Super Bowl Trivia Time

It occurred to me the other day, that none of my students have known a world without cell phones, video games, DVD players, personal computers, microwave ovens . . . the list could go on and on. Likewise, there are many football fans who have never known more anything other than the current structure of the NFL -- who were not alive (or at least not old enough) to have known the NFL/AFL rivalry. There are many fans of NFL teams who have never known NFL football without the Super Bowl.

I was nine years old when the first Super Bowl pitted the NFL's Green Bay Packers against the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs. My oldest daughter was born not long before the Broncos lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXI. My youngest arrived in my life shortly after the Washington Redskins embarrassed the Broncos in Super Bowl XXII. We were all overjoyed to watch the Broncos finally get that elusive Super Bowl victory when they defeated Green Bay 31-24 in Super Bowl XXXII.

Even though the team we love the most will not be playing tomorrow in Super Bowl XLVI, I thought it might be fun to look back at some Super Bowl Trivia.

Take a jump, and see how many of these you know.

I skimmed a variety of sources and web sites looking for Super Bowl trivia questions. I decided that since tomorrow we will be seeing Super Bowl XLVI, it would be appropriate to present you with the following forty-six questions. The answers are at the end of the article.

1)What was the first Super Bowl to be played indoors?
a)SB VI - Dallas vs Miami
b)SB VIII - Miami vs Minnesota
c)SB XIII - Dallas vs Denver
d)SB XV - Oakland vs Philadelphia

2)What was the first Super Bowl played in a "cold-weather" city?
a)SB IV - Kansas City vs Minnesota
b)SB IX - Pittsburgh vs Minnesota
c)SB XVI - San Francisco vs Cincinnati
d)SB XXVI - Washington vs Buffalo

3)Which was the first Wild Card team to reach the Super Bowl?
a)Minnesota
b)Dallas
c)Oakland
d)New York Giants

4)Which team was the first Wild Card team to win a Super Bowl?
a)Dallas
b)New York Giants
c)New England
d)Oakland

5)Which team won the Super Bowl on the final play of the game?
a)St. Louis
b)New York Giants
c)New England
d)San Francisco

6)How many Super Bowl "rematches" have there been?
a)4
b)5
c)6
d)7

7)Prior to this year's Super Bowl, how many Super Bowls featured two starting quarterbacks with a Super Bowl MVP award on their resumes?
a)0
b)1
c)2
d)3

8)Which team defeated three playoff opponents with a better season record than their own in order to reach the Super Bowl?
a)2007 New York Giants
b)2003 Carolina
c)1998 Atlanta
d)2008 Arizona

9)What is the record for the number of punts in a Super Bowl game?
a)8
b)9
c)10
d)11

10)Which player holds the record for the most receiving yards in a Super Bowl game?
a)Michael Irvin
b)Rickey Sanders
c)Lynn Swann
d)Jerry Rice

11)Which player holds the record for the most rushing touchdowns in a Super Bowl?
a)Terrell Davis
b)Emmitt Smith
c)John Riggins
d)Franco Harris

12)Which player had the longest run from scrimmage in a Super Bowl game?
a)Walter Payton
b)Willie Parker
c)Emmitt Smith
d)Mercury Morris

13)Which player had the longest interception return in a Super Bowl?
a)Deion Sanders
b)Wilbur Marshall
c)Larry Brown
d)James Harrison

14)What was the first stadium to host a Super Bowl?
a)Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
b)Louisana Superdome
c)The Orange Bowl
d)Lambeau Field

15)Which city has hosted the most Super Bowls?
a)Los Angeles
b)San Diego
c)New Orleans
d)Miami

16)Which player guaranteed his team would win Super Bowl III?
a)Don Shula
b)Joe Namath
c)Johnny Unitas
d)Earl Morrall

17)Who was the losing coach in Super Bowl I?
a)Vince Lombardi
b)George Allen
c)Don Shula
d)Hank Stram

18)What team holds the record for most penalty yards in a Super Bowl game?
a)Los Angeles Rams
b)Dallas Cowboys
c)Miami Dolphins
d)Oakland Raiders

19)Which head coach has taken his team to the most Super Bowls?
a)Bud Grant
b)Marv Levy
c)Don Shula
d)Tom Landry

20)How much was spent to bring the original Giants franchise to New York?
a)$500
b)$2,500
c)$5,000
d)$10,000

21)Which player has played in the most Super Bowls?
a)Charles Haley
b)John Elway
c)Mike Lodish
d)Preston Pearson

22)What was the length of the longest field goal kicked in a Super Bowl?
a)52 yards
b)53 yards
c)54 yards
d)55 yards

23)Which quarterback made the most pass attempts without an interception?
a)John Elway
b)Steve Young
c)Joe Montana
d)Kurt Warner

24)Which quarterback has made the most Super Bowl starts without a win?
a)Fran Tarkenton
b)Craig Morton
c)Jim Kelly
d)Dan Marino

25)Which college is the only college to have produced 3 Super Bowl MVPs?
a)Alabama
b)Georgia
c)Michigan
d)Notre Dame

26)Which of the following is true about the first quarter in Super Bowl XLII (hint: it was the first time this has ever happened)?
a)Each team scored on special teams
b)Each team scored on defense
c)Each team turned the ball over twice
d)Each team had only one possession

27)Three teams are tied at 4 with the most Super Bowl losses. Who are they?
a)Dallas, Denver, Buffalo
b)Buffalo, Minnesota, Miami
c)Denver, Minnesota, Miami
d)Denver, Buffalo, Minnesota

28)Who is the only three-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player?
a)Tom Brady
b)Terry Bradshaw
c)Bart Starr
d)Joe Montana

29)Which team, that won a Super Bowl, is in their longest drought since that win?
a)Kansas City
b)New York Jets
c)Miami
d)Oakland

30)Who was the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl ring?
a)Joe Gilliam
b)Marlin Briscoe
c)Willie Thrower
d)Jim Harris

31)Which quarterback threw five interceptions in the same Super Bowl?
a)John Elway
b)Rich Gannon
c)Jim Kelly
d)Trent Dilfer

32)Which of these head coaches is the oldest to have ever won a Super Bowl?
a)Dick Vermeil
b)Tom Landry
c)Don Shula
d)Marv Levy

33)The closest margin of victory in the Super Bowl was 1 point (SB XXV NYG 20, Buf 19) and the largest margin was 45 (SB XXIV SF 55, Den 10). What is the average margin of victory in the SB?
a)11 points
b)14 points
c)15 points
d)17 points

34)Which Super Bowl was the first to see a defense force a safety?
a)SB VI
b)SB IX
c)SB XI
d)SB XVII

35)Which team as held to a record low 17 yards rushing in a Super Bowl?
a)Kansas City - SB I
b)Miami - SB VI
c)Minnesota - SB IX
d)NYG - SB XXXV

36)How much did a 30-second Super Bowl commercial cost in 2006?
a)$2.5 million
b)$3.0 million
c)$5.0 million
d)$5.2 million

37)Who is the only Super Bowl MVP to have won the award while playing on the losing team?
a)Roger Staubach
b)Kurt Warner
c)Chuck Howley
d)Jake Delhomme

38)Which Super Bowl winning, starting quarterback attempted the fewest passes in a Super Bowl?
a)Bob Griese
b)Len Dawson
c)Bart Starr
d)Joe Namath

39)How many calories does an average person consume on Super Bowl Sunday?
a)2,000
b)3,000
c)4,000
d)5,000

40)What Native American language was Super Bowl XXX the first to be broadcast in?
a)Kutenai Jargon
b)Jargonized Powhatan
c)Navajo
d)Ocaneechi

41)Which team hired the NFL's first professional cheerleading squad in 1972?
a)Miami
b)San Diego
c)Dallas
d)Minnesota

42)Which team introduced the no-huddle offense during the 1980s?
a)Buffalo
b)San Diego
c)Dallas
d)Cincinnati

43)How many years must an NFL player be retired to become eligible for the Hall of Fame?
a)4
b)5
c)8
d)10

44)Who sang the National Anthem at Super Bowl XVIII?
a)Garth Brooks
b)Diana Ross
c)Barry Manilow
d)Madonna

45)What performer had the now infamous "wardrobe malfunction" during the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII?
a)Britney Spears
b)Janet Jackson
c)Jennifer Lopez
d)Madonna

46)How much money did players on the winning team make in Super Bowl I?
a)$8,000
b)$10,000
c)$15,000
d)$20,000

1)SB XIII - Dallas and Denver played in the Louisiana Superdome; Dallas won 27-10

2)SB XVI - San Francisco and Cincinnati played in the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit, San Francisco won 26-21

3)Dallas - SB X; the Cowboys lost to the Steelers 21-17

4)Oakland - SB XV; the Raiders defeated the Eagles 27-10

5)New England - SB XXXVI; the Patriots defeated the Rams 20-17 on an Adam Vinatieri field goal on the last play of the game.

6)5 - Dallas/Pittsburgh (X, XIII, XXX); Miami/Washington (VII, XVII); Cincinnati/San Francisco (XVI, XXIII); Buffalo/Dallas (XXVII, XXVIII); New England/New York Giants (XLII, XLVI)

7)0 - this has never occurred.

8)2008 Arizona; the 9-7-0 Cardinals defeated Atlanta (11-5-0), Carolina (12-4-0), and Philadelphia (9-6-1) on their way to losing 27-23 to Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLIII

9)11 - by the New York Giants in their 34-7 loss to the Ravens in SB XXXV; by way of comparison, Baltimore only punted 3 times.

10)Jerry Rice -- 11 catches for 215 yards and 1 touchdown in SB XXIII where San Francisco defeated Cincinnati 20-16

11)Terrell Davis -- rushed 30 times for 157 yards (a 5.2 ypc average) and 3 rushing touchdowns in SB XXXII where Denver defeated Green Bay 31-24

12)Willie Parker -- a 75 yard run for a touchdown in the 3rd quarter, on 2nd & 10 from Pittsburgh's 25 yard line in SB XL

13)James Harrison -- 100 yard interception return for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter of SB XLIII kept Arizona from tying and/or going ahead and instead put Pittsburgh up 17-7.

14)Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

15)Miami - has hosted 10 Super Bowls (II, III, V, X, XIII, XXIII, XXIX, XXXIII, XLI, XLIV)

16)Joe Namath - who went on to complete 17 out of 28 passes for 206 yards. He also earned MVP honors, despite the fact that he did not throw a touchdown pass nor did he throw any passes at all in the 4th quarter.

17)Hank Stram - Head Coach of the Kansas City Chiefs from 1960-1974; Stram compiled a 124-76-10 regular season record, a 5-3 playoff record, 1 AFL Championship, 2 AFC Championships and 1 Super Bowl Championship

18)Dallas - the Cowboys were penalized 10 times for 133 yards in SB V

19)Don Shula - has taken teams to 6 Super Bowls: Baltimore Colts (III), Miami (VI, VII, VIII, XVII, XIX)

20)$500 - Tim Mara spent $500 for the right to start an NFL franchise in New York

21)Mike Lodish - with Buffalo (XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII) and Denver (XXXII, XXXIII)

22)54 yards - kicked by Steve Christie for Buffalo in the 1st quarter of SB XXVIII and tied the score at 3-3

23)Kurt Warner - Warner went 24 of 46 for 414 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions in leading the St. Louis Rams to a 23-16 victory over the Tennessee Titans in SB XXXIV

24)Jim Kelly - 19-20 in SB XXV, 24-37 in SB XXVI, 17-52 in SB XXVII, and 13-30 in SB XXVIII

25)Georgia - Jake Scott (VII), Terrell Davis (XXXII) and Hines Ward (XL)

26)Each team had only one possession - the New York Giants took the opening drive, held the ball for 16 plays and 9:59 and ended with a field goal. The ensuing possession by the Patriots consumed the remained of the first quarter and ended with a touchdown

27)Denver, Buffalo, Minnesota - Buffalo lost SBs XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII; Denver lost SBs XII, XXI, XXII, XXIV; Minnesota lost SBs IV, VIII, IX, XI

28)Joe Montana - SBs XVI, XIX and XXIV

29)New York Jets - the Jets won SB III after the 1968 season (43 seasons); Kansas City has gone 42 seasons, Miami 38 seasons, Oakland 28 seasons

30)Joe Gilliam - Gilliam was the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1974, but lost the job to Terry Bradshaw after the Steelers started the season 4-1-1. Bradshaw led the Steelers to the SB victory in SB IX, but Gilliam was still on the roster and received a SB ring

31)Rich Gannon - went 24 of 44 for 272 yards with 2 touchdowns and 5 interceptions in a 48-21 loss to Tampa Bay in SB XXXVII

32)Dick Vermeil - 63 years old when he led the St. Louis Rams to a victory in SB XXXIV.

33)15 points

34)Super Bowl IX - Pittsburgh's DE Dwight White tackled Minnesota QB Fran Tarkenton in the end zone in the 2nd quarter to give Pittsburgh a 2-0 lead.

35)Minnesota - SB IX; Fran Tarkenton rushed the ball once for 0 yards, Chuck Foreman rushed 12 times for 18 yards and Dave Osborn had 8 rushes for -1 yard.

36)$2.5 million

37)Chuck Howley - of the Dallas Cowboys when the Cowboys lost SB V to the Baltimore Colts 16-13.

38)Bob Griese - he only attempted 7 passes (and completed 6 of them) in SB VIII which the Dolphins won 24-7 over the Vikings.

39)3,000

40)Navajo

41)The Dallas Cowboys

42)Cincinnati

43)5 years

44)Barry Manilow

45)Janet Jackson

46)$15,000 - by way of contrast, each play on the SB XLV winning Green Bay Packers made $83,000.