The Super Bowl Is a Major Event, but Much of It Is Trivia

This Morning Briefing is devoted entirely to Super Bowl trivia. Consider it suitable for framing. Either that, or for wadding it up in a ball if your name is Bud Grant.

He’s in: The first points in the Super Bowl were scored by the Green Bay Packers’ Max McGee on a 37-yard pass from Bart Starr.

It’s good: The first field goal was kicked by Mike Mercer of the Kansas City Chiefs, a 31-yarder in 1967 against the Packers.

Trivia (question) time: Has any coach lost four Super Bowls?

Offensive defense: Herb Adderley of the Packers scored the first points for the defense in a Super Bowl when he returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown in 1968 against the Oakland Raiders.

In the long run: Marcus Allen of the Raiders has the longest run from scrimmage, 74 yards against the Washington Redskins in 1984.

Freshmen: Two rookie coaches have won the Super Bowl--Don McCafferty with the Baltimore Colts in 1971 and George Seifert with the San Francisco 49ers in 1990.

Typical season?The 1979 Rams (9-7) have the most regular-season losses of any Super Bowl team.

Consolation prize: Chuck Howley of the Dallas Cowboys in 1971 is the only player to be named the Super Bowl’s MVP while playing on the losing team.

TV prize: The 1982 game between the 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals had the highest TV rating, 49.1.

A charm: The only player to appear in the Super Bowl with three different teams is Preston Pearson--the Colts in 1969, the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1975 and the Cowboys in 1976, ’78 and ’79.

Fit to be. . . : The only game tied at halftime was in 1989 when the 49ers and Bengals were 3-3.

Passing fancy: The Miami Dolphins’ Dan Marino holds the record for most completed passes in a game, 29 against the 49ers in 1985.

There’s a catch: No, Jerry Rice doesn’t hold the Super Bowl record for most receptions in his career. It’s former 49er teammate Roger Craig, with 20.

Fumble rumbles: Only two players have returned fumbles for touchdowns: Mike Bass of the Redskins returned Garo Yepremian’s fumble 49 yards for a touchdown against the Dolphins in 1973, and Mike Hegman of the Cowboys returned Terry Bradshaw’s fumble 37 yards for a touchdown against the Steelers in 1979.

Near-perfect: The Dolphins won Super Bowl VII in 1973 for the only perfect season, but four Super Bowl champions finished with one loss--the 1977 champion Oakland Raiders, 16-1; the 1983 champion Redskins, 12-1; the 1985 champion 49ers, 18-1; and the 1986 champion Chicago Bears, 18-1.

Multiple choices: Three players have been named the game’s MVP more than once--Bart Starr of the Packers in 1967 and ‘68, Terry Bradshaw of the Steelers in 1979 and ’80 and Joe Montana of the 49ers in 1982, ’85 and ’90.

Trivia answer: Two, Bud Grant of the Vikings (1970, ‘74, ’75 and ‘77) and Don Shula of the Colts (1969) and Dolphins (1972, ’83 and ‘85).

Quotebook: CBS analyst Randy Cross: “For the guys who have never been in a Super Bowl, there’s good news/bad news. The good news is that you’re going to the Super Bowl. The bad news is that it’s in Minneapolis.”