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2020 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

2. The Origins of the NFL and the Super Bowl

Authors : Yvan J. Kelly, David Berri, Victor A. Matheson

Published in: The Economics of the Super Bowl

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

Professional football grew from the popularity of the collegiate game. The NFL began as a small, regional league and grew to become the preeminent sport in the United States. As it grew in size and financial stability, the NFL faced several challenges from rival leagues. In 1966, the NFL agreed to slowly merge with the AFL and to establish a World Championship game. That championship game, now known as the Super Bowl, is the most watched televised event in the country. The game has grown to become a massive event and very big business.

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previous chapter Introduction
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Footnotes
1
In college football, while the election process was eventually moved to after the bowl games, the practice of voting on a national champion stayed in place until the formation of the Bowl Coalition in 1992.
 
2
It remains a shocking surprise that the team with the league’s most racist owner ended up with the what was, until 2020, the league’s most racist mascot.
 
3
Indeed, one sign of just how significant the game is in the United States is the fact that it almost single-handedly keeps the Roman numeral system alive in modern America.
 
4
Such is the status of the game that even the commercials can become national phenomena. The famous “1984” Apple ad, directed by Oscar nominated director Ridley Scott, aired just once during Super Bowl XVIII, but is widely credited as ushering in an age of elaborate Super Bowl commercials and has been the subject of numerous homages over the years ranging from the popular television show Futurama to the video game Fortnite (Hiltzik 2017). The tagline “Where’s the Beef” from a Wendy’s commercial from the same year became such a popular national catchphrase (or overused cliché depending on your particular point of view) that it made it into the Democratic presidential primary debate between Vice President Walter Mondale and Senator Gary Hart later that year.
 
Literature
Braunwart, B., & Carroll, B. (1984). Blondy Wallace and the Biggest Football Scandal Ever. Pro Football Researchers Association, 5, 1–16.
Crepeau, R. C. (2014). NFL Football: A History of America’s New National Pastime. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Felser, L. (2008). The Birth of the New NFL: How the 1966 NFL/AFL Merger Transformed Pro Football. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press.
Hartmann, W. R. & Klapper, D. (2017). Super Bowl Ads. Marketing Science, 37(1), 78–96.
Leeds, M., Von Allmen, P., & Matheson, V. (2018). The Economics of Sports (6th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.CrossRef
MacCambridge, M. (2005). America’s Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation. New York, NY: Anchor Books.
Ross, C. (1999). Outside the Lines: African Americans and the Integration of the National Football League. New York: New York University Press.
Stewart, M. (2002). The Super Bowl. New York, NY: Franklin Press.
Surdam, D. G. (2013). Run to Glory and Profits: The Economic Rise of the NFL During the 1950s. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.CrossRef
Veblen, T. (2009). Theory of the Leisure Class. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Metadata
Title
The Origins of the NFL and the Super Bowl
Authors
Yvan J. Kelly
David Berri
Victor A. Matheson
Copyright Year
2020
Book
The Economics of the Super Bowl

Print ISBN: 978-3-030-46369-4

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-46370-0

Copyright Year: 2020

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46370-0_2