“The Super Bowl: All about Pro Football’s Biggest Event”
by Hans Hetrick.
Capstone Press, Mankato, Minn., 2013,32 pages, Grades 3-5.
At the end of the pro football season, a series of playoff games are played. The final two winners of their conferences then play each other in the final title game, the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl has grown from being an interesting championship game to becoming a cultural phenomenon. It is routinely the most widely watched television event each year in the United States. The commercials are eagerly anticipated by the audience and cost millions of dollars.
So what are the reasons this football championship come about? Hans Hetrick tells us the fascinating history of the Super Bowl in a well written and photographed book entitled “The Super Bowl: All about Pro Football’s Biggest Event.”
The National Football League (NFL) had franchises in a number of cities in the 1960s. The American Football League (AFL) was founded in the 1960s and expanded professional football to many other cities in the USA. After several years, both leagues decided to play a title game between their respective champions. Following the 1966 season, on January 15, 1967, the NFL Green Bay Packers played the AFL Kansas City Chiefs. Millions of television viewers watched the game with the Packers winning 35-10. The Super Bowl had made its mark on the American psyche and began to be widely anticipated each year.
Hetrick fills the book with all kinds of interesting stories and facts. The NFL and AFL finally decided to merge into one league in 1970 and the interest in the Super Bowl continued to soar. In the 1970s the Pittsburgh Steelers became the dominant team in professional football. The author describes Coach Chuck Noll building the juggernaut with its black and yellow uniforms. He includes an exciting photograph of the Pittsburgh great running back, Franco Harris, leaving defenders in his wake. Next, Hetrick describes the powerful San Francisco 49ers. Throughout the 1980s the 49ers won four Super Bowls. He discusses the great quarterback of the 49ers, Joe Montana. As well, Coach Joe Walsh and his innovative passing game is discussed.
The next decade of the 1990s belongs to the Dallas Cowboys. Their famous quarterback, Troy Aikman, is shown holding up the championship Lombardi Trophy. In the first decade of the 2000s, the powerful New England Patriots are described.
All sorts of fun facts are included in the book as well. Which quarterback made the famous “guaranteed win” statement? What tackle on the 1-foot line saved a team from defeat? Who ran down a lumbering tackle and caused the most famous fumble in Super Bowl history? To find out the answers to these and many other questions, go to the library and check out “The Super Bowl: All about Pro Football’s Biggest Event” by Hans Hetrick.
The Super Bowl has become a national event in the United States. People plan Super Bowl parties and eagerly watch the game and the commercials. The Budweiser Clydesdale Horse Teams are particularly popular with viewers. Hetrick catches the excitement of the Super Bowl in this book. It could be effectively shared in classroom settings or the home. The writing is succinct and the photographs are exciting.
I hope you get a chance to encourage the youngsters in your family to read this book. Of course, you could be that ‘youngster’ yourself and read the book. In any event, have fun!
