Then and now: Super Bowl through the years

ByReggie Aqui KGO logo

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Then and now: Super Bowl through the years

Here's a look at how the Super Bowl has changed since the very first game.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Super Bowl fever is high in the Bay Area. As we celebrate the half-century old sporting event, we want to show you how the biggest football event has changed since that very first game.

January, 15 1967 kicked off the most-anticipated sporting event for football players and fans: the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Green Bay Packers inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The game is pretty much the same since then, but what has changed?

First of all, the championship was not originally called the Super Bowl: it was called the AFL-NFL World Championship game. The Super Bowl officially got its name two-years later. Men wore neckties and women dressed elegantly at the big game. Those fans paid just $10 for their ticket. Compare that to Super Bowl 50, where the cheapest ticket we could find in the nosebleed section of Levi's Stadium went for $3,000. The cost of the advertisements during the game in 1967 for a 30 second commercial cost more than 42,000; in 2016 it costs $5 million.

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Finally, the much-anticipated halftime shows; back then only marching bands entertained the crowd. Now, there are A-list singers like Katy Perry and Bruno Mars rocking the house, or stadium. Beyonce returns to the Super Bowl this year, joining the Coldplay onstage.

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As we approach Super Bowl 50, the one thing that has stayed the same for fans and players is their love of football, and this year they're bringing all that love right here to the Bay Area.

Click here for full coverage of Super Bowl 50

Written by Justin Mendoza.