10 Facts You May Not Know About The Super Bowl
By Daniel Friedman
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Super Bowl 50 is rapidly approaching, and with that in mind, here are 10 things you may or may not know about the big game.
1. It started as part of the NFL/AFL merger agreement and when the merger was completed in 1970, it was played between the champions of both conferences.
2. The NFC has won 26 of the 49 Super Bowls.
3. The game was not called the Super Bowl at first, but the moniker caught on in the media. For the third title game, the NFL officially dubbed it the "Super Bowl."
4. Lamar Hunt, legendary owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, originally coined the term "Super Bowl." He said the words were probably in his head because his kids had been playing with a Super Ball.
5. Including this Sunday's game, CBS has broadcasted the most Super Bowls (19).
6. There was initially serious doubt the AFL teams would ever be remotely competitive compared to the NFL teams, but the Jets became the first AFL team to win the championship game, when they took Super Bowl III.
7. The second half kickoff of Super Bowl I had to be redone because the broadcast hadn't yet returned from airing a commercial for Winston cigarettes.
8. Super Bowls I-VI were blacked out on television in the host cities.
9. Super Bowl halftime shows didn't start featuring prominent recording artists until 1991; before then, the shows had themes and typically featured university marching bands.
10. Super Bowl 50 will be the 12th hosted in California. Florida has hosted the most title games with 15, between Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville.