And now it's time for Who Smarted?
Psst.
Hey, smarty pants.
Question.
Can you think of a day of the year in America that is so popular?
It's pretty much considered a national holiday.
Except that it's not.
Even though a lot of people do get off from work or school that day.
And it has nothing to do with religion or commemorating something in the past or celebrating the start of something new.
Nope.
It's a day focused on a single sports game, a championship in fact, that's played mostly with people's hands but named after a foot.
And during this game, you might find yourself watching an eagle fighting it out with a buffalo, or a panther fighting a horse, or a bear fighting a jaguar, without seeing a single wild animal.
Smarty pants, what day am I talking about?
Is it...
Earth Day, Mardi Gras, or Super Bowl Sunday?
Here is semi-famous news and sports reporter Chet Nickerson with the answer.
He breaks a tackle and he's racing down the sideline.
He's at the 10, the 5, touchdown!
Why?
Yes, of course I'm talking about Super Bowl Sunday, the day when they play the championship game for professional football, the most popular sport in the world.
I'm sorry, trustee.
I think you might have the wrong information.
Wait, football isn't the most popular sport in the world?
Well, um, yes, it is.
And its championship game is the most watched worldwide event with viewers in the billions.
But that's the World Cup and the other football, which we know as soccer.
Oh.
Thanks for the clarification, Shet.
I'm guessing the Super Bowl must be the second most popular game in the world, then.
Actually, the Winter and Summer Olympics have more viewers worldwide.
But American football is the most popular sport in the United States.
In fact, over 100 million people watch the Super Bowl every year, and that number is only growing.
And it's not just the game.
After the teams are set in late January, there's two weeks of hype leading up to the Super Bowl, as tons of people flock to the host city.
Not to mention, there are lots of Super Bowl parties filled with lots of super snacks like nachos, chicken wings, sliders and pizza.
Pizza?
Now you're talking.
Oh, and there's veggies, too, provided there's lots of dip.
And don't forget the halftime show.
How could I forget?
The halftime musical act is often more popular than the game itself.
And after the Super Bowl, there's a massive parade for the winning team.
So, Smarty Pants, what makes the Super Bowl so popular?
Was it really named after a toy?
And what's up with Super Bowl traditions like Roman numerals and funny commercials?
It's time for a whiff of super history, science, and snacks. on Who Smarted?
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Hear that, smarty pants?
It's the sound of American football played in youth leagues, high schools and colleges across the USA.
But the biggest football event of the year belongs to the pros, as the National Football League, or NFL, has its championship, the Super Bowl, every February.
Now, if you don't know much about American football, you might want to hit pause and check out our Who Smarted episode on football.
Then come back and join us here.
Or just keep listening.
Because, just like a lot of people who watch the Super Bowl, not everyone follows the game.
Let this happen.
Who's winning?
Why'd he just kick the ball?
What's that yellow flag mean?
What are all those lines doing on the field?
Who wants meatcake?
Smarty Pants.
One thing that is unique about the Super Bowl is its name which, you may have noticed, has letters at the end of it, like Super Bowl LVIII, which was held several years ago just outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.
You might assume that LV stands for Las Vegas, but what does the III mean?
Uh, trusty.
Yes, Chet?
The LV does not stand for Las Vegas.
Is that true, Smarty Pants?
So what does it stand for?
We'll find out right after this quick break and a word from our sponsors.
As the trusty narrator, I've taken the smarty pants on countless adventures.
I'll do anything for the fans.
But off mic, I prefer to keep my adventures in the safe space of my own backyard.
However, even a homebody like me can't avoid the unexpected chaos that comes with family life.
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Let's do this.
From the artists that made K-pop Demon Hunters and Spider-Verse.
I'm Will Harris.
And I'm the first small to play professional roar ball with the fiercest animals in the most dangerous stadiums.
And producer Stephen Curry.
You don't belong here.
You're too small.
Want to bet?
You're never too small.
Let me show you what I got.
To dream big.
We're just fine.
Night, night.
Goat.
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Now back to Who Smarted?
Okay, we're trying to get to the bottom of the strange letters after the words Super Bowl.
For example, Super Bowl LVII that was played near Las Vegas.
I assumed that the LV stood for Las Vegas.
And you'd be wrong, trustee.
LV most certainly does not mean Las Vegas.
The whole set of letters LVIII stands for something else.
Smartypants, do you know what we call these letters?
Is it A, JavaScript, B, hieroglyphics, or C, Roman numerals?
The answer is C, Roman numerals.
Roman numeral L means 50, V means 5, and each I means 1.
Combined, it's Super Bowl 58.
And Smarty Pants, why does the NFL use Roman numerals to name each Super Bowl?
Is it A, to make the game feel more important and historic?
B, to help kids learn ancient history?
Or C, the first Super Bowl was actually held in Rome?
Oh, grazie, grazie.
Salve, my subjects.
It is I, your favorite Roman emperor.
Today's game is between the raiders who attacked us and the lions to be held at the Colosseum.
No, the first Super Bowl did not happen in ancient Rome.
The answer is A. The Roman numerals give the Super Bowl a little super swagger.
But hold on, smarty pants.
The Baseball World Series and Soccer World Cup have the years they happen in their titles.
So why not the Super Bowl?
Chet, care to explain?
I'd love to, but for this bit, I will be Coach Chet.
And trusty, I want you to pretend to be one of the players.
Got it?
Uh, yeah, sure, I guess.
Okay, listen up, players.
This is our year.
We're going to the Super Bowl.
That's awesome, coach.
You got us tickets?
What?
No, no, no.
We played to get here.
First, we battled through the regular season, which ran from September to January.
So the best two teams from the regular season get to play in the Super Bowl.
No, no, no.
The NFL is divided into two conferences the American Football Conference, or AFC, and the National Football Conference, or NFC.
Each conference has 16 teams and is also divided into four divisions of four teams each.
There's the North, South, East, and West divisions.
Are you with me so far?
Two conferences, 16 teams, four divisions per conference with four teams per division.
Well done.
Okay, when the regular season finishes, seven teams from each conference make the playoffs.
Those seven teams include the four division winners and then the three non-division winners with the best records.
Those are called wildcard teams.
Okay, so seven teams in the AFC and seven teams in the NFC make the playoffs.
Exactly.
And during the playoffs those seven teams compete in elimination games throughout January until there's one AFC champ and one NFC champ.
And then those two teams will face each other in one final exciting winner-take-all game we call the Super Bowl.
Yay!
But wait, if I was an NFL player, wouldn't I know all that already?
Yes, and you would also know that if we win the Super Bowl, we'll be this year's champion.
But, uh, don't you mean last year's champion?
What do you mean?
Last year's champion is last year's champion.
But the regular season was last year.
I know, but the Super Bowl is this year.
But you have to play last year's season to get to this year's Super Bowl, making you last year's champion.
This year's season starts in September after this year's Super Bowl in February.
Right.
That is confusing.
Yeah.
To avoid confusion, the NFL decided to number its Super Bowls instead of using years.
Oh, and since we're on the topic of dates, Smarty Pants, can you guess what year the first Super Bowl happened?
Was it A, 1939, B, 1967, or C, 1984?
The answer is B, 1967.
In the 1960s, there was not one, but two football leagues in the United States.
The original league, the NFL, was formed in 1920 with teams like the Arizona Cardinals and Chicago Bears.
Other older teams include the Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, and Detroit Lions.
The other football league was newer, founded in 1960, and was called the American Football League, or AFL.
Some of its first teams were the Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, New York Titans, Los Angeles Chargers and Denver Broncos.
However, something exciting happened in 1966.
Smarty Pants, can you guess what happened in 1966?
If you said the New York Titans became the New York Jets, sorry.
That's not it.
Although that does happen in 1963.
The answer is... In 1966, the NFL and AFL agreed to merge into one league.
And that deal included a big championship game pitting the winners of the two conferences against each other, which was called the AFL-NFL World Championship game.
Oof, that does not roll right off the tongue.
No, it does not.
In fact, one of the old AFL owners, Lamar Hunt, soon presented a new name, the Super Bowl.
Hunt said he might have been inspired by the name of a toy his kids had, the Super Bowl.
And he just swapped out ball for bowl.
As it happens, many popular football games are called bowls named after their stadiums, which are shaped like giant bowls.
Smarty Pants, can you guess who was in the very first Super Bowl?
Was it A, the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers?
B, the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills?
Or C, the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots?
The answer is A, the Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers.
Hey, is that Taylor Swift at the game?
Uh, no.
Players like Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey weren't even born yet, and neither was famous Chiefs supporter T Swift.
As for the game, the Packers beat the Chiefs to win the first Super Bowl.
And in fact the Green Bay Packers would defeat the Oakland Raiders to win the second Super Bowl as well.
Yep and the NFL championship trophy is actually named after the Packers coach at the time, Vince Lombardi.
Of course, the first Super Bowl was not the spectacle it is today.
In fact, the NFL couldn't even sell all the $12 seats to that game.
$12 to see the game?
You can't even get a hot dog at the Super Bowl for that now.
No kidding.
But it didn't take long for the Super Bowl to become a sellout event.
And today, even the cheapest tickets cost thousands of dollars.
Smarty Pants, let's see how much you know about the big game.
First, there's one team that holds the records for the most combined Super Bowl wins and losses.
Do you know what that team is?
Is it A, the Pittsburgh Steelers, B, the Denver Broncos, or C, the New England Patriots?
I do know the Pittsburgh Steelers have won the Super Bowl a record six times, but so have the New England Patriots.
No team has won more than six.
However, the Patriots have also lost the Super Bowl five times, and so have the Denver Broncos.
No team has lost more Super Bowls.
So that means the Patriots have the records for most Super Bowl wins and losses.
Which also means their 11 trips to the Super Bowl is the record.
But since the Patriots are back in the Super Bowl this year, one of those two records wins or losses will change.
Which means 12 is the record for most Super Bowl appearances.
Whoa.
Smarty Pants, can you name the only Super Bowl champion that didn't lose or tie a single game all season?
Was it A, the 1985 Chicago Bears, B, the 1972 Miami Dolphins, or C, the 1968 Baltimore Colts?
The answer is the 1972 Miami Dolphins.
They won every game that year, including the playoffs and the Super Bowl.
As for the 1968 New York Jets, that holds a special place in Super Bowl history, and not just because it was one of the last times the Jets were any good.
It's because the Jets' victory over the Baltimore Colts was the first time the newer AFL League defeated the older NFL League in the Super Bowl.
Smarty Pants, here's another fun question.
Do you know what city has hosted the most Super Bowls?
Is it A, Miami?
B, New Orleans?
Or C, Los Angeles.
Well, the NFL usually wants its Super Bowls at big stadiums in warm places that can host huge crowds and events.
But it also likes giant indoor arenas with domes.
Smarty Pants, if you said Los Angeles, you're wrong.
L.A. is second.
However, if you said Miami or New Orleans, you're right.
Both Miami and New Orleans are currently tied for first with 11 Super Bowls each.
Smarty Pants, tell me this.
Who has played at the most Super Bowl halftime shows?
Uh, it should be Taylor Swift, but I know it's not.
Nope.
The answer is coming up right after this quick break and a word from our sponsors.
Now back to Who Smarted?
Hey, Smarty Pants, check this out.
You hear that, smarty pants?
It's the sound of a Super Bowl halftime show.
And it's also what holds the record for Super Bowl halftime appearances.
Wait, what?
Who is this?
What is this?
This isn't Beyonce.
Nope.
This is Up With People, a feel-good musical entertainment group that, believe it or not, has made a record five Super Bowl halftime appearances.
Five?
I can't believe this group performed at even one.
I know, but remember, early on, the game wasn't even a big deal, let alone the halftime show.
The first Super Bowls just had college marching bands.
And then, up with people, reigned between 1971 and 1986.
But then, in 1993, one superstar singer changed everything with his thrilling halftime concert.
Ooh!
Smarty Pants, do you know who?
Is it A, Kendrick Lamar, B, Michael Jackson, or C, Prince?
The answer is B, Michael Jackson.
At the time, Michael Jackson was the most popular performer on the planet and his performance at the Super Bowl was groundbreaking.
It was watched by way more people than the game itself.
Whoa.
After that show, the NFL made it their mission to seek out the biggest names in music to perform at its halftime concerts, including Justin Timberlake Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny.
But the halftime show isn't the only reason why lots of non-football fans tune in to watch the Super Bowl.
Nope.
To some, the commercials are more fun than the game.
I know normally everyone hates commercials but because the Super Bowl gets millions of viewers it costs lots of money for companies to buy commercials.
At last count, it was somewhere around $8 million for just 30 seconds of airtime.
And because companies spend so much money on ads, they want to really grab your attention, which is why some of the funniest and most creative commercials air during the Super Bowl.
I'm here for the game and the snacks.
There's a lot of snacking, too.
By some estimates, Americans will eat nearly 15 billion chicken wings, 125 million pizzas and over 105 million pounds of salty snacks like potato chips and tortillas during the game.
But don't punt away the healthy food!
Veggie plates are also popular, especially when they come with dip.
Who wants meat dip?
Uh, I think I'm good for now.
Me too, Grandma.
Also, can you step a little to the left?
You're blocking the screen.
Wow, look how far he can throw it.
There's a man open way downfield.
He lets it go and touchdown!
A super shout out to Bradley, aka a friendly and curious Smarty Pants, and Mom Jessica in Maurice, Louisiana.
We're so glad the two of you love smarting with us and listen to Who Smarted all the way to and from school.
We're thrilled you love answering the questions and learning new information.
That is what being a Smarty Pants is all about.
This episode, the Super Bowl, was written by Dave I miss Tom Brady Beaudry and voiced by Adam Jets Davis and Jerry Colbert.
Technical direction and sound design by Josh Halftime Hahn.
Our associate producer is Max, pass the chips, Kamaski.
The theme song is by Brian, off sides, Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Tex Davis.
Who Smarted was created and produced by Adam Tex Davis and Jerry Colbert.
This has been an Atomic Audio production.
Who's smarter?
