The Super Bowl is the annual championship game that decides the winner of the National Football League season. It is the culminating contest in American football, pitting the champions of the league's two conferences against one another.
Each season the top club from the National Football Conference faces the leading team from the American Football Conference for the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after the coach who led the first team to victory in the event now called the Super Bowl.
Television, commercials and the halftime show
The game attracts a wide audience, including many people who are not regular football fans. A major reason for that is the televised half-time performance and the commercials. Advertisements aired during the Super Bowl cost more per second than those in virtually any other television broadcast, and companies often make one-off spots created specifically for the event.
Notable team records
Two franchises share the record for the most Super Bowl victories: the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots, each with six titles. Close behind, both the San Francisco 49ers and the Dallas Cowboys have won five Super Bowls apiece.
Several NFL teams have never reached the Super Bowl. Those franchises include:
One historical note: the New York Jets have not returned to the Super Bowl since the merger of the American Football League and the NFL in 1970.