NFL Superbowl History, America's National Pasttime! How did it start? When did it start?

SuperBowl History, NFL and The Super Bowl!

Surprisingly, given the importance of the game, Superbowl history is rather brief: the first Superbowl championship was held in 1967.

Bowl games are nothing new in football, but the Super Bowl elevated the practice to an American sports tradition. It all started as a way for the champions of the two pigskin leagues of the time, the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL), to determine who really was Number One.

Superbowl I, which capped off the 1966 season, took place on January 15, 1967 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Almost 62,000 fans were in the stadium to see Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers teach the Kansas City Chiefs a painful lesson about who was boss, to the tune of 35-10. Millions more watched the super cool new bowl game on TV; and thus a new football tradition was born.

America's real national pastime

Professional football as we know it began in 1920 with the 14-league American Professional Football Association. The APFA became the NFL in 1922, and had no serious competition until 1960, when the fourth AFL became a major power. After years of bitter rivalry, the leagues were forced to broker a merger deal to avoid financial ruin. The merger would be gradual, they decided: for the 1967 season, they'd share a draft and a championship bowl, and by 1970 they would be merged into a single super football league of 26 teams, the NFL. The NFL was still on top, but this AFL seriously influenced the NFL, unlike its predecessors. High-powered passing strategies and end-zone celebrations are its most durable legacies.

The NFL takes all

The NFL absorbed the AFL in 1970; after that, the two "Super Teams" came from the two NFL conferences, the NFC and AFC. Since then, despite the occasional upstart football league that didn't last, the NFL hasn't looked back.

Be sure to catch Superbowl XLI next January, and in the meantime why not bone up on the first 40 games? You'll find plenty of info on every single Super Bowl right here on this Super Site.

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Did You Watch the 2005 Superbowl Commercials?

The 2005 Superbowl commercials were some of the best commercials ever used in a Superbowl game. Remember the ad for the Turkey sub with the lady in the lawn chair talking to the baby.

Along with making your mouth water for a taste of a sub sandwich, this commercial uses expressions on the baby's face to make the commercial very entertaining.

. In addition to advertising specific products in Superbowl comericals, some of the actors' words and expressions are also very memorable.

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SuperBowl History, NFL and The Super Bowl!

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America's real national pastime

The NFL takes all

Recap of all the Super Bowl Games

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