- Former longtime owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, Lamar Hunt, coined the name “Super Bowl.”
- NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle called the first annual AFL-NFL Championship game the AFL-NFL World Championship Game.
- The name Super Bowl wasn’t used until the third annual AFL-NFL Championship game in 1969.
The Super Bowl is an American tradition, the importance of which can be placed alongside Independence Day and Thanksgiving as three of the most celebrated and anticipated days in the calendar year.
In lockstep with one of the year’s most celebrated days are the Super Bowl odds, used by millions to elevate their Big Game enjoyment.
It’s also the most important day of the year for the BetMGM sportsbook, as the Super Bowl football odds are used for various football and non-football bets, like the colour of the Gatorade dumped on the winning coach and how long the national anthem will be.
While the Super Bowl isn’t considered a national holiday, it emits that vibe. But how did the Super Bowl get its name, and when was the term first used?
How Did the Super Bowl Get Its Name?
Lamar Hunt, the former longtime owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, coined the name Super Bowl. He jokingly referred to the first AFL-NFL Championship game as the Super Bowl after seeing his children play with a “Super Ball” toy.
The term stuck with the media, and it was disseminated through various channels despite the league’s decision not to use it as the official name.
Due to various reasons, the name Super Bowl grew on the powers that be, including NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, who implemented it for the third edition of the AFL-NFL Championship game in 1969. Super Bowl was then retroactively used for the 1967 and 1968 championship games.
Who Named the First Super Bowl?
Rozelle called the first AFL-NFL Championship Game the AFL-NFL World Championship Game after proposing other potential names like the “Big One” and “Pro Bowl.”
The cumbersome moniker, unsurprisingly, didn’t stick. The AFL-NFL World Championship Game was in place for two years before the Super Bowl replaced it.
What Does ‘Bowl’ Mean in Super Bowl?
The term “bowl” became known as an important football game.
During a 1966 joint committee meeting, Hunt suggested the term Super Bowl, saying, “No, not those games – the one I mean is the final game – you know, the Super Bowl.”
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