Magnitude super for NFL title game

Friday, January 1, 1904

The Super Bowl has become so big it's actually become a synonym for "grandest." The Super Bowl of meetings or the Super Bowl of Super Bowl parties are not uncommon references.

It's the pinnacle of American sports -- the beacon of the monolith that is NFL broadcasts, which had the top 22 most-watched shows last fall, according to Nielsen ratings. Heck, the NFL is so popular the meaningless Pro Bowl last week had 12.7 million viewers -- more than Games 1, 2 or 3 of last year's World Series.

But the apex that is today's Super Bowl was beyond the dreams and scope of the game that originally was billed as the AFL-NFL championship. Here's how super the current Super Bowl is by comparison.

Ticket prices:

1967 -- Average was $12.

Today -- Face value starts at $850 and Internet purchases start at $1,322 and reach more than $136,000 at ticketexchange.com.

Halftime shows

1967 -- American trumpet player Al Hirt was joined by the marching bands from the University of Arizona and Grambling State.

Today -- International recording star Beyonce will do three songs.

Players' reward

1967 -- The Green Bay Packers received $15,000 each for beating the Kansas City Chiefs, who were paid $7,500.

Today -- The players from the winning teams of the last two Super Bowls received $83,000 apiece.

Commercial time

1967 -- A 30-second spot cost $42,000 on CBS and NBC. The two networks simulcast the game because each had rights with either the NFL or the AFL.

Today -- A 30-second spot costs $3.8 million dollars and will be seen all over the world.

Popularity

1967 -- The first Super Bowl was the only one that was not a sellout. Roughly 51 million viewers watched on the two networks.

Today -- The sports casinos in Las Vegas have set the line on viewership of this Super Bowl at 111 million Americans.

Performance-enhancing drugs du jour

1967 -- The International Olympic Committee established its first list of banned performance-enhancing substances. The first athlete to lose an Olympic medal for banned substance was Swedish pentathlete Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall, who lost a bronze medal for alcohol use.

Today -- Baltimore Ravens star middle linebacker Ray Lewis spent a lot of time answering questions about deer-antler spray, which contains banned substances.

Media representatives

1967 -- There were 338 receiving credentials, according to NFL archives.

Today -- More than 5,000 media members from all over the planet will cover the game.