NFL / National Football League Super Bowl History 1997-2010

Today the Super Bowl is annually one of the most watched events in the world. In fact, Super Bowl XLIV between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints is now the most watched event in American television history.

Broadcast on CBS Sports, the game was watched by 106.5 million Americans and surpassed the record set by the final episode of the M*A*S*H television series which, at 106 million American viewers, had stood the test of time for almost 27 years.

Modern Day Super Bowl History – The NFL 1997-2010

The last 14 years in Super Bowl history have been dominated by the AFC. In that time the AFC has a 9-5 record over the NFC. The Denver Broncos and New England Patriots had back-to-back wins and won five of eight Super Bowls from 1998 to 2005. The Patriots won their first Super Bowl in 2002 by a final score of 20-17 when they shocked the St. Louis Rams who were a heavily favorite to win Super Bowl XXXV.

The Rams won Super Bowl XXIV while the Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants and New Orleans Saints also won for the NFC over the last 14 years. Along with the Broncos and Patriots, the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers (2006 & 2009) and Indianapolis Colts won Super Bowls for the AFC in the 1997-2010 era.

Super Bowl History – Game & Team Records By The Numbers

Since its inception the Super Bowl has been witnessed live and in person by 3,422,484 lucky NFL fans. The record attendance for a Super Bowl was set in 1980 when 103,985 fans packed the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to see the Steelers defeat the home town favorite Los Angeles Rams by a 31-19 score.

The Pittsburgh Steelers stand alone with a record six Super Bowl wins while the 49ers and Cowboys have five wins each. The futility record of four Super Bowl loses is shared by the Broncos, Vikings and Bills.

The Cowboys hold the team appearance record with eight games played, the Steelers are next with seven visits to the big game while the Broncos and Patriots have five appearances each.

Super Bowl History – Player Records By The Numbers

The record for the most career points scored by a single player in Super Bowl history belongs to the incomparable Jerry Rice who went 4-0 in his appearances and amassed 48 points with eight touchdowns in the process.

Indianapolis Colts place kicker Adam Vinatieri who is still active in the NFL comes in second with 34 points (7 FG 13 XP) and Cowboys great RB Emmitt Smith (5 TD) rounds out the top three. No one will ever surpass the standard set by Jerry Rice.

The brilliant Joe Montana of the 49ers leads all quarterbacks with 11 TD passes in four games. Steelers legend, Terry Bradshaw is second with nine TD passes while Cowboys great Roger Staubach had eight TD passes in the four games they both appeared in.

In Super Bowl XL, Steelers running back Willie Parker shocked the Seattle Seahawks with the longest ever run from scrimmage when he galloped 75 yards for a touchdown early in the third quater. Marcus Allen of the Los Angeles Raiders held the previous record with his electrifying 74 yard TD run against the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII.

The NFL and the Super Bowl have a rich and storied history we can’t wait to see what the Super Bowl XLV edition has in store for us!