regular-season NFL game, and there have been a lot of blowouts. The conference championship games have usually been more interesting to watch.
Nevertheless, the game has become a major national event, probably the nation's major sporting event. After two weeks of intensive media hype, it draws millions ot television viewers, many of whom wouldn't think of watching any other football game, and the number of Super Bowl parties is probably surpassed only by the number of New Years Eve parties.
The Super Bowl is the perennial ratings leader among all televised sports events and, on the list of the fifty top-rated TV broadcasts, the game appears twenty times.
The first Super Bowl, though, between the NFL's Green Bay Packers and the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs, wasn't so eagerly anticipated. The main question seemed to be how large Green Bay's margin of victory would be. Tickets cost only $12, and the game still wasn't a sellout.
The Packers won that game, 35-10, and they also won Super Bowl II, 33-14 over the Oakland Raiders. But when Joe Namath guaranteed victory for the AFL's underdog New York Jets in Super Bowl III and then delivered a 16-7 win over the Baltimore Colts, interest rose, especially with the impending merger of the two leagues.
Kansas City's win in Super Bowl IV evened the series between the AFL and NFL. After the merger, the AFC won nine of the next eleven. That record was skewed somewhat, though, by the fact that former NFL teams accounted for five of the victories. Since Super Bowl XVI, after the 1981 season, the NFC had won fifteen of sixteen games, thirteen in a row, before the Denver Broncos beat the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII.
As a result of the playoff system and the Super Bowl, the NFL season now stretches from one year into the next, which can be mildly confusing. The team that wins the 1998 Super Bowl, for example, will be crowned the 1997 NFL champions.
To minimize the confusion, the Super Bowl is referred to by Roman numerals rather than by the year in which it's played. Many sportswriters have criticized that as a pretentious practice. Personally, I don't worry about the pretense, and in the early years it was fairly simple. I do worry about future generations who will have to decipher such monstrosities as Super Bowl DCXLVIII.
Since Super Bowl V, in 1971, the trophy presented to the winning team has been known as the Vince Lombardi Trophy, after the man who coached the Packers to the first two championships. Lombardi died of cancer in September of 1970.
Most Points Career--48, Jerry Rice, San Francisco/Oakland (4 games) Game--18, Roger Craig, San Francisco, vs. Miami, 1985; Jerry Rice, San Francisco, vs. Denver, 1990; Jerry Rice, San Francisco, vs. San Diego, 1995; Ricky Watters, San Francisco, vs. San Diego, 1995
Most Touchdowns Career--8, Jerry Rice, San Francisco/Oakland (4 games) Game--3, Jerry Rice, San Francisco, vs. Denver, 1990; and vs. San Diego, 1995
Most Field Goals Career--5, Ray Wersching, San Francisco (2 games) Game--4, Don Chandler, Green Bay, vs. Oakland, 1968; Ray Wersching, San Francisco, vs. Cincinnati, 1982
Longest Field Goal--54 yards, Steve Christie, Buffalo, vs. Dallas, 1994
Most Rushing Attempts Career--101, Franco Harris, Pittsburgh (4 games) Game--38, John Riggins, Washington, vs. Miami, 1983
Most Rushing Yards Career--354, Franco Harris, Pittsburgh (4 games) Game--204, Timmy Smith, Washington, vs. Denver, 1988
Longest Run--75 yards, Willie Parker, Pittsburgh, vs. Seattle, 2006 Highest Average Gain Career--9.6, Marcus Allen, L.A. Raiders, 20 carries for 191 yards (1 game) Game--10.5, Tom Matte, Baltimore, vs. N.Y. Jets, 11 carries for 116 yards, 1969
Most Rushing Touchdowns Career--5, Emmitt Smith, Dallas (3 games) Game--2, by ten players
Highest Passer Rating Career--127.8, Joe Montana, San Francisco (4 games)
Most Pass Attempts Career--145, Jim Kelly, Buffalo (4 games) Game--58, Jim Kelly, Buffalo, vs. Washington, 1992
Most Pass Completions Career--83, Joe Montana, San Francisco (4 games) Game--32, Tom Brady, New England vs. Carolina, 2004
Most Consecutive Completions Game--13, Joe Montana, San Francisco, vs. Denver, 1990
Highest Completion Percentage Career--70.0, Troy Aikman, Dallas, 56 of 80 (3 games) Game--88.0, Phil Simms, N.Y. Giants, 22 of 25, vs. Denver, 1987
Most Passing Yards Career--1,142, Joe Montana, San Francisco (4 games) Game--357, Joe Montana, San Francisco, vs. Cincinnati, 1989
Longest Completion--85 Jake Delhomme (to Muhsin Mohammad), Carolina, vs. New England, 2004
Highest Average Gain per Attempt Career--11.10, Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh, 84 attempts for 932 yards (4 games) Game--20.125, Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh, 21 attempts for 309 yards, vs. Los Angeles, 1980
Most Touchdown Passes Career--11, Joe Montana, San Francisco (4 games) Game--6, Steve Young, San Francisco, vs. San Diego, 1995
Most Attempts Without an Interception Career--122, Joe Montana, San Francisco (4 games) Game--36, Joe Montana, San Francisco, vs. Cincinnati, 1989
Most Passes Had Intercepted Career--7, Craig Morton, Dallas and Denver (2 games); Jim Kelly, Buffalo (4 games) Game--5, Rich Gannon, Oakland, vs. Tampa Bay, 2003
Most Receptions Career--28, Jerry Rice, San Francisco (3 games) Game--11, Dan Ross, Cincinnati vs. San Francisco, 1982; Jerry Rice, San Francisco vs. Cincinnati, 1989; Deion Branch, New England vs. Philadelphia, 2005
Most Yards Gained on Receptions Career--512, Jerry Rice, San Francisco (3 games) Game--215, Jerry Rice, San Francisco, vs. Cincinnati, 1989
Longest Reception--81 yards, Antonio Freeman (from Brett Favre), Green Bay, vs. New England, 1997
Highest Average Gain per Reception Career--24.4, John Stallworth, Pittsburgh, 11 catches for 268 yards (4 games) Game--40.33, John Stallworth, Pittsburgh, 3 catches for 121 yards, vs. Los Angeles, 1980
Most Touchdown Receptions Career--8, Jerry Rice, San Francisco/Oakland (4 games) Game--3 (twice), Jerry Rice, San Francisco vs. San Diego, 1995; and vs. Denver, 1990
Most Punts Career--17, Mike Eischeid, Oakland-Minnesota (3 games) Game--9, Ron Widby, Dallas, vs. Baltimore, 1971 Longest Punt--63, Lee Johnson, Cincinnati vs. San Francisco, 1989
Highest Punting Average Career--46.5, Jerrel Wilson, Kansas City, 11 punts for 511 yards (2 games) Game--48.8, Bryan Wagner, San Diego, vs. San Francisco, 1995, 4 punts for 195 yards
Most Punt Returns Career--6, Willie Wood, Green Bay (2 games); Jake Scott, Miami (3 games); Theo Bell, Pittsburgh (2 games); Mike Nelms, Washington (1 game); John Taylor, San Francisco (3 games); Desmond Howard, Green Bay (1 game) Game--6, Mike Nelms, Washington, vs. Miami, 1983; Desmond Howard, Green Bay, vs. New England, 1997
Most Yards on Punt Returns Career--94, John Taylor, San Francisco (3 games) Game--90, Desmond Howard, Green Bay, vs. New England, 1997
Longest Punt Return--45, John Taylor, San Francisco, vs. Cincinnati, 1989
Highest Punt Return Average Career--15.7, John Taylor, San Francisco, 6 returns for 94 yards (3 games) Game--18.7, John Taylor, San Francisco vs. Cincinnati, 1989, 3 returns for 56 yards
Most Kickoff Returns Career--10, Ken Bell, Denver (3 games) Game--8, Andre Coleman, San Diego, vs. San Francisco, 1995
Most Yards on Kickoff Returns Career--283, Fulton Walker, Miami (2 games) Game--244, Andre Coleman, San Diego, vs. San Francisco, 1995
Longest Return--98, Desmond Howard, Green Bay, vs. New England, 1997
Highest Kickoff Return Average Career--38.5, Desmond Howard, Green Bay, 4 returns for 154 yards (1 game) Game--47.5, Fulton Walker, Miami vs. Washington, 1983, 4 returns for 190 yards
Most Interceptions Career--3, Chuck Howley, Dallas (2 games); Rod Martin, Oakland-L.A. Raiders (2 games); Larry Brown, Dallas (3 games) Game--3, Rod Martin, Oakland, vs. Philadelphia, 1981
Longest Interception Return--76, Kelly Herndon, Seattle vs. Pittsburg, 2006
Most Opposition Fumbles Recovered Career--2, Randy Hughes, Dallas (3 games); Mike Singletary, Chicago (1 game); Jimmie Jones, Dallas (2 games) Game--2, Randy Hughes, Dallas vs. Denver, 1978; Mike Singletary, Chicago vs. New England, 1986; Jimmie Jones, Dallas vs. Buffalo, 1993
Most Sacks (since 1983) Career--4.5, Charles Haley, San Francisco-Dallas (5 games) Game--3.0, Reggie White, Green Bay vs. New England, 1997
