5 Things You May Not Know About Super Bowl 50

Football fans are looking forward to the Super Bowl, coming up on Feb 7.

• What Time Is Super Bowl 50? And Everything Else You Need To Know

While sports writers are analyzing the match-up between Cam Newton and Peyton Manning, Denver’s awesome defense against Carolina’s powerful offense and other nuances of the teams, there are plenty of fun facts floating around to keep us amused until kickoff.

1. The NFL dumped Roman numerals for this Super Bowl - Super Bowls 1 - 49 were numbered in Roman numerals, or should we say I - XLIX. Then came 50. The NFL’s official explanation was that the “L” was not graphically pleasing to the eye. And what does the rest of the world think? That “L is for Loser” is so ingrained in the American psyche that the NFL didn’t want its premiere event associated with “L.”
2. Levi’s Stadium is not in San Francisco - The San Francisco 49ers built their new stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area, but not in the City By the Bay. The new stadium, and the home of Super Bowl 50, is 50 miles south of San Francisco in Santa Clara. The NFL is holding events in both cities.
3. The last Super Bowl held in California was in 2003 - It’s been more than a decade since the NFL held its championship game in the Golden State. It was also the last time that a Super Bowl was held in January. Super Bowl XXXVII was held at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Are you a trivia buff? Name the teams that played in that Super Bowl. The answer is below.
4. Airline and airport workers have been trained to watch for sex trafficking victims - Tens of thousands of wealthy people will fly into San Francisco for the Super Bowl. Arriving on those same planes, authorities believe, are sex trafficking victims. San Francisco International Airport held training sessions earlier his month for both airline and airport personnel to spot signs of victimization.
5. Some Levis Stadium concession stands are staffed by volunteers - Rather than drawing a paycheck, the volunteers are earning money for their charities, such as the Band Booster program at Dublin High School. The program warns as much as $1500 for regular season 49ers games. They’re hoping to do much better at the Super Bowl.

Answer to No. 3: Tampa Bay defeated Oakland 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII.

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Super Bowl logo courtesy NFL