I'll Bet You About the Coin Flip!

                   

If there is anything more hyped in sports [well, besides this game], it is a football game's coin flip.  Someone walks out there, shakes some hands and then flips a coin.  He gets congratulated as if he did something remarkable.

This year, Dan Marino gets that honor. 

One this is for certain:  whomever wins the coin flip will option to receive the opening kickoff.  Every year since Super Bowl I, the winner of the coin flip wants to receive.

Interesting, since that isn't always the case during the season.  Why now?

Usually, weather isn't a factor.  Most Super Bowl games are played in domes [Atlanta, New Orleans and, now, Arizona] or in weather-friendly places like Miami, Tampa or Jacksonville.  So wind isn't something to grow weary of. 

In the last six Super Bowls, five teams who won the coin toss [and the opening kickoff] ended up losing the Super Bowl.  The only team to win in that time frame was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII. 

In the last 12 Super Bowls....just TWO coin toss winners won the game.  The Buccs are joined by the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV. 

Of the last 16 Super Bowls....11 teams who called the opening flip ended up being right. 

And what will be called??  It really depends.  Over the past 10 Super Bowls, heads was called 6 times and tails called 4 times.  In the past 17 Super Bowls....heads was called 9 times; tails called 8 times. 

But it does land a certain way.  Of the last 9 Super Bowls.....8 times the coin flip landed tails.  The lone time heads won....Super Bowl XXXVI when the Rams picked heads, it was heads......

.....and they lost the game.