Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt is the man credited with coining the name Super Bowl. He came up with the idea while watching his children play with an bouncy rubber toy known as a Super Ball, which was popular in the 1960s. If you’re looking to determine who first made the Super Bowl a must-see Super event, then that title belongs to Joe Namath. The brash New York Jets quarterback guaranteed his Jets, an 18-point underdog, would beat the mighty 15-1 Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III and delivered on that promise.
That was the AFL’s its first Super Bowl triumph.
The NFL’s Green Bay Packers had posted one-sided wins in the first two Super Bowls, but the victory by the Jets gave the AFL instant credibility in the eyes of the football public and made those savvy enough to listen to Namath a nice chunk of change.
Considering the hype, the passion and the national obessession that Super Bowl Sunday has grown into in North America, it’s difficult to fathom that there were about 30,000 empty seats at the first one back in 1967, as the NFL’s Green Bay Packers throttled the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs 35-10. The Super Bowl evolved from a 1966 merger agreement between the two leagues. Since there were exisiting television contracts in place for both the AFL and NFL through the end of the 1969 season.
A complete usurping of the AFL under the NFL umbrella could not take place until the start of the 1970 season.
It was decided, though, to implement a title showdown game between the two leagues immediately. The first game took place Jan. 15, 1967 before 61,946 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Best Super Bowl Betting Lines
We provide the best Super Bowl betting lines below so keep your eye on them and find the game that is most appealing. Don’t forget to take into account the variety of betting types.
What Is The NFL Super Bowl Match Up
You can follow the NFL playoff standings leading up to the Super Bowl game right here, and if you are wondering how much emphasis you should place on the postseason seedings in both the NFC and AFC, the answer is plenty.
How To Win At NFL Super Bowl Bets
As a Super Bowl prop bet, Max McGee would have brought a handsome return to anyone who wagered on him to score the first touchdown in the history of the game.
Playing his last NFL season, the veteran Green Bay Packers receiver was filling a second-string role as his career wound down and anticipated a comfortable seat on the bench to take in the first Super Bowl game.
That changed when Green Bay receiver Boyd Dowler reinjured a wonky shoulder on the first drive of the game. Enter McGee, who caught a 37-yard TD pass from quarterback Bart Starr to record the first points in Super Bowl history.
Super Bowl Prop Bets
Prop bets are part of the fun and the lure of the Super Bowl. You don't need to be a passionate football fan to take a guess at who might score the first TD of the game, or whether the first score of the game will be a TD, a field goal, or as was the case in Super Bowl IX, a safety, allowing the Pittsburgh Steelers to take a 2-0 lead over the Minnesota Vikings to the locker room at halftime.
You don't even have to bet on football to bet on the Super Bowl. You can wager on who will be the halftime show, whether the coin toss will come up heads or tails, or the over/under on the length of the National Anthem. What color of Gatorade will be dumped over the winning coach's head at the conclusion of the game? It's been orange in four of the last seven Super Bowls.
The prop bet's origins are traced back to Super Bowl XX, when Chicago Bears defensive tackle and pop culture icon William (The Refrigerator) Perry was being deployed as a short-yardage running back by Bears coach Mike Ditka. The wager was whether Perry would score a Super Bowl touchdown (he did).
The over/under for Super Bowl 58 is set at an all-time high 59.5 points. But all signs point towards these dynamic offenses going over 60 points. And when you consider that the game is being played indoors, you'll start to understand why. And that's just the tip of the iceberg as these two teams are renowned for scoring points in bundles.
Three of the last four Super Bowl encounters have gone over, and the majority of bets are going that way for Super Bowl 58, even though the bar has been set high by bookmakers.
The Patriots scored 27.6 points per game in the regular season and let's not forget that Tom Brady didn't feature in their first four games of the season.
Going under the radar is the Patriots defense. It's not to be underestimated as New England's defense only gave up a paltry 15.6 points per game, over two less than the league's second best defensive unit. The Falcons didn't put up spectacular numbers in the regular season, allowing the eighth most yeards per game (371.2). However, the Falcons' defense is currently playing their best football when it matters most.
And underdogs are faring extremely well in recent Super Bowls. Underdogs have won five straight Super Bowl games and six of the last eight. Greeen Bay and Pittsburgh are the only two favorites that have won in that span.
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