LOCAL Houston | The City Guide January 2017 | Page 62

... is for years ( 1974 – 2017 )

Y

... is for years ( 1974 – 2017 )

The Super Bowl is an event that has so much meaning , so much partying , so much anticipation and so much bragging that many think the Monday following the game should be declared a national holiday ( yes , there ’ s an actual petition at www . whitehouse . gov ).
What many think is a one-day event between the best AFC team and the best NFC team is actually a year in the making for the city of Houston , and one that needs to top the last two Super Bowl appearances in this great city – 1974 and 2004 .
What was once a simple Sunday afternoon football game has transformed into an entire week of festivities , interviews and guerilla marketing where the whole city of Houston – its residents , businesses , artwork and infrastructure – will be on display .
To get you Super Bowl ready ( and since this went to print before the teams were set ), here is some fun trivia from the last times the big game was played in Houston :
Sunday , January 13 , 1974 , Super Bowl VIII – Rice Stadium Outcome : Miami Dolphins 24 | Minnesota Vikings 7 - First time site was not home of an NFL ® franchise - First time Super Bowl was not held in L . A ., Miami or New Orleans - Last Super Bowl with goal posts at goal line - Where are they now ? Hall of Famer , 5x Pro Bowl , 2x SB Champion and Super Bowl MVP Larry Csonka scored two rushing touchdowns for Miami . Csonka was recently on HBO ’ s hit show Ballers as a Miami Dolphins coach . He is 70 years old now . by Jayme Lamm
Sunday , February 1 , 2004 , Super Bowl XXXVIII – Reliant Stadium Outcome : New England Patriots 32 | Carolina Panthers 29 - First Super Bowl played in a stadium with a retractable roof - Janet Jackson ’ s infamous “ wardrobe malfunction ” while performing on stage during halftime with Justin Timberlake , singing Rock Your Body - Super Bowl MVP : Tom Brady - Where are they now ? Former Patriots linebacker and Super Bowl cham pion Mike Vrabel is now the Houston Texans linebacker coach .
Sunday , February 5 , 2017 , Super Bowl LI – NRG Stadium Outcome : TBD - Global superstar LADY GAGA , winner of six Grammy ® Awards , a Golden Globe ® and Academy Award ® nominee , will headline the PEPSI ® ZERO SUGAR SUPER BOWL LI HALFTIME SHOW . This will be her second Super Bowl performance , having sung the National Anthem at Super Bowl 50 last year . According to www . NFL . com , more than 116.5 million viewers in the U . S . watched last year ' s halftime show , so it ’ s a pretty big deal . Locals – Be on the lookout for Houston LIVE , which will take up an entire city block of the Super Bowl LIVE footprint downtown , hosting interactive exhibits and Houston-area performers of various styles doing their thing “ pop-up ” style throughout .
* Another Super Bowl fun fact : No team has ever played a Super Bowl in their home stadium . * This will be the 3rd time the Super Bowl has been played on February 5th and the 14th consecutive Super Bowl played in February . www . housuperbowl . com
62 LOCAL | january 17