Following Sunday’s convincing — and impressive — victories by the Kansas City Chiefs (35-24) and the San Francisco 49ers (37-20), Super Bowl LIV (54) is set as the Chiefs and 49ers will tangle in Miami on Ground Hog Day (February 2).
The Super Bowls have always progressed in Roman Numerals. L is 50 and IV is four, hence LIV for 54.
It’s hard to believe, for us “old timers,” that this will be the 54th Super Bowl. I was a high school sophomore when the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League defeated the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League, 35-10, in what later became known as Super Bowl I. On the date of that game — January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Coliseum — the event between the two league champions was dubbed as the World Championship Game.
Two years later, when the New York Jets ‘upset’ the Baltimore Colts (16-7), that game became known as Super Bowl III.
The next year, following the 1969 season, the NFL champion Minnesota Vikings were heavily favored to win Super Bowl IV, played at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. But the Chiefs, who beat the Oakland Raiders (17-7) for the AFL championship, stunned the huge crowd of 80,562 by outplaying and outscoring the Vikings 23-7. It was the first of four Super Bowl losses for the Vikings in an eight-year period.
That game played on January 11, 1970 was also the last of the four championship games between the two separate leagues. The following season, the two leagues merged and became the NFL with two inter-mixing conferences, the AFC and the NFC.
I remember that the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Colts and Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL all becoming AFC teams as both leagues merged into one. Since 1971, the two conference champions have played in the Super Bowl.
The Vikings lost to the defending champion Miami Dolphins (24-7) at Rice Stadium in Houston on January 13, 1974 in Super Bowl VIII following their 1973 NFC championship season.
The next year, on the weekend of the “Storm of the Century” (remember the huge three-day blizzard January 10-12 of 1975?), the Vikings were defeated by the Steelers (16-6) in Super Bowl IX, played again in New Orleans at Tulane Stadium.
Then two years later, it was John Madden’s Oakland Raiders that spoiled the Vikings hope of an NFL championship when they whipped the Vikings (32-14) in Super Bowl XI at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on January 9, 1977.
In four Super Bowl appearances (following the championship seasons of 1969, 1973, 1974 and 1976), the Vikings were 0-4 and were outscored 105-34.
It’s been 43 years since the Vikings last reached the “Big Game.” They were close following the 1977, 1987, 1998, 2000, 2009 and 2017 seasons, losing in six NFC championship clashes to the Dallas Cowboys (23-6), Washington Redskins (17-10), Atlanta Falcons (30-27), New York Giants (41-0), New Orleans Saints (31-28) and Philadelphia Eagles (38-7), respectively.
In those six NFC title losses, the Vikings have been outscored 180-78. Twice, 1999 and 2010 (following the ’98 and ’09 seasons), they “almost” won and were very close to reaching the Super Bowl, being edged both times by an overtime field goal.
The ’88 game, following the ’87 season, was a close game, too, losing by just seven points to the eventual Super Bowl champion Redskins. But the losses to the Cowboys, Giants and Eagles following the 1977, 2000 and 2017 campaigns were blowouts.
Perhaps, the Vikings most devastating playoff loss was at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington on December 28, 1975 when the Cowboys — on Roger Staubach’s “Hail Mary” pass to Drew Pearson — stunned the favored Vikings in a Divisional Round game, 17-14, ending one of the team’s best-ever seasons (12-2 before the playoff loss after starting out 10-0). There was plenty of controversy surrounding Pearson’s “push-off” catch — which was long before the days of “instant replay” and overturning calls, or lack of calls.
Minnesota’s four NFL and NFC championship game victories — after those ’69, ’73, ’74 and ’76 seasons — came over the Browns (27-7), Cowboys (27-7), Los Angeles Rams (14-10) and Rams (24-13). The Vikings outscored those four opponents by a combined 92-37 spread in impressive fashion. But after those convincing wins, they were unable to duplicate that kind of performance in the Super Bowl.
Kansas City is 1-1 in its two Super Bowls, being outscored 42-33.
San Francisco has had tremendous Super Bowl success, winning five of six, outscoring its opponents by a combined margin of 219-123. The 49ers won Super Bowls XVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIV and XXIX (that would 26, 29, 33, 34 and 39) after the ’81, ’84, ’88, ’89 and ’94 seasons by scores of 26-21, 38-16, 20-16, 55-10 and 49-26 over the Bengals, Dolphins, Bengals, Broncos and Chargers, respectively.
Much more recently, the 49ers lost to the Baltimore Ravens (34-31) in Super Bowl XLVII (47) on February 3, 2013, following the 2012 season, at the Superdome in New Orleans.
It’s hard to pick against either team, both the Chiefs and 49ers have been exceptional this past season and have been absolutely awesome in their playoff victories. It should be a great game!
