The first act of the actual Super Bowl game is the coin toss to see who gets the ball first. Believe it or not, there are set mechanics for regular season coin tosses. But in the Super Bowl, the NFL layers extra features with honorary captains, former players, former presidents
History
Long before Zoom, the Super Bowl XIX coin toss was remote
20 years ago, referee Ron Winter and his crew tried to keep the lid on the wildest wild card game
The Immaculate Reception was not the first instant replay review
Anyone who appreciates NFL history knows about the Immaculate Reception -- the miracle play in the 1972 divisional playoff game between the Oakland Raiders and the host Pittsburgh Steelers. This is the game where the late Franco Harris caught a deflected pass and raced for the winning touchdown with five
Throwback to Thanksgiving 1989: the first ‘bounty bowl’
2 generations of officials are at polar opposites when signaling the big call
A few weeks ago, our own Cam Filipe posted his Call of the Week, and he noted the calm, under-control signal by the covering official. https://twitter.com/footballzebras/status/1572626534661341184 "This isn't the 1980s," Cam noted. I resemble that remark! But it did cause me to reflect on how officials signal a call and how the
Like father, like son: a new father-son tandem will officiate an NFL game this week
Embed from Getty Images In the storied 103-year history of the NFL, we have seen many sons of former players suit up for professional football careers of their own. Among the officiating ranks, the same rings true. This weekend, the newest father-son tandem in stripes will officiate a preseason game together
NFL weather safety has come a long way
Reporting from Canton, Ohio Last night's Hall of Fame game had a delayed start due to lightning in the area. https://twitter.com/footballzebras/status/1555339699828531201 There are a few games each year - pre-season and regular season - that are delayed by lightning. The game will continue in a downpour, but lightning stops the whole thing. Up until