FIRST & GOAL

North Texas wants to set a Super Bowl record for firsts with XLV – no easy tasks considering the four decades of games that will have preceded it

By Tony Fay

Thursday, July 29, 2010 - 11:10am

To make history, first you must know history.

North Texas meet History.

While the goal of the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee is to assist the NFL in staging the grandest championship game in league history, achieving that high-water mark won’t be easy. There’s a reason why the Super Bowl annually breaks its own record to become the most watched event in television history: There’s a lot of Super in Super Bowl.

By the time a spectacle like this reaches its fourth decade, it’s difficult to do anything for the first time (for those of us over 40, lean on your own experiences here). Still, the Host Committee is forever mindful of the unique opportunities awaiting the region’s first Super Bowl.

“We plan to do many things that haven’t been done before,” said Host Committee President & CEO Bill Lively. “We’ll do them because we can and because (to be financially successful and to raise the money necessary) we must.”

Chief on the “first” list – the historic Kick-off Concert Series. With three unforgettable evenings planned with yet-to-be announced international superstar recording artists, the Concert Series will be high on the Host Committee’s legacy list. Then there’s the Council of Mayors. Most North Texans didn’t even realize there are 100 or so municipalities in the region. To have over 90 mayors involved with the Host Committee isn’t just a show of unprecedented regional support; it’s a Super Bowl first.

More North Texas firsts? Number of $1 million founding sponsors reaching double-figures; a Host Committee of 230; and a stadium that offers more firsts than can be catalogued here.

So, how will any of these accomplishments fit into the grand pantheon of Super Bowl history? Here’s a look, courtesy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, at some of the game’s most notable firsts:

January 15, 1967– The Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10, in the first Super Bowl. Played in the Los Angeles Coliseum, it was the only Super Bowl not to sell-out.

January 12, 1969– The title 'Super Bowl' was officially recognized for the first time. Previously, it had been called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game.

January 12, 1969– The New York Jets became the first AFL team to win a Super Bowl when they upset the Baltimore Colts, 16-7, in Super Bowl III.

January 18, 1976– The Dallas Cowboys became the first wildcard team in the Super Bowl. They lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-17, in Super Bowl X. (Sorry, Roger.)

January 15, 1978– The Super Bowl was played indoors for the first time. The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Denver Broncos 27-10 in Super Bowl XIII played in the Louisiana Superdome. (Roger feeling good again.)

January 25, 1981– The Oakland Raiders defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10, in Super Bowl XV to become the first wildcard team to win a Super Bowl.

January 24, 1982– The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, 26-21, in the first Super Bowl (XVI) played north of the Mason-Dixon (Pontiac, Michigan).

February 3, 2002– Adam Vinatieri of the New England Patriots kicked a 48-yard field goal as time expired to give his team a 20-17 win over the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. It marked the first Super Bowl ever won on the final play of the game.

But for all this rich Super Bowl history and the many early accomplishments of the Host Committee, there really only one first that most in North Texas care aboutns: The Cowboys becoming first team to play in a Super Bowl in their own stadium.