NFL Superbowl

The NFL Superbowl is the championship game of the NFL and is held – duh! -- on Super Bowl Sunday, practically a holiday in U.S. culture. Televised games are watched by some 90 million people and attract the attention of celebrity musicians who perform pre-game and halftime shows. NFL Superbowl commercials receive massive attention, and often critical reviews, as NFL Super Bowl ads cost over two million dollars to buy. Reportedly, aside from Thanksgiving, NFL Superbowl Sunday is the second-largest day for food consumption in the country. The NFL Super Bowl ring is a prize awarded to winning coaches and team players, with each ring being priced at $5,000. Why so much commotion over a single game?

The History Of NFL Superbowl

The first Superbowl was held in 1967 and was devised as a championship game that would take place between the NFL and the American Football League. The two leagues merged three years later and the first NFL Super Bowl was recreated. NFL Super Bowls are identified by Roman numerals instead of years because the season actually encompasses parts of two years. Interestingly, the NFL (first created in 1920) has fended off competition from various rival leagues before the AFL emerged in 1960, the first serious threat. The purpose of the original Super Bowl between leagues was to determine the world Superbowl champs, from both NFL and AFL leagues.

The name NFL Superbowl comes from a combination of a post-season college football games (the Rose Bowl, which was derived from the bowl shaped stadium) and AFL founder Lamar Hunt's usage of the term Super Bowl as a variation on Super Ball (a popular toy among children). Hunt figured a better name for football's most important event would come along but even at NFL Superbowl XXXX, the legendary name has endured.

NFL Super Bowl Winners

When the first two Super Bowls began (believe it or not, they were never recorded as full games, just clips) the NFL decidedly prevailed over the AFL and the future merger started to look shaky. However, by the third and fourth Super Bowl the AFL's New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs and upset the NFL favorites, and Super Bowl IV was the last championship game played before the AFL merged with the NFL. In 1970, three NFL teams and 10 AFL teams formed the American Football Conference. The other thirteen teams became the National Football Conference. Championship teams for each division are determined each season by the league's playoff tournament. In case you're keeping score (and who does that in football?) former AFL teams have only scored 12 Super Bowl wins, while pre-merger NFL teams have won 28. Former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle is considered the key player in the merger and earned a spot as one of the most important people of the 20th century in Time Magazine.

There is also big business in NFL Super Bowl betting as sports fans try and determine the NFL Superbowl odds of their favorite team winning for big cash. For more information on 2007 NFL Superbowl rings, NFL Super Bowl point spread, and NFL Super Bowl MVPs, and the 2000 NFL Superbowl MVP listing, visit the official NFL website. The Super Bowl is an American tradition and one that the entire world stops to watch.