By Brian Boone
The Super Bowl is routinely the most-watched thing on TV. That means millions of people saw, but likely and understandably forgot, these very odd and inexplicable moments to go down during the big game. Will something wild happen at this year’s NFL title game and Uncle John will need to update this blog entry?
Hangovers and History
The first Super Bowl, held in January 1967, wasn’t even called the Super Bowl yet. An experiment and a novelty, the AFL-NFL World Championship Game pitted the two champions of the U.S.’s two rival pro football leagues against one another to declare an ultimate victor. It wasn’t even that big of a deal, particularly not to Green Bay Packers backup wide receiver, Max McGee, playing in the final season of a long and tiring career. He spent the night before the game drinking well outside of the host city of Los Angeles and didn’t expect to play — he didn’t even bring his helmet onto the field. But when Packers star WR Boyd Dowler split his shoulder early in the game, McGee had to grab a helmet quick and hit the gridiron — reportedly extremely hungover. With a one-hand catch, he caught a pass and ran it for 37 yards to score the first ever Super Bowl touchdown.
Overshadowing through underdressing
Certainly the Super Bowl’s most famous act of public indecency, or something close to it, occurred during the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004. Performer Justin Timberlake tore off a piece of Janet Jackson’s costume, exposing a very small bit of the singer’s skin, and millions of viewers thought they saw full nudity on TV. They didn’t, but fans and game producers were still reeling from that moment that it made the world barely notice a similar act of cheeky nudity. Moments after the Timberlake-Jackson incident, a man named Mark Roberts snuck onto the playing field, dressed in a referee outfit. And then he removed that costume and ran around wearing only a pair of skimpy, rear-end-exposing underwear before he was tackled by members of both Super Bowl teams.
An ultimately meaningless prize
Defensive players rarely win the Super Bowl MVP award — the quarterbacks, wide receivers, and running backs almost always get that honor. At Super Bowl V in 1971, Chuck Howley became the first of only four linebackers to ever be named MVP, although his prowess at preventing scoring could be called into question. He did pick off passes and notched some sacks and tackles, but his Dallas Cowboys lost the game to the Baltimore Colts, 16 to 13. Howley is the only Super Bowl MVP from the losing squad.
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The subject was losers
Speaking of not winning the Super Bowl: the Minnesota Vikings. Nobody played in the first decade or so of Super Bowls more than the team often led by legendary quarterback Fran Tarkenton. But in all four Vikings appearances — in 1970, 1974, 1975, and 1977 — the team lost, and in blowout fashion. However, in all four appearances, they lost every time, in blowouts. That record for futility was matched and, we suppose, surpassed in 1994, when the Buffalo Bills made it to its fourth consecutive Super Bowl… that it lost.
Flipping out
Super Bowl organizers make a big production out of the pre-game coin toss, to determine who will kick off and receive on the first drive. At Super Bowl XVII, Miami Dolphins captain Bob Kuechenberg called “tails” on behalf of his team, and that’s how the ceremonial coin landed on the ground — tails up. However, chief referee Jerry Markbreit literally couldn’t make heads or tails of it, as the specially-made coin’s two sides were tough to differentiate. Here’s a transcript of how Markbreit called the toss: “Tails is the call. Heads. No, it’s tails, it’s tails. Whoop! Tails!”