Superbowl 2012-2014: Super Bowl Future Sites, Locations 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, Ticket Contest, Superbowl XLVII

The Superbowl is one of the most celebrated events worldwide with millions tuned in to cheer for the champions of the AFC and NFC football conferences. Here's NFL and Superbowl history, as well as, the low-down on 2012 - 2013 season with scores and travel information and locations for the 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 Superbowls. Also, check out the Reference section for SuperBowl Ticket contests where you can score tickets and accommodations for the next SuperBowl. Whether you are a couch potato, tailgater or stadium convert, you will find helpful information. Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!

The National Football League was started in 1920 in Canton, Ohio; there were 11 teams. The American Football League was formed in 1960, and, in 1966 the two leagues were combined. Today, there are 32 professional teams in the NFL with each team competing in 16 regular season games. The NFL is comprised of two divisions -- the NFC (National Football Conference) and the AFC (American Football Conference). Each conference is then divided into four geographical segments -- East, West, North and South. Each team has one week off, called a bye, during the regular season.

Post-season playoffs feature the top teams from the eight segments in addition to four wild card teams. These teams play until two teams--one each from the AFC and NFC--compete in the Super Bowl.

As you can imagine, the Superbowl is big business, pumping $200-$500 million in the local economy of the host. Cities hoping to house this extravaganza go through a bidding process, with the NFL team owners voting in a secret ballot, to select the next hosting city. The bidding committees bring mega clout to the bidding process with state and city officials and local celebrities in attendance. These committees work to present a rationale showing why their city is a superior site to host this event. One positive that occurs from this process is that potential cities often commit to legacy projects to improve housing or other elements for needy areas in their cities.

Obviously, cities offering the potential for sunny skies and warm weather have an advantage in the bidding process. For example, both the Miami area and New Orleans have hosted 10 Super Bowls. The Los Angeles area has been selected as a site seven times.

Superbowl I or the First World Championship Game was played in Memorial Stadium in Los Angeles, California. The Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 35 to 10 on January 15, 1967. Quarterback Bart Starr was the MVP (most valuable player). The last Superbowl, XLVI, was played in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots, 21 to 17.

A ticket to a coveted Superbowl seat is prime real estate. Only a few thousands are available to the general public. And, not only do fans of the opposing teams want to secure a spot, this game is popular worldwide with even soccer fans eager for an once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Tickets are reserved for VIP's corporate sponsors, other football franchises and the two competing teams. Most of the tickets are bought and sold on the secondary ticket market. Sellers use Ebay and Stub Hub to hawk their tickets. Sports fans can accept to spend at least $2,000 for a ticket. Tickets prices may exceed $10,000!

The 2012 - 2013 NFL season kicks off with the Dallas Cowboys meeting defending SuperBowl Champs, the New York Giants on their turf on Wednesday, September 5, 2012. The game will be televised on NBC, starting at 8:30pm. The remainder of the NFL teams will see action on Sunday, September 9 and Monday, September 10, 2012.

This season welcomes a promising group of rookie quarterbacks including Heisman winner, Robert Griffin, III (RG3), who leads the Washington Redskins and Andrew Luck, who directs the Indianapolis Colts' offense. Seattle Seahawk, rookie Quarterback, Russell Wilson, garnered press after the Seahawk's impressive win over Kansas City in the preseason.

And speaking of quarterbacks, the bout between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos will draw much attention. Many will tune in to see if Broncos Quarterback, Peyton Manning, has returned to his "winning ways" after sitting out his last season with the Colts, and can lead his new team to their first win of the season at home.

The Dallas Cowboys came ready to play and drew first blood, beating the New York Giants, 24 - 17 in the 2012- 2013 NFL season opener. Cowboys Wide Receiver, Kevin Ogletree, showed off in front of his hometown crowd with two TDs in the Dallas effort. Bet the defending champs wish they would have kept Ogletree closer to home.

Oh well, New York threw a good pre-game party with Mariah Carey and company, and it's only the first game. New York has time to shore up it's protection for quarterback, Eli Manning, who was escorted to the turf for three plays. And, by the way, the replacement refs (the official referees are involved in a lock-out) did a pretty good job officiating.

Well, the first couple of weeks have definitely been for the birds, that is, the Falcons, Eagles and Cardinals. They are joined by the 49ers, Chargers and 'em Texans for a perfect 2-0, thus far. Peyton Manning, who came out blistering hot in his first game, threw for three inceptions in his second. Never fails, get some TV time, and the next game you fumble. But, it's early yet. Looks to be an interesting season.

Some interesting games . . . with a few unexpected results. Did the refs blow it for hometown team, the Green Bay Packers. Depends on your angle. Some say watching the replacement referees is like watching a B-Grade movie. Bet, the regular refs are sitting back with a couple of Buds, some popcorn and some soft, nerf footballs to toss at their HDTVs.

And, what's up with the Saints -- 0-3. Only the Texans, Falcons and Cardinals are undefeated, thus far.

Who makes the most amount of money for the actual time spent on the field on game day? The same player who can provide a last second win . . . or loss for their team. Consider the Eagles vs. Giants game. The Giants are down 17 - 19 with a few seconds left. Field Goal Kicker, Lawrence Tynes, steps up to kick the game winning field goal for New York. He misses.

But, wait the Eagles had called time out, so the kick was waived off. There's nothing worse than attempting to ice a kicker who had already missed his attempt. So, Tynes gets another shot at it. The kick goes up; it's right down the middle . . . but, it's too short. Of course, you can't blame Tynes for the last minute penalty that moved the ball back and out of the potential field goal range. The Eagles dodged that bullet . . . or kick, and win.

And, what about 'em Texans. It's still early, but if they stay healthy, could they have a shot at the big game? Stay tuned.

The Houston Texans and Atlanta Falcons remain undefeated at 5 - 0. Although, the Texans have lost inside linebacker, Brian Cushing, to a torn ACL. Guess, T.O. is offering his receiving services to the New York Jets who were defeated by the Texans on Monday night. Mr. Owens, we know you can catch a ball, but can you keep your commentary to yourself is the question.

Washington, quarterback, RGIII, is recovering from a concussion sustained in the Redskins loss on Sunday to undefeated Atlanta Falcons. QB, Peyton Manning is dealing with his own headache of sorts after the Broncos went down to the Patriots in a tough game. But, Peyton's replacement, Andrew Luck, led the Indianapolis Colts to a 27-30 upset win over the Green Bay Packers. And, the Saints finally hit the board with a win over San Diego at home. QB, Drew Brees breaks the touchdown passing record.

Rookie Quarterback, RG3, shrugs off last week's concussion, and leads the Redskins to a win over the Minnesota Vikings. RG3 appears to be one of the best red-zone QB's around.

The Falcons remains as the sole undefeated team after the Houston Texans fall this week.

Quarterback, Matthew Stafford, and the Detroit Lions pull out a win. Stafford had a great game completing 34 of 49 for 352 yards. The Lions beat the favored Seahawks, 28 -24. Stafford wasn't the only QB who had a good day. Alex Smith led his San Francisco 49ers to a win over the Arizona Cardinals. Smith completed 18 of 19 passes in the 24 - 3 spanking.

Meanwhile, the embattled New England Patriots have earned, aka deserve, their 5 -3 record according to QB, Tom Brady. Hmm. Maybe that'll will light a fire under the troops.

We're past midpoint for the 2012-13 NFL season. However, the race for division title is still tight for most divisions. The Atlanta Falcons will not celebrate an undefeated season as they fall to a surging New Orleans Saint team in a close game.

The San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams play to a 24 -24 tie. Both kickers missed field goals in overtime. The OT clock ran out, so the NFL has the first tied game in four years.

The Houston Texans hogtied the Chicago Bears during a wet and windy battle on Soldier field. Defense played the starring role during this hard fought 13 - 6 game. Chicago QB, Jay Cutler went down and out in the second half due to a concussion.

There's nothing like T-Day food, family and friends, and football. RG3 continues to impress as the Washington Redskins down the Cowboys at home. Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions and the Houston Texans fight it out amid a blown call and coach's mistake which led to a touchdown. The Texans pull out the victory in OT with an accurate field goal kick. Lastly, the Patriots serve the New York Jets, the holiday turkey with a 49 - 19 victory.

The playoff picture starts to gel as the regular season winds down. With four games left in the regular season, the New England Patriots, the Denver Broncos, and the Atlanta Falcons have won their respective divisions. And, the Houston Texans are guaranteed at least a wildcard spot.

The New England Patriots sent The Houston Texans home with a few wounds to lick after Monday night's game. New England Quarterback, Tom Brady, threw for over 300 yards in the 42- 14 game. The Texans (11 -2) and division rivals, The Indianapolis Colts, (9- 4) are scheduled to play twice in the final three regular season games. And, the Green Bay Packers (9 -4) and the Chicago Bears (8 -5) met next Sunday in another key division rivalry.

With only three games left, the NFC West, North and East and the AFC North are still too close to call. And, Home Field advantage is yet to be determined for the playoff series. Should make for some interesting football. Just saying . . . .

Week 14 concludes with wildcard berths for both the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens and the Green Bay Packers have clinched their division. The NFC East is still tight with Washington, Dallas and the New York Giants with (8-6) records. The final two regular season games will determine the fate of all teams still in contention including the Bengals, Colts, VIkings and Seahawks.

The Patriots, Ravens, Texans, Broncos, Falcons, Bengels, Colts, 49ers and Seahawks have fought their way to the playoffs. The Falcons have earned homefield advantage. The Washington Redskins (9-6), Dallas Cowboys (8-7) and New York Giants (8-7) are jockeying to win their division. The Redskins and Cowboys meet on Sunday. The New York Giants are playing Philadelphia. These are the hot games!

Congratulations to the Washington Redskins who earned the right to jockey for a trip to the big game with an at-home victory over the Dallas Cowboys. And, Viking running back, Adrian Peterson, ends the season just 9 yards short of Eric Dickerson's rushing yards season record. Yep, there's some celebratin' going on.

The rest of the NFL teams are now lickin' their wounds, packin' up their duds, and analyzin' what went right and wrong.There are some nervous coaches, GM and staff out there. Soon, the phone calls and in-office meetings will begin. Philadelphia Eagles coach, Andy Reid, is rumored to be the first casualty, although, Eagles management denies Reid is out of a job. The Eagles end the season with a (4-12) record. What do you think?

Of course, Reid, won't be the only casualty. Thus far, the Bears, Browns, Bills, Cardinals, Chargers and Chiefs have announced coaching and/or GM changes. Hmm. If I was coaching a team starting with a "B" or "C," I'd be a tad nervous right now.

The Patriots (12-4), Falcons (13-3), Broncos (13-3) and 49ers (11-4) will sit out the first round. The rest of the contenders will play January 5 and 6. The Cincinnati Bengals (10-6) will play the Houston Texans (12-4). The Colts (11-5) will meet the Ravens (10-6). Green Bay (11-5) and Vikings (10-6), who met in the final regular season game, will continue their battle. And, finally, the Seattle Seahawks (11-5) and Washington Redskins (10-6) will feature a battle of rookie quarterbacks in their scheduled bout.

The Wildcard games featured three rooking quarterbacks. The score of 24 was magical for three of the four wildcard team victors. In the AFC, the Texans beat out the Bengals (19 -13). The Ravens stomped on the Colts with a (24 -9) victory. The Ravens, on an emotional high with the return of Ray Lewis (who had announced his retirement after this season), manhandled Indy Quarterback, Luck, for the majority of the game.

Meanwhile in the NFC, The Vikings, playing with a replacement QB, fell to a dominate Green Bay Packers team (10 -24). And, after the dust settled in the battle of the rookies QBs, Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks came away with the win after being down (14 -0) early in the game. Redskins QB, RG3 was handicapped by a knee injury and went down and to the sidelines in the fourth quarter. The final score was (24 - 14).

Turn in Saturday and Sunday, January 12 and 13, for the Divisional games. The Ravens will travel to the Broncos and the Texans will visit the Patriots for what will probably be a chilly battle. The Atlanta Falcons have home field advantage for their game with the Seattle Seahawks, and the Cheeseheads (Green Bay) will visit wine country and take on the San Francisco 49ers.

The Ravens prove a tad too much for the Denver Broncos. The two teams fought through two overtimes with a final score of Ravens 38, Broncos 35. Look for Denver to work on shoring up the protection for QB, Manning. The San Francisco 49ers trounced the Green Bay Packers, 45 -31.

The Atlanta Falcons narrowly dodged the Seahawks' bullet in their battle. The Falcons started the fourth quarter with a 27 -7 lead. However, the fourth quarter belonged to the Seahawks. They almost had the Falcons caged, but, kicker Matt Ryan aced a 49 yard field goal with 8 seconds left in the gave to give the Falcons a 30 -28 win. And, lastly, the Texans' season comes to an end with their defeat in New England. Tom Brady and the Patriots triumphed with a final score of 41 -28. The Patriots lost tight-end, Gronkowski, early in the game when he re-fractured his forearm.

Next Sunday, the Ravens will take on the Patriots for the AFC Championship. And the Falcons and 49ers will battle for the NFC Championship. The winners of these two games will meet in New Orleans in SuperBowl XLVII!

Congrats to the San Francisco 49ers who triumphed against the Atlanta Falcons (28 -24). Once again, Atlanta put early points on the board and led the 49ers early on 17 to 0. However, the 49ers were not to be denied. San Francisco rallied and went on to earn a trip to the Super Bowl.

Congrats, also, to the Baltimore Ravens for their (28 -13) win. The Ravens and Patriots battled on New England's turf; Flaco, Lewis and the guys obviously felt this was their destiny and showed they were up for a shot at the Super Bowl title. Guess, the Ravens got a little fired up after seeing that New England billboard counting down the hours to Ray Lewis' retirement party. Well, they'll have to delay that party, at least, until after the big bash on February 3.

Predictions . . . there will be a lot of partying folks before and after the game. Any companies selling pizzas, chicken or chili will have brisk business on Sunday, and companies marketing hangover remedies will experience a rise in stock prices on Monday . . . .

See you in New Orleans for Mardi Gras and the Super Bowl!

For the first time two brothers, John and Jim Harbaugh, met as head coaches in the SuperBowl. The Baltimore Ravens were dominant in the first half of the game. At halftime, they led the San Francisco 49ers, 21 to 6. The 49ers score consisted of two field goals.

The Ravens started the second half with a 107 yard kick-off runback for another touchdown. However, a half-hour power outage in the Mercedes Dome helped cool their heels, and then a rejuvenated and refocused 49ers team showed why they were in the Big Game. Flaco put two quick touchdowns on the board.

Both teams fought hard during the final quarter. However, in the end, Flaco, Rice and Lewis and the Ravens were not to be denied. Despite some controversary over a fourth quarter stand in the endzone, the Baltimore Ravens prevailed in Super Bowl XLVII, beating the San Francisco organization, 34 -31. Flaco was named MVP, the Harbaugh family has to offer both congrats and condolences, and Ray Lewis exits, on top.

Here are the numbers for the 2012 - 2013 NFL season.

Here are the upcoming SuperBowl locations starting in the 2012 - 2013 season.

Louisiana Mercedes Benz Superdome (Indoor/domed)

New Orleans, Louisiana

February 3, 2013

Average February temp. 65 H - 46 L, average February precipitation 5.47"

Featured Performer: Beyonce (Pepsi is running a contest where 100 fans will get to introduce Beyonce for her 2013 SuperBowl Performance.)

This 70,000 seat, domed stadium is infamous for housing NO residents during the deadly Hurricane Katrina crisis. The Big Easy has since rebounded and has been eagerly preparing for the 2013 SuperBowl. The Saints, were the sentimental favorites who triumphed in Superbowl XLIV which was played in the Miami Sun Life Stadium in 2010.

MetLife Stadium (open air)

New York/New Jersey Region

February 2, 2014

Average Feb. temp. 40 H - 24 L with 2.94" average February precipitation

This $1.7 billion stadium is home to two NFL teams, the New York Jets and Giants, and is jointly owned by the two franchises. This region made history with their winning Superbowl bid as this is the first open-air, cold-weather site to host this grand event. Previously, cities had to adhere to a 50 degree rule -- meaning that if the stadium was not enclosed, the hosting city area had to have an average temperature of at least 50 degrees to obtain a Superbowl. The owners voted to waive this rule for the 2014 game. The stadium seats 82,500.

University of Phoenix Stadium

Glendale, Arizona (Phoenix, Arizona area)

February 2015 -- Date TBD

Average February temperature -- 70 H - 43 L, 1.05" average precip.

The Cardinals Stadium opened in August 2006. Naming rights were later awarded to the University of Phoenix. This stadium is home to the Arizona Cardinals and was built at a cost of $455 million. The stadium features a retractible roof and a natural grass surface; it was financed by the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority, the Arizona Cardinals and the City of Glendale.

If your interested in last year's news, here's the stats and commentary from the 2011 - 2012 season.

2010 Season (Feb, 2011), SuperBowl Champs, the Green Bay Packers, continue their winning ways in the first regular game of the season. They defeated a tough New Orleans Saints team 42 to 34, in Green Bay. Their win, however, was overshadowed by the news that Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who hasn't missed a game start during his tenure at Indianapolis, would miss two to three months of the football season during to a secondary neck surgery. The rumor mongers think he's out for the season.

Well, the spiraling football has sung leaving some teams estatic and others, well not so happy as the playoff picture solidified. Now the bloodletting begins as discontent team owners shed managers, coaches and staff.

Playoff Teams and Division Winners

New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers.

Wildcard Teams

Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions and the Atlanta Falcons

Congrats to the Eli Manning and the New York Giants. They are the 2012 Super Bowl Champions. The game was exciting and well played by both, but once the football landed, the New York Giants proved they were giants on the football field with a final score of 21 to 17.

Lucas Oil Stadium (Indoor/Retractible roof)

Indianapolis, Indiana

February 5, 2012

Average Feb. temp. 39 H - 22 L with 2.10" average February precipitation

This downtown stadium is home to Peyton Manning and The Indianapolis Colts, winners of the 2007 Superbowl. This stadium was completed in 2009 at an estimated cost of $720 million. It was financed by the State of Indiana and City of Indianapolis in part with a food, beverage, motel/hotel and auto rental tax increase. The Indianapolis Colts kicked in $100 million.

Although, fans can anticipate some cold weather for the Indy based Superbowl, the city plans to provide tons of cold and hot entertainment and activities to keep fans warm. In fact, the bidding committee used the compactness of Indy's downtown as a selling point. Check out the Super Bowl 2012, Indianapolis, IN visitor's guide for additional information.

Here's the current NFL buzz . . .