Story by Jon Stalnaker AKA The Studebaker Dude
And then there were four. I’ve been a Super Bowl Nerd for decades, and I keep a workbook on my computer to store Super Bowl data that interests me. I have a list sorted by: year, wins, losses, point spreads, teams, most wins, most losses, appearances, win percentage, MVPs, and MVP positions. If you have any questions about any of those statistics, I’m the guy to ask.
My team is the Broncos, and I’m not real happy about my team this year. I will not pontificate the why, but “win or lose” the Broncos are my NFL team. As we head towards Super Bowl 58, we have one more weekend before we know who will be participating in Las Vegas this year. Before I get into my feelings about who I would like to play and who I would like to win, let me share the information I gather, using my Broncos team as an example.
The Broncos, Steelers, and Cowboys are tied for second place with 8 Super Bowl appearances, while the Patriots have the most at11. Broncos, Raiders, and Redskins (Commanders) are tied at 4th place with the most wins at 3.
The Steelers and the Patriots are at the top of the win list with 6 each. The 49ers and the Cowboys have 5 each, and the Packers and the Giants share third place with 4. My Broncos came out at the top of the list of the most Super Bowl losses with 5. The Patriots also have 5 losses, but we beat them to the top when you look at our percentage of losses. We lost 63% of our Super Bowl appearances, while the Patriots losses were only 45%. I have to dig deep to find what my team was the best of… I added another sheet with a list of the 4 teams that have never made a Super Bowl appearance. Those teams are: the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, The Houston Texans, and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
This weekend, four teams are going to battle to see which two will go to the Big Game. Every other team has played their last game of the 2023/2024 season. Since my team is out of the running, I need to find another team to root for. I like what Kansas City has been doing of late, and they are the closest to a home team for me now that I live in Oklahoma. The Cowboys are close too, but they are already out. I would like to see the teams that have never been to a Super Bowl get taken off my list. I have been rooting for the Browns for many years now. I had a friend in California that was originally from Ohio, and he is a big time Browns fan. He would wear his brown and orange coat with pride, and I always admired him for that. They’ve been doing better lately but have still fallen short, as they did again this year. Last weekend, I was rooting for the Texans in hopes of getting them off my list, but that’s not going to happen either this year. The Jaguars are out, but the Lions get one more chance this weekend. Unfortunately for me, they have to take out the 49ers to do it, and that is my son’s team. I’m not a big 49ers fan and never have been, even though that was the closest team to my home when I lived there. I do like Christian McCaffrey and feel like he is almost family. He is the son of Ed McCaffrey, who retired from the Broncos. I still have my Broncos McCaffrey jersey, so I may wear that when they play. But I must apologize to my son because while I might feel sorry for him if his team loses, I will be happy to be able to take the Lions off my “Never Been To The Super Bowl” list. Besides, the 49ers have been to the Super Bowl 7 times, winning five of them. They were the only five appearance undefeated team for years until 2013 when Colin Kaepernick helped give them their first loss. Their other loss was to the Chiefs in 2020 and that scenario is still a possibility to repeat.
The Chiefs still have to get past the Baltimore Ravens this weekend. They are an undefeated Super Bowl team too, but they only had 2 wins. I’m not too invested in either of these teams. I do like the Chiefs, but I think they have not been as good this year, we’ll see. I am amused by the whole Taylor Swift thing, though. I really can’t understand why football fans have been fussing so much about all the attention she draws. For crying out loud, Kelce is dating Time magazine’s Woman of the Year. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not a Swiftie, but she has every right to be there to cheer him on. You Go Girl…
