(shamelessly stolen from ESPN)

Super Bowl facts from 1 to 38

1. This marks the first time ever that both Super Bowl teams take their name after a state or area, not a city.

2. Only two teams have ever won a Super Bowl while committing more turnovers than their opponent (Colts in Super Bowl V, Steelers in Super Bowl XIV).

3. The Panthers defeated the Eagles in Philadelphia for the NFC championship. It's worth noting that the last three Super Bowl champions all won their conference championship games on the road.

4. The Panthers will be the fourth different opponent the Patriots have played in a Super Bowl (Bears, Packers, Rams, Panthers).

5. Carolina will try to become the fifth first-time winner in the last five Super Bowls (Rams, Ravens, Patriots, Buccaneers).

6. A Panthers win would make the Patriots the sixth different franchise to lose three Super Bowls.

7. Who knows, He Hate me could become, "He's the MVP!" There have been seven kickoff returns for touchdowns in Super Bowl history. On the contrary, the Super Bowl is still waiting for its first punt return for touchdown.

8. Eight of the last nine Super Bowls that happened two weeks after the Conference Championship Games have been decided by 10 points or more (only exception was Super Bowl XXXII when Denver beat Green Bay 31-24).

9. If the Panthers win Super Bowl XXXVIII, nine different clubs will have walked away with at least one championship in last the 11 seasons.

10. A Patriots win would make them the 10th franchise to win two Super Bowls, and ...

11. ... would make the Panthers the 11th different team to lose in the last 11 Super Bowls.

12. Tom Brady's jersey number -- the most popular number worn by a quarterback in Super Bowl history.

13. Peyton Manning didn't reach the big game, but this is the 13th straight year a Tennessee Volunteer has reached the Super Bowl (Shane Burton and Deon Grant of the Panthers).

14. The Patriots enter the game on a 14-game winning streak, a single-season mark only topped by the undefeated 1972 Dolphins who scored 14 points in their Super Bowl VII win.

15. The Panthers are the first team to reach the Super Bowl just two seasons removed from going 1-15.

16. If Brady wins the MVP, he will be one behind another quarterback that he has been receiving favorable comparisons to: Joe Montana (who wore No. 16).

17. Jake Delhomme becomes the third quarterback in Super Bowl history to wear No. 17 (Billy Kilmer, Doug Williams).

18. Delhomme will try to make the Panthers the 18th different franchise to win a Super Bowl.

19. Brady and Delhomme better start practicing saying, "I'm going to Disney World." A quarterback has been the Super Bowl MVP 19 times.

20. The Patriots and the Panthers have won a combined 20 straight games entering the Super Bowl (including playoffs). That is the most ever in the Super Bowl era.

21. Both teams feature top defenses. The lowest scoring Super Bowl was Super Bowl VII when Miami and Washington combined to score 21 points.

22. Twenty-two of the previous 37 Super Bowls have been played on grass fields. This may become the first to be played on a grass field indoors (though the NFL wants to keep the roof open).

23. Half of 46: Jake Delhomme becomes the 46th different quarterback to start a Super Bowl. Forty-six is also the amount of points New England gave up in its first Super Bowl vs. the Bears (with a 46 defense).

24. The lucky number for both the Panthers and Patriots. Both Ty Law and Ricky Manning Jr. wear No. 24 and had three interceptions in the conference championships

25. The team that scores first is 25-12 in Super Bowl competition. However, the team that has scored first has lost the last two Super Bowls.

26. Active players on the Patriots and Panthers have combined to win 26 Super Bowl rings (23 Patriots, 3 Panthers).

27. Expect a blowout in this year's Super Bowl. Twenty-seven of the previous 37 Super Bowls played have been decided by more than seven points.

28. No team has scored exactly 28 points in a Super Bowl, but teams getting over that plateau are 20-1 in Super Bowl play (only loss: Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII).

29. The team leading at the half has won 29 of the 37 Super Bowls played.

30. This is the first Super Bowl in Houston in 30 years. The last time was Super Bowl VIII when the Dolphins defeated the Vikings 24-7.

31. The Patriots are looking to become the first team to win the Super Bowl after being shutout in Week 1 (They lost 31-0 at Buffalo).

32. Super XXXII ended the NFC's 13-game win streak in Super Bowls. Including Denver's upset of Green Bay, the AFC has won four of the last six Lombardi Trophies.

33. The team that gains the most total yards has won 33 of the previous 37 Super Bowls.

34. Last year's Super Bowl MVP wore No. 34 (Dexter Jackson of the Buccaneers). Could the Patriots Chris Akins be this year's Dexter Jackson?

35. The last Super Bowl quarterback to wear No. 17 was Doug Williams. He led the Redskins to 35 first-half points in Super Bowl XXII.

36. Of the 43 Patriots that played in their Super Bowl XXXVI triumph, 26 are still with the team.

37. Of the first 37 Super Bowls, only one has been won on the final play of the game. Will Adam Vinatieri make Super Bowl XXXVIII another one to remember?

38. Stephen Davis must carry the load for the Panthers to win. Speaking of carries, the most ever in a Super Bowl is 38 by another one-time Redskin: John Riggins in Super Bowl XVII.

Posted by: Ted at 05:30 AM | category: History
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1 re: Number 5--wouldn't the packers first win in the first NFC-AFC Championship game qualify *that* as a first-time winner, along with the Jets in the third? Or, for the nitpickers, since it wasn't called the Super Bowl until Super Bowl IV, wouldn't KC's win count as the first, literally, Super Bowl Winner?

Maybe I'm just taking this too seriously.

Posted by: Victor at January 28, 2004 08:17 AM (L3qPK)

2 I hadn't thought of that. For some reason, I was thinking that there had been a couple of NFL wins over AFL teams before "Super Bowl I". You're sharp!

Posted by: Ted at January 29, 2004 12:43 PM (blNMI)

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