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INDIANAPOLIS – The Super Bowl occupies a prominent spot on the sporting landscape worldwide, and this Sunday's contest between San Francisco and Baltimore should mark the fifth straight year the event will draw more than 150 million viewers.
From Super Bowl I to XLVII, the game has grown – from 39.9 million viewers to 162.9. With it have come "Notes, Quotes and Anecdotes" that entertain fans everywhere.
NFL SUPER BOWL NOTES
A total of 162.9 million people watched all or part of Super Bowl XLV, the most-viewed TV program in history. It beat the 153.4 million total of Super Bowl XLIV when the Colts played the Saints. That was the first program that out-drew the viewership total of the last episode of MAS*H in 1983. A record average of 111 million watched Super Bowl XLV, topping the average of 106.5 for Super Bowl XLIV. The total viewer number for the Colts' victory over Chicago in XLI was 139.8 million. Last year's game from Indianapolis drew 159.2 million viewers.
Super Bowl XLV had 5,082 accredited media, the most ever and dramatically out-numbered the 338 credentials issued for Super Bowl I.
In the Colts' Super Bowl V victory over Dallas, the game's MVP, linebacker Chuck Howley, came from the losing team – the only time it occurred in history. When Indianapolis won Super Bowl XLI, quarterback Peyton Manning was the MVP.
The Lombardi Trophy stands 20.75 inches tall, weighs 107.3 ounces and is valued in excess of $25,000. Colts Owner and CEO Jim Irsay sent the Lombardi Trophy from Super Bowl XLI on a tour through Indiana that included 50 stops more than 3,130 miles. He later created a charity-related event that allowed five fans to receive authentic Super Bowl rings.
Super Bowl XV between Oakland and Philadelphia at the Louisiana Superdome was played five days after the release of American hostages from Iran. On game day, a huge yellow ribbon hung on the stadium and Raiders and Eagles players had yellow tape on their helmets.
A 2010 Rasmussen Report indicated 33 percent of respondents rated the Super Bowl as the favorite championship event to watch. The World Series was a distant second at 12 percent.
The winning player share in Super Bowl I was $15,000, while the losing player share was $7,500. This year's winning share per player is $88,000, while the losing share per player is $44,000.
Jim Nantz provided play-by-play coverage of Super Bowls XLI and XLIV involving the Colts, and he is the voice for Super Bowl XLVII. He is the only announcer in history to call a Super Bowl, Final Four and Masters.
SUPER BOWL – Quote/Unquote
"With all due respect for baseball, this is really America's sport." – Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
"Everybody envies the guys who win Super Bowls. If you win one, you envy the guy who has won two. If you win two, you envy the guy who has won three. And the guy who wins four envies the guys who had the perfect season for Miami. And the guys on that team envy the guys who are still playing football." – Steve Tasker, Buffalo Bills/CBS Sports
"I know they normally say that diamonds are a woman's best friend, but tonight, they're a man's best friend, too." – Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts
SUPER BOWL XLVII – Quote/Unquote
John Harbaugh (Monday, on whether he has any problem with the team trash talking)
"You've seen us play so you know how we do it. Our guys are class guys. We'll play with character, we'll play with class, we'll be a tough, hard-nosed football team, that's the way we'll play. Before the game, after the game, I think we're very respectful of our opponents, we always have been, and our opponents have respected us over the years. The team we're playing is built the same way. We've got a lot of respect for the 49ers. We've got a lot of respect for their coach, the coaching staff, their players, and I expect it to be played in that way."
John Harbaugh (Monday, on his thoughts on President Barack Obama's comment that he wouldn't let his kids play football)
"I don't agree with that but I like Jim's comment. Jim said that (Jim's son) little Jack is going to be playing football, right? That's one less kid to compete with. I like that comment. Football is a great game. Anybody that's played the game knows what a great game it is. What it provides for young people, what it provides for people like me is an opportunity to grow as a person. It's challenging, it's tough, it's hard. There's no game like football. It's the type of sport that brings out the best in you, it kind of shows you who you are. When you get done playing football, my dad tells this story all the time about a guy named Ralph – maybe he'll share it with you this week – basically you have an opportunity to make your first tackle or make your first block or do something in football, because it's such a tough thing; it's a little bit of a manhood test a little bit. When you get done you say, 'You know what, I'm a football player. I play the game of football and that makes me special a little bit.' I think it's a huge part of our educational system in this country and it's going to be around for a long time."
