Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

The football answer is Super Bowl III, when Joe Willie Namath's guarantee made the AFL-NFL merger work, and put both leagues on equal footing going into the merger. But when did it *culturally* become the Super Bowl? The first Super Bowl that I ever watched was Super Bowl XXVIII, and the first I watched the whole way through was XXIX. At that point, the Super Bowl had long been considered the biggest TV event of the year. I'm wondering at what point it got to that point.

Based on my rewatches of all the Super Bowls, I would guess that it was around the time of Super Bowl X that the game became such a cultural phenomenon; I know that by Super Bowl XVI, the game got its highest ratings ever. So I'm thinking somewhere in the mid-seventies. Anyone older and wiser than me have an opinion on this?

In a way, the Super Bowl became a cultural phenomenon thanks to the Dolphins quest for an undefeated season in 1972. Nobody really thought they could do it and only the Packers and Cowboys at that time had went back to back. The oddmakers made the Redskins the favorites. Playing in the LA Memorial Coliseum added to the mystique of the event. The Dolphins should have won 17-0 matching their perfect record. Little Garo brought up some much needed drama but what if Kilmer had hit the receiver(Smith)later in the game instead of the goalpost?

Brian wolf wrote: ↑Fri Dec 05, 2025 2:06 am In a way, the Super Bowl became a cultural phenomenon thanks to the Dolphins quest for an undefeated season in 1972. Nobody really thought they could do it and only the Packers and Cowboys at that time had went back to back. The oddmakers made the Redskins the favorites. Playing in the LA Memorial Coliseum added to the mystique of the event. The Dolphins should have won 17-0 matching their perfect record. Little Garo brought up some much needed drama but what if Kilmer had hit the receiver(Smith)later in the game instead of the goalpost?

I’d have to double check, but I’m pretty sure Super Bowl XI was the last one that was not the highest rated program in the Nielsen ratings for the week it was broadcast. (The sitcom Happy Days beating it out)