It’s Super Bowl Week.
The big game this year between Baltimore and San Francisco takes place in New Orleans, the same place where the Rams lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Spygate, anyone?
The average price for a Super Bowl ticket this year is $3,236.33.
Tickets to the first Super Bowl cost between $6 and $12.
With a win, San Francisco will tie the Pittsburgh Steelers with the most Super Bowl titles at six.
However, the 49ers are the only team to appear in multiple Super Bowls without losing. They are 5-0.
Minnesota and Buffalo both are 0-4 in the Super Bowl.
A 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl will cost you a record $4 million.
Americans will eat 1.25 billion chicken wings and 14,500 tons of chips on Super Bowl Sunday.
On a related note, antacid sales in the U.S. increase by 20 percent the day after the Super Bowl.
In the previous 46 Super Bowls, the pregame coin toss has come up heads 23 times and tails 23 times. But tails has won four straight years.
Alicia Keys will perform the national anthem. Beyonce will take the stage at halftime.
This year’s Super Bowl features brothers Jim (49ers) and John (Ravens) Harbaugh as the head coaches. It’s the first time two brothers have faced off as head coaches in the Super Bowl.
Jim and John’s brother-in-law is Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean. The Hoosiers have a huge home game on Super Bowl eve against top-ranked Michigan.
While Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis will get much of the attention this week for this being the final game of his career, it’s a better story for Missouri fans that former Mizzou Tigers Justin Smith and Aldon Smith are key defensive players for the 49ers.
They call them the Smith brothers (they’re not really brothers) and the duo have been rough on quarterbacks in this league over the last couple of seasons.
Justin and Aldon both were stud defensive ends at Mizzou, maybe the two best defensive ends ever to play for the Tigers.
Justin played high school football at Jefferson City. Aldon went to Raytown High School.
With all the stars on the 49ers, including quarterback Colin Kaepernick, running back Frank Gore and linebacker Patrick Willis, Aldon Smith recently was named the team’s MVP, as voted on by his teammates.
In his two years in the NFL, Aldon Smith has 33.5 sacks. But only one of those sacks came when Justin Smith wasn’t on the field with him.
Super Bowl XLVII will be one of the most wagered on games of all-time, according to CBSsports.com.
Betting on the Super Bowl in Las Vegas is huge business.
This year’s game likely will top the $93.9 million risked in 2012 and has a chance to break the $94.5 million mark set back in 2006.
The 49ers currently are a 3.5-point favorite. The over-under currently is set at 47.5.
There are a ton of prop bets available as well.
Get this, there’s actually a prop bet available on how long the postgame handshake/hug will last between the Harbaugh brothers. The over/under is set at 7.5 seconds.
Also, the over/under on the time of the national anthem by Keys is set at two minutes and 15 seconds.
Some of the other more interesting prop bets that actually are available include:
• The color of the Gatorade dumped on the winning coach;
• Which Harbaugh brother will be shown on TV first once the game starts; and
• Who will the Super Bowl MVP thank first when interviewed on the stage.
By the way, the odds of Kaepernick winning the MVP award are 7/4. Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco comes next at 11/4.
Enjoy the Super Bowl, an unofficial national holiday.
