It's time for sports fans across America and beyond to stock up on wings, beer, and potato chips ahead of the biggest date in the NFL calendar - Super Bowl Sunday.
Facing off for the coveted Vince Lombardi Trophy this year are the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons.
Whether you’re tuning in for the blockbuster commercials or the battle of two incredibly competitive teams, here are our favourite American football record to get you psyched for this Sunday's showdown.
Most one-handed American football catches in one minute
As part of the festivities in the run-up to last year's Super Bowl in San Francisco, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown showed why he has one of the safest set of hands in the game, catching an amazing 40 one-handed passes in one minute delivered to him by Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins. The attempt shattered the previous record of 33 set by New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham in 2015 when he teamed up with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
Most Super Bowl MVP awards
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is currently tied with legendary 49ers quarterback Joe Montana for this record with both earning the coveted award on three occasions. Brady has lead his team six times to the Super Bowl, winning on four occasions. He can also claim to be the First unanimous winner of the NFL MVP Award, having received all 50 votes bestowed by the Associated Press for the 2010 season. On top of these achievements, the 39-year-old is also the record holder for Most passes completed in a Super Bowl game (37), Most wins in an NFL career as a starting quarterback (201), and has received the Highest annual earnings for an American football player ($18,000,000/year). He’ll be back on the field for another Super Bowl this year, so we’ll see if his team prevails in the 2017 game.
Largest TV audience for a Super Bowl half-time performance
Sport is far from the only major talking point when it comes to the Super Bowl, with many non-sports fans tuning in to watch it for the elaborate music performances that take place at half-time. Katy Perry’s performance at Super Bowl XLIX in 2015 featuring celebrity singers Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliot averaged an audience of 118.5 million people on the NBC network. The seven-song set, which included hits such as "Roar", "Dark Horse" and "I Kissed a Girl" saw Katy perform on top of a huge robotic tiger, and alongside dancing sharks, attracted a larger average TV audience than the game itself (a Super Bowl record 114.4 million viewers). Katy surpassed Bruno Mars for the record, who accumulated 115.3 million views in 2014. We’ll see if this year’s performance by Lady Gaga breaks the title!
Most touchdowns in a Super Bowl game
The 1990 Super Bowl saw the San Francisco 49ers record the highest score in Super Bowl history. Not surprisingly, the game also saw them win the most touchdowns in a Super Bowl game, with eight. The game took place at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA on 18 January against the Denver Broncos.
Oldest Super Bowl player
Many football players who make it to the Super Bowl are in their prime 20 to 30s, but that wasn't the case for veteran place kicker Matt Stover, who was 42 years and 11 days when he played in Super Bowl XLIV in 2010. Representing the Indianapolis Colts, he went 2-for-2 on extra points in the Colts 31-17 defeat to the New Orleans Saints. Stover was first drafted by the New York Giants in 1990, and went on to become the third most accurate kicker in NFL history, as well as the fourth all-time leading scorer. Earning a world title for being the Oldest player on the field of the Super Bowl is just another tick on Stover’s long list of accomplishments, but it is nonetheless one the most impressive.
Largest glass of beer
The most common drink at every Super Bowl party is a glass of ice cold beer - and we’re sure many fans would love to have this enormous record as part of their Super Bowl celebrations. This super-sized serving of beer contained 2,082 litres (457.99 gal, 550 US gal) of Stod Fold Gold and was produced by Angus Wood and Ed Dupuy of Stod Fold Brewing Company (all UK), in Halifax, UK.
Most expensive advertising campaign
Each year, dozens of major brands pay millions for 30 seconds of on-screen ad time during Super Bowl ad breaks, knowing that millions of American everywhere are tuned into the big game. As it’s gotten more competitive and pricey each year, corporations are constantly forking out cash for the big event- with Pepsi Cola currently standing as the biggest spenders. The soft drinks firm spent an astounding $8.1 million (or $90,000 per second) on advertisements for Super Bowl XXXVI at the Louisiana Superdome in 2002. The campaign starred pop icon Britney Spears consuming the drink at different stages in the last five decades.
Largest serving of nachos
Loaded nachos is a classic dish served up at Super Bowl fiestas, and so we thought we’d share the world’s largest to get you hungry for game day. Created by Centerplate and University of Kansas, 765 lb of nacho chips, 405 lb of salsa, 323 lb of tomato, 918 lb of meat and beans, and more than 2,200 lb of cheese, the nachos were served in enormous heaped servings to athletes at the University of Kansas stadium.
Fastest-selling digital album
Lady Gaga has been announced as this year’s grand Super Bowl performance, but did you also know she holds the record for Fastest-selling digital album? According to Nielsen SoundScan history, her long player Born this Way generated 662,000 first-week sales to debut at No.1 back in June 2011. The figure that was boosted by online retailer Amazon’s controversial decision to sell the album for 99 cents.
Most watched NFL championship game
The intense showdown between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks during the 2015 Super Bowl accrued an average audience of 114.4 million views, making it the most watched Super Bowl game in history. This year's game is tipped to beat that number, but who are you rooting for, the Patriots or Falcons? May the best team win!
