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Super Bowl XLVI By the Numbers

Bob Whalon Written by Bob Whalon, Friday February 03 2012
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It's time once again for my annual look at all the strange statistics and nonsensical numbers associated with the Super Bowl.  Whether it's on the field, in the coaches' meetings or even with the bookies, the Super Bowl is all about the numbers.  

With that in mind, let's take a look at a few of the more interesting digits associated with Super Bowl XLVI.

The Super Bowl is always the highest rated TV show each year.  Last year's Super Bowl had 111 million viewers.  To put that in perspective, an average NFL game gets 17.5 million viewers and President Obama's State of the Union Address last week had 38 million viewers.

Because of those numbers, a 30-second commercial spot will cost a record $3.5 million for this year's Super Bowl.

The cost for a commercial during the first Super Bowl in 1967?  $42,000, or an increase of 8,333%.  

Five million people are projected to buy new TVs for the big game and fans are expected to spend approximately $11 billion on Super Bowl-related purchases.  That includes an estimated 1.25 billion chicken wings.

Super Bowl XLVI between the New England Patriots and New York Giants at Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium (seating capacity - 68,000) will kick off on February 5, 2012 at approximately 6:20 EST.  The Patriots are favored by 3 points.

This Super Bowl is a rematch of Super Bowl XLII, when the Giants upset the previously undefeated Patriots 17-14.

This is the fifth time that a pair of teams will have met in more than one Super Bowl.  The record for rematches is held by the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys, with the Steelers winning two out of the three games.

This is also a regular season rematch, when the Giants beat the Patriots in November by a score of 24-20.  That game brought an end to the Patriots' 20 game home-winning streak.

This is the 13th time in its history that the Super Bowl is a rematch of a regular season game.  The Patriots and Giants are the first pair to do it twice.  All three Giants Super Bowl wins have come in "rematch" meetings, while their lone loss (Ravens, 2000) was not.

Bill Belichick and Tom Brady of the Patriots will be the first head coach and quarterback to ever reach five Super Bowls together.  They are currently tied with Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw in Pittsburgh, Marv Levy and Jim Kelly in Buffalo and Tom Landry and Roger Staubach in Dallas at four each.  "It's very flattering to be mentioned in the same sentence with Chuck Noll," Belichick said.  "So thank you for doing that."  You're very welcome Bill.

Brady grew up in San Francisco as a 49ers fan and his favorite player was Joe Montana.  A win would tie him with Montana (1982, '85, '89 and '90) and Bradshaw (1974, '75, '78 and '79) for most Super Bowl wins by a QB.

Also, Belichick and Brady's 16 playoff wins are the most for a coach-QB combo in the history of the NFL.

Since the turn of the century, only five quarterbacks have led teams to multiple Super Bowl appearances - Tom Brady (five), Kurt Warner (three), Ben Roethlisberger (three), Peyton Manning (two) and now Eli Manning (two).

Speaking of Eli, he has lived his entire life in the shadow of his older brother Peyton, but a win would give him family bragging rights with a 2-to-1 advantage in Super Bowl rings.

If New York wins, the Giants will become the first team in NFL history to finish the season at 9-7 and go on to win the Super Bowl.

With all of the hype about the Giants being the hottest team in football right now, the Patriots are actually hotter.  They are currently on a 10-game winning streak.

Patriots receiver Chad Ochocinco spent $28,000 to give each of his teammates a pair of Beats by Dre headphones.  Each Patriots player also received a free pair of Uggs from that company and their spokesman, Tom Brady.

The Super Bowl winning players will each receive $88,000 while each player on the losing team will receive $44,000.  That's only $500,000 less than Tom Brady made per week this season on his $9.5 million salary.  And he only gave his teammates Uggs boots?  Lame Tom.  Lame.

Patriots TEs Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez combined for 169 receptions, 2,237 yards and 24 TDs.  That's more receptions, yards and TDs than any other TE teammates in the history of the league.  As a matter of fact, that's more than any other team's entire roster of TEs have ever accumulated in a season.

As a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, I wish the Eagles were playing in this Super Bowl.  Since that isn't possible (Thanks to Andy Reid), I will take heart in the fact that there are still five "Eagles" playing in this game.  Five Boston College Eagles (Pats - Ron Brace, Giants - Will Blackmon, Mark Herzlich, Mathias Kiwanuka and Chris Snee) will play in the Super Bowl, which is more than any other school.  Florida, Fresno St. and Michigan each have four.  Fly Eagles Fly!

Giants receiver Victor Cruz was the Breakout Player of the league this season with 82 catches for 1,536 yards and 9 TDs, but he is only being paid $405,000.  The Giants have him signed for next season at $490,000 as well.  Somewhere, Drew Rosenhaus is weeping in a corner.

Tickets to the big game are expensive.  You can get a field-level luxury suite for 35 people for only $650,000.  If you don't have that much money, or that many friends, you can buy a ticket for a single nose-bleed seat on Stubhub for $2,100.  A better seat can cost you up to $15,000 each.

44 percent of women say they just watch the Super Bowl for the commercials.

41 percent of men say they've bet on the Super Bowl.  Only 21 percent of women admit to betting on the game.

The most money ever bet on a Super Bowl was $94 million in 2006.

Some rapper, who calls himself "Birdman", is betting $5 million on the New England Patriots to win.  Apparently, BenJarvis Green-Ellis is his nephew.  "Birdman" earned $15 million in 2011 according to Forbes, which I'm sure is one of the Seven Signs of the Apocalypse.

Rapper 50 Cent only promised to tweet a nude pic of himself if the Giants lose.  That seems pretty cheap, until you consider his name.

While Birdman is wagering all of his money on the outcome of the game, others may want to bet a few dollars on some of the more off-beat aspects of the spectacle that is the Super Bowl.  Here are some of the bets that you can make on this year's game:

Who will win the coin toss?

How many times will David Tyree's 2008 Super Bowl "helmet catch" be shown on TV during the game?  (Over/under: 1).  By the way, Tyree's stat line for the 2007 regular season was 4 catches for 35 yards and zero TDs.  

What color will Madonna's hair be? (Blond: -200.  Any other color: +250)

How many times will Peyton Manning be shown on TV during the game? (Over/under: 3 1/2)  I'm betting the over.....in the first half alone.

What will be higher on Feb.5, Eli Manning's completions or LeBron James' points? (Eli completions: + 120, LeBron points: -150)

How many times will Giselle Bundchen be shown on TV during the game? (Over/under 1/2  -150 over, -110 under)  What am I missing, aren't all the camera operators guys?  Gimme the over.

What will be the color of the Gatorade (or other liquid) poured on the winning coach?  (Clear/Water 2/1, Yellow 2/1, Orange 9/4, Red 11/2, Green 6/1, Blue 10/1)

And finally....

Will Kelly Clarkson's bare belly be showing when she sings the national anthem? (Yes +300)  Huh????

On that note, I think we're done here with all of the strange stats and numbers associated with Super Bowl XLVI.


Tags:  Chicken Wings, Dallas Cowboys, Indianaapolis Colts, Lucas Oil Stadium, New England Patriots, New York Giants, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, President Obama, State of the Union Address, Super Bowl, Super Bowl commercials, Super Bowl XLII, Super Bowl XLVI, TV



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