Super Bowl history, trivia and so much more

       The Kansas City Chiefs are headed to the Super Bowl for a third straight year to tackle the Philadelphia Eagles for all the marbles.
       This is the Chiefs’ third trip in a row to the Super Bowl and fifth time in the last six years. Of the last four trips, the Chiefs have won twice against the San Francisco 49ers and beat the Eagles two years ago. They lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-9, in 2020.
      I’m OK with the Chiefs heading to the Super Bowl for a third straight year and I hope they can pull a three-peat off.
       If the Chiefs do, they will be the first team in NFL history to reach that milestone.
      I’m a long-time Dallas Cowboys fan and I admit, they stink. They have all kinds of talent, but something in the Big D just isn’t clicking as the they aren’t winning.
      The Cowboys have played in eight Super Bowls, winning five and losing three. During the 1990s stretch, the Cowboys won three games in four years.
      They beat the Buffalo Bills two years in a row, 1993 – 94, under Coach Jimmy Johnson.  The third Super Bowl win of that four-year stretch and the last for the Cowboys came in 1996 under the direction of former OU Football Coach Barry Switzer. Coach Tom Landry, who I got to see at a game, led the Cowboys in the other five Super Bowl games, winning two and losing three.
      I’ve attended seven Dallas Cowboys games in the old Texas Stadium, including two Monday Night games and five Thanksgiving Day games.
     Many moons ago, Johnson coached the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Switzer was at neighboring OU. There was a stretch of some 20 years that OU ruled OSU on the gridiron. Even with Heisman Trophy winner, Barry Sanders, OSU couldn’t beat OU.
      When Johnson took the Miami Hurricane gig, OU couldn’t win a game against them.
      In fact, Dallas Cowboy quarterback Troy Aikman, a Henrietta, Okla. native, started his college career at OU. In a game his freshman year against the Hurricane in Norman, he broke his leg and ended up sitting out a year before transferring to UCLA and taking the reins of the Bruins. 
     Since folks will be filling their refrigerators with cold ones, picking up some steaks, loading up with chips and dips and inviting family and friends over to watch the big game, I thought this would be a great time to share some Super Bowl history and trivia.
      The Buffalo Bills have the most consecutive appearances in the Super Bowl with four from 1990 – 1993. They are also one of two teams to lose four Super Bowls. For the Bills, it was four in a row.
      In addition to their recent success, the Chiefs lost to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl 1 on Jan. 15, 1967. In Super Bowl 4, the Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings, 23-7. They didn’t make it to the Super Bowl again until 2020. That’s a 53 year stretch.
       The Minnesota Vikings have played in four Super Bowls from 1970 – 1977, losing all four games. They lost to the Chiefs as earlier mentioned and the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl 13, losing that game, 16-6. They also lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 32-14 in 1976 and the Oakland Raiders, 32-14 in 1977.
      When I was in junior high or middle school as some call it these days in the early 1970s Vikings Coach Bud Grant would bring the team to Tulsa during playoff games to practice at Skelly Stadium, home of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. News reports that I have read, say the team came to Tulsa to get away from ice and snow in Minneapolis because they didn’t have an indoor practice facility.
      Another report I read was that then Vikings General Manager Jim Finks, a former TU and Pittsburg Steelers quarterback, was the connection that landed the team in Tulsa to practice.
       I never tried to sneak in, but reports say the practices were closed to the public.
      It seems one year while they were in town, it snowed in Tulsa. Skelly Stadium is on Route 66 just more than one-half mile from my boyhood home.
        The Steelers won two consecutive Super Bowls in 1975 – 76 and again in 1979 – 80.
       The Miami Dolphins appeared in three consecutive Super Bowls, winning the last two. And I can’t forget about the New England Patriots, who have appeared in 11 Super Bowls, winning against the St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers, Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, Atlanta Falcons and the Los Angeles Rams.
      The Patriots were eliminated in the AFC Championship Game to eventual Super Bowl 50 Champs, the Denver Broncos. The Patriots and Broncos are tied for the most Super Bowl losses at five.
      And the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) have played in five Super Bowls, winning three and losing two. I once got to meet the Washington Redskins Mascot in Dallas and purchase some Redskin goodies, including a “Hogs” T-shirt and ball cap.
        Do you remember Redskins fans dressing up in hog outfits complete with big noses?
      There are four NFL teams who have not played in a Super Bowl – Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
         I was kind of hoping the Lions would have got it done this year. As my football savvy nephew said, “I’m not surprised with all their injuries.”
     And of course, I can’t forget about the Chicago Bears beating the Patriots, 46-10, in 1986. Do you remember the William “Refrigerator” Perry Super Bowl Shuffle?
         I haven’t come close to touching on all the Super Bowl history and trivia in this column.
         No matter which team wins, it’s the Super Bowl. My hope is that the commercials will be great again this year.
         Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.