PHOENIX — It's the game of games: the Super Bowl.
Though all eyes are on Los Angeles this weekend, Arizona will be hosting the championship in 2023.
That means State 48 will be joining the four-timers club hosting the big game. So as we begin the countdown, let's look back at Arizona’s Super Bowl history and the lessons learned.
Our rookie outing was in 1996.
Sun Devil Stadium hosted Bill Cowher’s Pittsburgh Steelers against the Troy Aikman lead Dallas Cowboys. Both teams were trying to tie San Francisco for most Super Bowl wins.
In the end, Dallas grabbed the win, with a jubilant Jerry Jones basking in the glory of win No. 5 for the Cowboys.
Diana Ross performed the halftime show and then departed in grand style.
Super Bowl 42 in 2008
We had to wait another 12 years and get a new stadium before the NFL said yes again.
Super Bowl 42 in 2008 marked Glendale’s first Super Bowl, and Tom Brady's first of two valley appearances in the big game as the Patriots faced off against the Giants.
The lead-up to the game meant fans and celebs were out in force in Old Town Scottsdale.
Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers rocked the halftime show.
But Brady and the Patriots left with the biggest heartbreak. They had come into the game with a perfect 16-0 record, but as the clock struck zero, Eli Manning beat Brady, winning MVP honors.
But the real winners were the fans who saw a great game and the state of Arizona.
2015 Super Bowl 49
Seven years later, Brady returned to Glendale in 2015 for Super Bowl 49. This time facing off against Russell Wilson and the Seahawks.
In the lead-up to the big game, downtown Phoenix transformed into Super Bowl central. That year, fans beat the 2008 record of 90,000 fans with 120,000 out-of-state visitors.
We remember the game which turned out to be the most-watched program in American TV history, for several things.
Katy Perry's halftime show featured the now-infamous rogue Left Shark, and a finish that, to this day, fans still talk about. The Seahawks with the game in hand, inexplicably throw the ball leading to an interception and a shocking Patriots win.
2023 Super Bowl 57
In a stroke of genius, Larry Fitzgerald, the face of pro football in Arizona, will be the executive chair for the Super Bowl host committee.
The clock is ticking, but if the Rams could play in the big game in their own stadium, why not the Cardinals one year from now?.
Sports
Watch more of the latest sports videos on the 12 News YouTube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe!
