As the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles prepare this week for Super Bowl LIX, the NFL will be reconnecting with an old friend.
Hola, NOLA.
New Orleans will play host to its 11th Super Bowl, matching South Florida for the most.
“Every other city hosting the game wanted what New Orleans has, and that’s an it place,” said Jim Steeg, who served as the NFL’s senior vice president of special events for 26 years. “Everything’s walkable, and you’ve got Bourbon Street. Nobody else has that.”
The city also has a trove of Super Bowl memories, from the dolphin in the pool to the Beatle in the parking lot, from the Zamboni to the Tooz, from the Crescent City to a full moon on the practice field. This is where Joe Montana played his last Super Bowl, and Tom Brady won his first. The coldest Super Bowl and — not surprisingly — the first one played indoors.
In honor of the 59th edition of the league’s biggest game, here are 59 memories of New Orleans Super Bowls over the decades:
Super Bowl IV
Jan. 11, 1970, Tulane Stadium: Kansas City 23, Minnesota 7
1. New Orleans was supposed to get Super Bowl III, in which the New York Jets upset the Baltimore Colts, in part as a thank you to two Louisiana politicians who played a big role in the AFL-NFL merger. But Pete Rozelle, then commissioner of the NFL, thought it would look too much like quid pro quo if New Orleans was awarded the game right away. So Super Bowl III was played in Miami.
2. Kansas City’s Hank Stram became the first coach to wear a microphone for NFL Films, urging his players to “matriculate the ball down the field.”
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3. If you look closely, that footage of Stram is a bit jiggling and unsteady. That’s because Steve Sabol, who was shooting it, was laughing at the coach’s antics.
4. Stram stayed in a suite atop the Royal Sonesta Hotel in the heart of the French Quarter. He referred to himself in the third person as “The Mentor.” He was dissatisfied with the first offer of $250 to wear the mic. “That won’t even pay for The Mentor’s dry cleaning,” he said. The sides eventually agreed on $750.
5. Chiefs-Vikings was the only Super Bowl that Jack Buck called on TV, even though he did years of them on radio. Kansas City wouldn’t be back in the Super Bowl for 50 years — and that one was called by Jack’s son, Joe Buck.
Super Bowl VI
Jan. 16, 1972, Tulane Stadium: Dallas 24, Miami 3
6. This was the coldest Super Bowl on record, with a temperature of 39 degrees at kickoff.
7. The Dolphins became the first team that failed to score a touchdown in the Super Bowl.
8. It didn’t take long for Dallas to make Super Bowl history. Bob Lilly sacked Bob Griese for a 29-yard loss in the opening quarter. That yardage loss remains a Super Bowl record.
9. During the week leading up to the game, the Dolphins stayed in the Fontainebleau, a place nowhere near as nice as the Miami Beach hotel of the same name. This one later became a storage facility.
10. To get in the spirit, Miami transported an actual dolphin to the team hotel and used the pool as an aquarium. The water was too cold, though, and animal-rights activists insisted the dolphin be relocated, which it was.
Super Bowl IX
Jan. 12, 1975, Tulane Stadium: Pittsburgh 16, Minnesota 6
11. Originally, this game was to be played at the Superdome, but the venue hadn’t been completed in time. Rozelle had an envoy go to New Orleans and go to bars that construction workers frequented after work. That’s how the league got early word that the Superdome was not on schedule.
12. Rozelle wanted artificial turf installed at Tulane and New Orleans agreed to do so at a cost of $100,000. A decade later, that expense was still on the books of the New Orleans convention bureau, which had yet to be reimbursed by the city.
13. It was wet weather, so Super Bowl groundskeeper George Toma used a Zamboni to vacuum the water off the turf. At one point, while rolling past a group of police, the Zamboni “burped” and soaked the officers head to toe.
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14. While riding that Zamboni, Toma accidentally caught an edge of the end zone and pulled it up from the corner like a living room carpet.
15. Pittsburgh’s “Steel Curtain” defense thoroughly dominated the game, holding Minnesota’s offense to zero points — the touchdown came on a blocked punt — and 17 yards rushing.
16. It was the third Super Bowl loss for Hall of Fame coach Bud Grant, who declared in postgame, “There were three bad teams out there. Us, Pittsburgh and the officials.”
Super Bowl XII
Jan. 15, 1978, Superdome: Dallas 27, Denver 10
17. The first Super Bowl played in prime time Eastern, and the first played indoors.
18. The Cowboys and their Doomsday Defense forced eight turnovers and allowed only eight completions by Denver’s Craig Morton for 61 yards.
19. The big story line of the week was Roger Staubach versus Morton, who began his NFL career in Dallas.
20. For the first time, Super Bowl Most Valuable Player honors were shared by two players, Dallas defensive tackle Randy White and defensive end Harvey Martin.
21. Not only did Tony Dorsett become the first player to win a college football national championship and Super Bowl in consecutive years, but also both games happened on the same field. A year before the Super Bowl, Dorsett’s University of Pittsburgh team beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
22. The Cowboys are the only NFC team to win a Super Bowl during the 1970s.
Super Bowl XV
Jan. 25, 1981, Superdome: Oakland 27, Philadelphia 10
23. Before the Raiders got to New Orleans, too-wild-to-contain defensive end John Matuszak promised to keep his Raiders teammates in line. Everybody soon found out he meant conga line, because “Tooz” pretty much drank Bourbon Street dry. He was out every night.
24. Coach Tom Flores fined the 6-foot-8 barbarian $1,000, and Philadelphia coach Dick Vermeil said he would have been harsher. “If he was an Eagle, he’d be on a flight back to Philadelphia right now.” Upon hearing that, Matuszak said, “Why would anybody want to go to Philadelphia in the winter?”
25. Rozelle and Raiders owner Al Davis, who had squared off in the courtroom, had a tense relationship. How tense? Rozelle was advised by some in the league to use two hands when presenting the Lombardi Trophy to Davis as not to be snubbed on a handshake. (The trophy presentation was cordial.)
26. Toma, the groundskeeper, adorned the Superdome turf with realistic-looking paintings of footballs. During a walk-through, Raiders guard Gene Upshaw used his cleats to scuff the Rozelle signature on one of those balls. The painting had to be retouched on game day.
27. The NFL received credible death threats for Raiders defenders Lester Hayes and Rod Martin. Both were escorted from the field as the clock wound down, so they were in the locker room before teammates.
28. Hayes famously slathered Stickum on his hands and forearms, even his socks. Anything to help him hold on to the football. This was the last game for that. The gooey orange substance was banned after the season.
Super Bowl XX
Jan. 26, 1986, Superdome: Chicago 46, New England 10
29. Chicago had a defense for the ages, but much of the attention during Super Bowl week was on “Funky QB” Jim McMahon. He mooned a helicopter hovering over the practice field, perhaps providing an update on his injured buttocks. On that day, he wore a headband that read “Acupuncture,” and told reporters, “There’s no doubt in my mind I’ll play, but I must admit, it has been a pain in the ass.”
30. McMahon made news for things he said — and things he didn’t say. A New Orleans TV station had to issue an apology after reporting the quarterback crudely referred to the city’s women as promiscuous and the men as “stupid.” Fake news. Still, picketers protested in front of the Bears’ hotel.
31. The lopsided game was noteworthy for what didn’t happen. Running back Walter Payton did not score a touchdown, even though his team got to the one-yard line and everyone was waiting for Payton to go over the top. Instead, the lumbering William “Refrigerator” Perry got the handoff and scored. Perry, a defensive tackle, had become a pop-culture sensation that season, and future Hall of Famer Payton was left to wonder what might have been.
32. Before this, it wasn’t common for fans to make a Super Bowl pilgrimage without plans to actually attend the game. But thousands of Bears fans made the trip south by train, watched the game in the French Quarter, and headed home happy. That started a trend.
Super Bowl XXIV
Jan. 28, 1990, Superdome: San Francisco 55, Denver 10
33. It seems everyone in the country (and beyond) watches the Super Bowl … but not this one. This is the lowest-rated Super Bowls on record.
34. The game was Joe Montana’s last Lombardi Trophy. His passer rating of 146.4 was the highest in a single postseason, a mark surpassed in 2021 by Buffalo’s Josh Allen.
35. Bill Walsh guided the 49ers to three Super Bowl victories but retired after the 1988 season. He wrote a guest column in the San Francisco Chronicle the week before this game in which he predicted a blowout win for the 49ers and 460 yards of offense. He was off. The 49ers gained 461.
36. For the first time, the NFL brought back all of its Super Bowl MVPs for the game — now a tradition. Two-time winner Bart Starr performed the coin toss.
37. The 55 points by San Francisco stands as a Super Bowl scoring record, and the game remains the biggest Super Bowl blowout.
38. Two hours after the game, Denver quarterback John Elway made his way across the field holding hands with his wife, Janet. They were surrounded by photographers. Exhausted and exasperated, the quarterback had a rhetorical question for the cluster: “Can’t you let a guy sulk in peace?”
Super Bowl XXXI
Jan. 26, 1997, Superdome: Green Bay 35, New England 21
39. The lead-up to the game was marred by tragedy. While practicing for the halftime show, stuntwoman Laura “Dinky” Patterson was killed in a bungee-jumping accident inside the dome.
40. The halftime show featured the Blues Brothers and was dedicated to Patterson. The stage was massive and was designed to look like a riverboat.
41. In order to assemble the stage, the goal posts had to be removed. But there was a problem putting the posts back into the ground and the second-half kickoff was delayed. John Madden used a Telestrator to document who should be doing what in the reassembly.
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42. This essentially was a home game for Packers quarterback Brett Favre, who grew up in Kiln, Miss., an hour’s drive from the stadium. Among the factoids unearthed about Favre during Super Bowl week: When he was a kid, his family dog was eaten by an alligator, and young Brett liked to sleep on top of his sheets so he didn’t have to make his bed in the morning.
43. The game’s MVP was Green Bay returner Desmond Howard, who ran back a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. He didn’t return everything well. Howard later conceded he ran up an inordinate number of fines at Blockbuster in Green Bay because he routinely failed to rewind tapes he’d rented. He watched a lot of movies when he played there.
44. Talk throughout the week concerned the future of Patriots coach Bill Parcells and his contract. Even the Packers took notice, and some were miffed that Green Bay coach Mike Holmgren was overlooked. “Everything was Parcells, Parcells, Parcells,” Packers safety LeRoy Butler told Sports Illustrated. “I know coach Parcells wants attention, but next time he should have more respect for coach Holmgren.”
Super Bowl XXXVI
Feb. 3, 2002, Superdome: New England 20, St. Louis 17
45. The first Super Bowl after the 9/11 terrorist attacks forever changed the way the NFL staged the game. That included going from simple paper credentials for media and thousands of others working the game, to full background checks on everyone. That system was devised in two months, remarkable for a change of that magnitude.
46. One of the biggest fears by organizers was the possibility of an Anthrax attack. The stadium’s massive air-filtration system was overhauled, and extreme measures were taken to secure it.
47. Security surrounding the game was so tight that Sunday morning one of the pregame performers was kept outside the stadium until authorities got permission to let him in. That performer was the “little-known” Paul McCartney.
48. In addition to the security perimeter and personnel from all types of federal agencies, there were water trucks poised outside the Superdome. That was in case of an Anthrax attack, and if fans needed to be washed down in an emergency situation.
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49. U2 was the halftime act, and while performing “Where the Streets Have No Name,” the band scrolled the names of all the 9/11 victims on a massive screen behind the stage.
50. As a result of the NFL postponing a week of games in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, the Super Bowl was pushed back a week. That made rescheduling incredibly complex, as the league had to pay $8.5 million to the National Automobile Dealers Assn. to reschedule its New Orleans convention. There were other groups that had to reschedule as well in order for the NFL to hold the Super Bowl in New Orleans.
51. Had New Orleans fallen through as a Super Bowl site, the NFL had drawn up contingency plans to play the game either at the Rose Bowl or in Miami.
52. The game was a shocking upset, as most people thought it would be a coronation for the mighty St. Louis Rams. Instead, a young upstart quarterback named Tom Brady made his debut on the game’s biggest stage.
53. David Hill, the legendary producer who started Fox Sports, did not insert a commercial break during the pregame show. He said the importance of the moment called for an unbroken tribute to the country.
54. Hill wanted the building to go completely dark when U2 finished its stirring performance. That required an 11-minute delay to “restrike” the lights and bring them back up for the second half. The NFL allowed that, and during that time Fox aired a Terry Bradshaw interview of McCartney bracketed by commercial breaks.
Super Bowl XLVII
Feb. 3, 2013, Superdome: Baltimore 34, San Francisco 31
55. This was the Bros’ Bowl, if you will, featuring coaching brothers John and Jim Harbaugh — John’s Ravens against Jim’s 49ers.
56. A behind-the-scenes story that The Times’ broke late in the week was that Jim’s son, Jay, was a coaching intern for the Ravens. So in order to get a Super Bowl ring, Jay and his team would have to deny one to his father.
57. The Ravens were firmly in control in the second half when the game took an unexpected turn. A power outage in the Superdome knocked out the lights for 34 minutes. The 49ers were energized when the lights came back on, scoring 17 unanswered points and turning a blowout into a down-to-the-wire thriller.
58. Jack Harbaugh, father of the coaches, said everything was great during Super Bowl week — until the the ball was kicked off. “When that ball left the kicker’s foot — if I close my eyes I can still see it — that ball’s rolling end over end, higher and higher, and then it’s coming down and all at once I’m realizing, ‘Oh my goodness, there’s going to be a winner and there’s going to be a loser.’ The rest of the game, we were like zombies.”
59. The parents were watching from a suite with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and at one point Jackie leaned over to the commissioner and asked, “Is there any way this can end in a tie?”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
