By John Garces/sports editor
*The Super Bowl is measured in Roman numerals because a football season runs the span over two calendar years.
*The lowest game-time temperature in Super Bowl history is 39 degrees for Super Bowl VI at New Orleans’ Tulane Stadium.
*The very next year, Super Bowl VII had the warmest kickoff temperature of 84 degrees at the L.A. Coliseum.
*Super Bowl XVI was held indoors at the Pontiac Silverdome, but a winter storm outside prevented some of the San Francisco 49ers team buses from arriving by kickoff.
*Super Bowl XLI, held just last year, is the only one played under rainy conditions in the game’s history.
*Five father-son combos have played in a Super Bowl. Among these are Tony Dorsett, the Cowboys’ hall-of-fame running back, and his son Anthony, who appeared in two Super Bowls over a three-year span.
*In 1967, the winner’s share for Super Bowl I was $15,000, and the loser’s share was $7,500.
*Last year, the winner’s share was $73,000, and the loser’s share was $38,000.
*The average number of people at a Super Bowl party is 17 while 5 percent of Americans watch the game alone.
*The Super Bowl is the top at-home party of the year, surpassing even New Year’s Eve.
*It is the second largest day of food consumption yearly, behind only Thanksgiving.
*Super Bowl Sunday is the biggest winter grilling day of the year.
*It is estimated that 14,500 tons of potato chips and 4,000 tons of popcorn are consumed on Super Sunday.
*According to the California Avocado Commission, 8 million pounds of guacamole are consumed on the day of the big game.
*On average, 13 percent of Americans will order take-out during the game.
*When they do, pizza is the most popular take-out item, with 58 percent of Americans ordering it. Chicken wings are second in popularity, and subs or sandwiches are third.
*Antacid sales increase by 20 percent the day after the Super Bowl.
*Six percent of Americans call in sick to work the morning after.
*Not just men watch. An estimated 50 million women will watch the game.
*The cost of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, awarded annually to the winner, is $25,000. It’s made by Tiffany & Co. of New York.
*Over 700,000 footballs are produced annually for official NFL use, and 72 are used during the Super Bowl.
*Last year’s game was viewed by 141.4 million viewers, and the top 10 most-watched programs in television history are all Super Bowls.
*The only two men to win Super Bowls as both a player and a coach are Mike Ditka and Tom Flores.
*Among teams with more than one appearance in the game, only the San Francisco 49ers, at 5-0, are undefeated although the Ravens, Jets and Buccaneers were all winners in their only appearances.
*The biggest losers are the Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills, who are winless in four appearances, with Buffalo losing four straight.
*Also winless in the game are the Falcons, Panthers, Chargers, Seahawks, Titans, Bengals, and Eagles, although only Cincinnati and Philadelphia have appeared in more than one.
*The only teams never to appear in a Super Bowl are the Houston Texans, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals and Jacksonville Jaguars.
