In The Spotlight

SUPER BOWL XLIV

Super Bowl 44 will be played at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on February 7, 2010. The AFC is represented by the Indianapolis Colts and the NFC by the New Orleans Saints. This will be the first Super Bowl appearance for the Saints franchise. The Colts are making their second Super Bowl appearance, having beaten the Chicago Bears 29 to 14 in Super Bowl 41. Peyton Manning was the Super Bowl MVP.

The Super Bowl has been the championship game of the National Football League (NFL) since 1967. In most years, the Super Bowl is the most-watched American television broadcast. Many popular singers and musicians have performed during the event’s pre-game and halftime ceremonies. This year the halftime performers will be the legendary band

The Who. Super Bowl Sunday is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving.

The Super Bowl was first played on January 15, 1967, as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and a rival league, the American Football League (AFL). It was agreed that the two leagues’ champion teams would play in an AFL–NFL World Championship Game, until the merger was consummated. After the merger of the two leagues in 1970, each league became a "conference", and the game was played between conference champions. Lamar Hunt, former owner of the Kansas City Chiefs and founding member of the American Football League, coined the name Super Bowl after watching his children playing with a Super Ball. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather than the year in which it is held. Super Bowl I was played in 1967 to determine the championship of the regular season played in 1966, and Super Bowl XLIV on February 7, 2010, will be played to determine the champion of the 2009 regular season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have won six Super Bowls, while the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers have each won five. Seventeen other NFL franchises have won at least one Super Bowl. Only four active NFL franchises have not appeared in the Super Bowl. They are the Detroit Loins, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans. The Lions are the only NFC team yet to play in one, the other three are in the AFC. The Browns and Lions have both won NFL championships prior to the Super Bowl era, while the Jaguars (who joined the NFL in 1995) and Texans (2002) joined the league after the Super Bowl era began.

Twenty-five out of forty-two Super Bowls have been played in one of three locations: New Orleans, Louisiana (nine times), the Greater Miami area (nine times), and the Greater Los Angeles area (seven times). These three "big" hosts are then followed by Tampa, Florida and San Diego California: San Diego has hosted three games, and Tampa has hosted four.

Future Super Bowl host stadiums

2011 - Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas

2012 - Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana

2013 - Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

The designated home team alternates between the AFC team in even-numbered games and the NFC team in odd-numbered games. This alternation was initiated with the first Super Bowl when the Green Bay Packers of the NFL were the designated home team.

Super Bowl Sunday is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day.

The Super Bowl Doesn’t Have to be Hard on Your Body

There Has Never Been...

§ a Super Bowl that went into overtime, although three have been tied in the final minute.

§ a Super Bowl shutout; every Super Bowl participant to date has scored at least 3 points.

§ a Super Bowl scoreless at halftime.

§ a team or head coach who has won more than two consecutive Super Bowls.

§ a coach who has won Super Bowls with two different clubs.

§ a starting quarterback to win Super Bowls on two different teams. (Twice starting QBs have have played on different teams, but each has only won once.)

§ a team which played in a Super Bowl in their home stadium.

§ a team that lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the regular season that has gone on to win a Super Bowl in the same season. This is known as the "Tampa Bay Curse."

What Are The Odds?

Peyton and Eli Manning became the first brothers to quarterback their respective teams to Super Bowl victories; each was the Super Bowl MVP as well. The Manning's won Super Bowls in consecutive years.

Here are my top 10 receiver performances in Super Bowl history:

10. Michael Irvin- Dallas Cowboys (Super Bowl XXVII)

Irvin caught six balls for 114 yards and two scores, as he moved around as he pleased in

Buffalo’s secondary all day, playing a helping hand in the Cowboys dominant 52-17 win over the Bills.

9. Antonio Freeman- Green Bay Packers (Super Bowl XXXII)

Freeman scored the first and last touchdowns of the game for the Packers, as he hauled in nine receptions for 126 yards in a 31-24 loss, giving John Elway his first Lombardi Trophy.

8. Santonio Holmes- Pittsburgh Steelers (Super Bowl XLIII)

Holmes comes in at number seven with one of the most thrilling and clutch performances by a receiver in Super Bowl history. He grabbed nine passes for 138 yards, including the game-winning touchdown with just 35 seconds remaining. Holmes was on fire on the final drive, catching four passes that helped the Steelers march down the field and claim their record sixth Lombardi Trophy.

7. Lynn Swann- Pittsburgh Steelers (Super Bowl X)

Swann is the last Steelers receiver to make this list, and quite arguably the best. Swann made all four of his catches count in a 21-17 win over the DallasCowboys, as he racked up 161 yards and a touchdown.

6. Larry Fitzgerald- Arizona Cardinals (Super Bowl XLIII)

Fitzgerald put the icing on the best post-season effort in NFL history by a receiver, notching seven catches for 127 yards and two scores, the last giving the Cardinals a 23-20 late in the fourth quarter.

5. Max McGee- Green Bay Packers (Super Bowl I)

Many people forget about the old Super Bowls, and even if they remember them, they rarely remember how big of an impact Max McGee had for Bart Starr and the Green Bay Packers. His seven catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns are enough to impress anyone, but two things get him into the top five in these all-time rankings:

4. Jerry Rice- San Francisco 49ers- (Super Bowl XXIV)

Rice comes in at four with his first of three appearances on this list, and all three of them could easily be argued as better than the other. Rice recorded seven catches for 148 yards and three touchdowns in this one, helping the 49ers crush the Denver Broncos, 55-10. The best part was how Rice torched the league’s best scoring defense, helping Joe Montana get one of his three Super Bowl MVP trophies.

3. Jerry Rice- San Francisco 49ers (Super Bowl XXIII)

Rice’s second mark on this list could easily be the best Super Bowl performance by a receiver of all-time, but his lack of scores take him down a peg or two (literally). Rice racked up the most yardage ever seen by a receiver to date in the big game, catching 11 passes for 215 yards and one score in an intense win over the Cincinnati Bengals, 20-16.

2. Ricky Sanders- Washington Redskins (XXII)

Sanders may not go down as having the greatest performance for a receiver in a Super Bowl, but it was magical enough to earn him second place. Sanders had arguably his best game as a pro, racking up 193 yards and two touchdowns off of nine receptions, giving him a gaudy 21.4 yards per catch.

1. Jerry Rice- San Francisco 49ers (XXIX)

Rice saved quite arguably his best Super Bowl performance for his final Super Bowl win, as he caught 10 passes for 149 yards and three scores against the San Diego Chargers in a 49-26 49ers’ win. It was more impressive this time around, as he scored three times in a Super Bowl again and did it with a different quarterback other than Joe Montana.

Regardless of how you figure the top five shake-out, there’s no arguing that Jerry Rice ends the debate as the number one guy on this list.

PLAYER PROFILE:

Andrew Christopher "Drew" Brees, born January 15, 1979 in Dallas, Texas. Drew attended Purdue University and was drafted by the San Diego Charges in the second round of the 2001 NFL draft. He played for the Charges from 2001 until 2005. He has been with the New Orleans Saints since 2006. Drew was a two time Heisman Finalist, won the Maxwell award and Big Ten MVP in 2000. He has four Pro Bowl selections, three All-Pro selections and three NFC Offensive Player of the Year awards to mention a few. He has a touchdown to interception ratio is 202 - 110. He has thrown for 30,646 yards and has a career quarterback rating 91.9.

Brees left Purdue with Big Ten Conference records in passing yards (11,792), touchdown passes (90), total offensive yards (12,693), completions (1,026), and attempts (1,678). He led the Boilermakers to the 2001 Rose Bowl, Purdue's first appearance there since 1967. Brees was a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Award as the nation's best quarterback in 1999. He won the Maxwell Award as the nation's outstanding player of 2000 and won the NCAA's Today's Top VIII Award as a member of the Class of 2001. Brees was also fourth in Heisman Trophy voting in 1999 and 3rd in 2000.
As a senior, Drew Brees was named the Academic All-America Player of Year, the first Purdue Boilermaker since Bruce Brineman (1989) to earn national academic honors. Brees also was awarded Purdue’s Leonard Wilson Award for unselfishness and dedication.

One player has the distinction of playing on three straight Super Bowl winners.Ken Norton, Jr. played on the Dallas Cowboy teams that won Super Bowls XXVII and XXVIII, then moved to San Francisco for the 1994 season, playing on that team that won Super Bowl XXIX.
Another player has the distinction of playing on five straight Super Bowl losers. Gale Gilbert was on the Buffalo Bills teams that lost Super Bowls XXV through XXVIII, then went to the San Diego Charges who lost Super Bowl XXIX.