Super Bowl Mania

In Monday’s blog, I will handicap all the Super Bowl commercials. I will pick a winner for each quarter followed by my pick of the Super Bowl MVC – Most Valuable Commercial. Come back Monday and see if your picks match mine or let me know where I’m wrong.

Some Super Bowl Trivia

The Super Bowl is arguably the most watched sporting event on the planet. It may or may not match up for total viewership against some World Cup Soccer matches but it’s right up there in popularity.

On Sunday Super Bowl XLVII (47 for those Roman Challenged readers) will take place between the San Francisco 49er’s and The Baltimore Ravens. One of the most remarkable trivia questions in the years ahead will concern the two coaches. For the first time in Super Bowl history the two opposing coaches are brothers. John Harbaugh is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens while his younger brother Jim will be coaching the San Francisco 49er’s.

Football had a tough time building an audience when Super Bowls began in 1967. Instant replay would not make an introduction for another 32 years. Baseball ruled the roost during football’s infancy.

Some Facts to Make You Sound Like a Real Fan

• The very first Super Bowl was played in the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on January 15, 1967. The Green Bay Packers, and the coach for which the Super Bowl trophy is named, Vince Lombardi beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10.
• The Pittsburg Steelers and Dallas Cowboys have played in the most Super Bowl games. In the eight appearances by both teams the Steelers have a record of 8-2 (a Super Bowl record), while the Cowboys compiled a 5-3 tally against their opponents. The Cowboy’s and Steeler’s did meet each other in Super Bowls X, XIII and XXX. The Steelers took the first two; Dallas won the last one.
• Only four NFL teams have never played in a Super Bowl. The Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Houston Texans.
• Two teams have played consecutive Super Bowls. Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bill played in Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII with Dallas winning both. The 49er’s and Cincinnati Bengals matched up in XVI and XXIII with the 49er’s takin home the gold. The Miami Dolphins split Super Bowls VII and XVII with the Washington Redskins with each team winning once.
• Only one player in Super Bowl history has won the Most Valuable Player trophy playing on the losing team. Linebacker Chuck Howley, of the Cowboys, won the MVP after losing 16-13 to the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V.
• Fans love scoring and weren’t disappointed in Super Bowl XXIV when the 49er’s blew out the Denver Bronco’s, 55-10. The biggest blowout in SB history.
• The closest game was the New York Giants victory over the Bills in Super Bowl XXV by a score of 20-19. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Bills when kicker Scott Norwood missed a field goal as time expired. OUCH.

Some Final Thoughts

From a commercial point of view a close game is better than a blowout. There is nothing worse than people leaving the game at the half with millions of dollars of advertising still scheduled to run. The first half advertisers are probably going to see a good return on their investment. Second half is up for grabs.

My prediction – a 49er’s victory, in a defensive struggle over the Raven’s, 21-16.

Tom Egelhoff is an Amazon best selling author of three small business books. His 400+ page web site www.smalltownmarketing.com is one of the oldest continuous sites on the internet. He has been featured on MSNBC’s “Your Business” and quoted in business publications in China, Turkey, India and the UK. He hosts “Open for Business” each week, 11-2 PM Mountain Time on http://kmmsam.com