When it comes to hosting Super Bowls, Arizona is on a roll. The last two Super Bowls in the desert have been among the best. In Super Bowl XLII, the New York Giants defeated the 18-0 New England Patriots on the strength of a David Tyree helmet catch. In Super Bowl XLIX, with two elite teams squaring off, it was Malcolm Butler’s last-second interception helping the Patriots defeat the Seattle Seahawks.
Of course, the competitiveness of the game is beyond the control of the host city. That won’t dissuade anyone with such a list of cities and the best Super Bowls.
Take a look at the Super Bowl host cities, ranking them based on the excitement of the games.
Let’s check the latest Super Bowl picks, stats, injury reports, and Super Bowl odds. We’ve got plenty of Super Bowl lines for you to consider.
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Detroit, Minneapolis, Bay Area
Each of these cities (regions) hosted a pair of Super Bowls. They were somewhat forgettable.
Super Bowl XL in Detroit (Seahawks-Steelers) was infamous due to its poor officiating.
In Super Bowl XXVI, Minneapolis witnessed the Washington then-Redskins obliterate the Buffalo Bills.
The Bay Area duo of Super Bowl XIX (Joe Montana’s San Francisco 49ers vs. Dan Marino’s Miami Dolphins) and 50 (Denver Broncos vs. Carolina Panthers) weren’t compelling.
.@JJettas2 made the catch of the year.
Should he also be named the Offensive Player of the Year? 👀 @surface
📺: #NFLHonors — Thursday 9pm ET on NBC pic.twitter.com/lpTheyW2Rd
— NFL (@NFL) February 7, 2023
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New Orleans
Some of the worst Super Bowls ever occurred during New Orleans’ first seven times as host. There were seven blowouts, and never more than 10 points scored by the losing club.
Special dispensation is given to the Kansas Chiefs’ 23-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV at Tulane Stadium, the last game before the decade-old American League went out of business. Coming on the heels of the New York Jets’ win over the Baltimore Colts (see Miami), meaning no longer any questioning the level of play in the “inferior” league.
The Green Bay Packers’ 35-21 victory over the New England Patriots (Super Bowl XXXI) in the eight go-round wasn’t terrific, but when compared to others, it passed as outstanding. Then, in Super Bowl XXXVI, it was the Pats stunning the St. Louis Rams at the gun, beginning a dynasty.
It wasn’t all that horrible in Super Bowl XLVII either, with the Baltimore Ravens defeating the San Francisco 49ers, 34-31, in a game interrupted by an electrical outage. Even though many of its Super Bowls have been disappointing, New Orleans is such a great locale to have as host.
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Atlanta
It was a Dallas Cowboys’ blowout victory over Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVII, while New England’s win over the Los Angeles Rams (Super Bowl LIII) was a brutal game. It isn’t all one-sided. Atlanta had its reputation saved by Kurt Warner and the St. Louis Rams’ thrilling victory over the Tennessee Titans in Super Bowl XXXIV.
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San Diego
Super Bowl XXXII ended with John (“Helicopter”) Elway winning his (and the Denver Broncos’) initial title against the Packers. Other two games resulted in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (48 points) and Washington then-Redskins (42 points) winning in routs.
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Los Angeles Area
This is taking into account the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Rose Bowl and SoFi Stadium. There is much history, including the first Super Bowl back in 1967.
The Miami Dolphins completed the league’s only perfect (17-0) season, defeating the Washington then-Redskins, 14-7, in Super Bowl VII at the Coliseum.
With a late fourth-quarter drive in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi, it was the home-standing Los Angeles Rams defeating the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20, in the latest SoCal Super Bowl.
7x Pro Bowler
2x All-Pro pic.twitter.com/UJjTOKGEsv— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) February 6, 2023
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Houston
The Miami Dolphins’ tedious 24-7 thrashing of the Minnesota Vikings in Rice Stadiun’s Super Bowl VIII, was appropriate given the unimpressive location. Some might say this was the Super Bowl’s worst-ever venue.
We can’t forget Super Bowl XXXVIII, mainly because people can only recall two things… Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” and Adam Vinatieri’s game-winning kick in the final seconds. What’s not generally remembered is Carolina Panther John Kasay’s kickoff went out of bounds after his game-tying extra point. Thus, the New England Patriots and Tom Brady had an easy time getting into Vinatieri’s range, doing so in just over a minute.
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Tampa Bay
Against the backdrop of the Gulf War, the New York Giants defeated the Buffalo Bills, 20-19 in Super Bowl XXV. Buffalo’s Scott Norwood missed a 47-yard field goal on the final play. In Super Bowl XLIII, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 27-23, in a game featuring James Harrison’s 100-yard touchdown/interception return at the end of the first half, Larry Fitzgerald’s 64-yard touchdown catch and Santonio Holmes’ game-winning touchdown catch in the final minute.
Tampa’s duds had the Oakland Raiders blitzing the Washington then-Redskins 38-9, in Super Bowl XVIII, the Baltimore Ravens taking down the New York Giants, 34-7, in Super Bowl XXXV, and the home-standing Buccaneers rolling the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9, in Super Bowl LV.
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Miami
Miami has hosted 11 Super Bowls. There haven’t been many catastrophes, though. Perhaps just three poor Super Bowls in Miami (II, XXIX, and XXXIII), which leaves us with eight games that were at least passable.
The New York Jets and Joe Namath’s “guaranteed” victory over the heavily-favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III was historic, moving the American Football League much closer to parity with the NFL. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 35-31 victory over the Dallas Cowboys (Super Bowl XIII) and the San Francisco 49ers rally against the Cincinnati Bengals (Super Bowl XXIII, think Joe Montana to John Taylor) make these arguably the three best Super Bowls in South Florida.
