The Super Bowl is more than just a game — it’s an experience. It’s a spectacle of sport, stars, music and food. It’s the ultimate entertainment.
Chances are you won’t be watching this game alone, and the chances are even greater there will be some down time at your Super Bowl gathering, since the average NFL game only features around 11 minutes of actual game-action.
Whether you’ll be watching for the game, watching for the commercials or just joining for the fun, here are 12 things to make yourself sound smart at your Super Bowl party:
1. You will hear Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning yell “Omaha” several times on Super Bowl Sunday.
What does it mean? It could mean anything. It could mean Manning is ready to snap the ball or possibly make the defense think he’s ready to snap the ball. It could mean a run or a pass play is coming.
Confused?Don’t be. That’s how Manning wants defenses to feel.
2. After all the controversy over this cold-weather Super Bowl, there is sure to be plenty of curiosity as to where next year’s big game is going to be played.
Super Bowl XLIX will be played in Glendale, Ariz., followed by the 49ers’ new stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., for Super Bowl L, then Houston the following year.
3. Halftime performer Bruno Mars — singer of the hits “Locked Out of Heaven” and “Grenade” — has sold more 10 million albums and was just nominated for four Grammy Awards, winning Best Pop Vocal Album.
The 28-year-old Hawaii native was born two years after the Red Hot Chili Peppers — the other halftime performer — first formed.
4. Though there have been a combined five AFC or NFC Championship games go to overtime, but no Super Bowl ever has gone past regulation.
The closes instances were: New England’s Adam Vinatieri’s two Super Bowl-winning field goals in Super Bowls XXXVI vs. the Rams and XXXVIII vs. the Panthers; a tackle by St. Louis’ Mike Jones of Tennessee’s Kevin Dyson on the one-yard line in the final seconds of Super Bowl XXXIV; and Jim O’Brien’s game-winner for the Colts over the Cowboys in Super Bowl V — despite a 55.6 percent success rate in his career.
5. Nine of the 10 most-watched U.S. television programs in history were Super Bowls.
The series finale of M*A*S*H* in 1983 is the only other event to surpass 100 million viewers.
6. If the Broncos win, Manning would become the first quarterback to win titles with two different teams. If the Seahawks win, coach Pete Carroll would become just the third coach to be awarded a national title in college and win a Super Bowl.
Carroll and Broncos coach John Fox share a similar past, with stints as defensive coaches at Iowa State.
7. Seahawks owner Paul Allen, who also owns the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers and is worth approximately $15.8 billion according to Forbes.com, has gone 43 combined seasons as an owner without a championship.
Seattle has not won a title in the four major sports since the 1979 SuperSonics, which is now the Oklahoma City Thunder.
8. The Browns, Lions, Jaguars and Texans are the only teams to never appear in a Super Bowl.
The Steelers have won the most Super Bowls (six), while the Bills and Vikings have the most appearances without winning (four).
9. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was selected in the third round (75th overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft and was the sixth quarterback selected in that draft, 18 picks behind Broncos backup Brock Osweiler and 53 spots behind the Browns’ Brandon Weeden.
10. Renée Fleming will be the first-ever opera singer to sing the national anthem.
Whitney Houston, who performed the game’s most famous rendition before Super Bowl XXV, sold more than one million copies of her version, which became a Top 20 single.
11. This is the first NFL title game in the New York area since 1962, when the Packers beat the Giants at Yankee Stadium.
Eight NFL championships have been held in New York, beginning with the Giants’ 30-13 win over the Bears on Dec. 9, 1934 — also known as “The Sneakers Game” — the Giants’ switched footwear, which changed the momentum of the game, being played on a frozen surface.
12. In what may be the most-watched Super Bowl of all-time, a 30-second advertisement will cost an average of $4 million.
At the game, a record number of more than 3,000 security guards and more than 700 troopers will be present.