Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for February 2, 2018
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
February 2, 2018: The very first Super Bowl was played on January 15, 1967, with a lot less hype than the game attracts today. Still, 51 million Americans watched the Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs.[1]
That game was broadcast on two television networks—CBS and NBC—because it was a match-up between two separate leagues. The Packers represented the long-established National Football League, while the Chiefs had won the upstart American Football League. CBS broadcast the NFL games, and NBC had rights to the AFL.
The networks began alternating coverage the next season, with CBS attracting 39 million views to watch the Packers repeat as champions by defeating the Oakland Raiders. NBC aired the stunning upset of Super Bowl III when Joe Namath and the New York Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts. Baltimore had been favored by 17 points, and 42 million people watched the upset.
Of course, it wasn’t called the Super Bowl in the early days, merely the AFL-NFL championship game.
For most of its history, the Super Bowl has been watched in nearly half of all U.S. households, peaking in 1982 at 49%. In terms of viewers, the all-time high was 2015 with 114 million people tuned in.
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
- February 1, 2018 – 1.5 trillion dollars in unfunded state liabilities
- January 31, 2018 – 42 percent of eligible Mexican immigrants have become U.S. citizens
- January 30, 2018 – 50 years ago today, the Tet Offensive began in Vietnam
- January 29, 2018 – 39 percent of Americans have strong religious affiliation, little changed since 1980s
- January 26, 2018 – 22,169 dollars: average state and local taxes paid by New Yorkers who itemize their deductions
- To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.
Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia weekdays at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Click here to check out the latest update.
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Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
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