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| Date | January 16, 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Roger Staubach, quarterback | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Cowboys by 6[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Jim Tunney | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 81,023[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Ceremonies | |||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | U.S. Air Force Academy Chorale | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coin toss | Jim Tunney | ||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | "Salute to Louis Armstrong" with Ella Fitzgerald, Carol Channing, Al Hirt and the U.S. Marine Corps Drill Team | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Ray Scott and Pat Summerall | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 44.2 (est. 56.64 million viewers)[4] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Market share | 74 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of 30-second commercial | $86,100[5] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Radio in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS Radio | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Andy Musser and Ray Geracy | ||||||||||||||||||
Super Bowl VI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1971 season. The Cowboys defeated the Dolphins by the score of 24–3, to win their first Super Bowl. The game was played on January 16, 1972, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, the second time the Super Bowl was played in that city. Despite the southerly location, it was unseasonably cold at the time, with the kickoff air temperature of 39 °F (4 °C) making this the coldest Super Bowl played.[6]
Dallas, in its second Super Bowl appearance, entered the game with a reputation of not being able to win big playoff games such as Super Bowl V and the 1966 and 1967 NFL Championship Games prior to the 1970 AFL–NFL merger. They posted an 11–3 record during the 1971 regular season before defeating the Minnesota Vikings and the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs. The Dolphins were making their first Super Bowl appearance after building a 10–3–1 regular season record, including eight consecutive wins, and posting postseason victories over the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Colts.
The Cowboys dominated Super Bowl VI, setting Super Bowl records for the most rushing yards (252), the most first downs (23), and the fewest points allowed (3). They were also the first NFL or NFC team to win the Super Bowl since the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II. For the next 47 years, they would be the only team to prevent their opponent from scoring a touchdown in the Super Bowl, a feat matched by the 2018 New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII and again by the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl LV. The game was close in the first half, with the Cowboys only leading 10–3 at halftime. But Dallas opened the third quarter with a 71-yard, 8-play touchdown drive, and then Dallas linebacker Chuck Howley's 41-yard interception return in the fourth quarter set up another score. This was the first Super Bowl where the winning team outscored the losing team in all four quarters. Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, who completed 12 out of 18 passes for 119 yards, threw 2 touchdown passes, and rushed 5 times for 18 yards,[7][8] was named the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player.
This was the last Super Bowl to be blacked out in the TV market in which the game was played. Under the NFL's unconditional blackout rules at the time, the Super Bowl could not be broadcast locally even if the local team did not advance to the Super Bowl, and it was a sellout. The following year, the league changed their rules to allow games to be broadcast in the local market if sold out 72 hours in advance. It was the last Super Bowl played with the hashmarks (also called the inbound lines) set at 40 feet apart (20 yards from the sidelines), and the last NFL game overall; the next season, they were brought in to 181⁄2 feet, the width of the goalposts, where they remain.[9]
- ^ DiNitto, Marcus (January 25, 2015). "Super Bowl Betting History – Underdogs on Recent Roll". Sporting News. Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
- ^ Rogers, Kevin. "Super Bowl History". Vegas Insider. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
- ^ "Super Bowl Winners". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
- ^ "Historical Super Bowl Nielsen TV Ratings, 1967–2009 – Ratings". TVbytheNumbers. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2012.
- ^ Sutelan, Edward (February 12, 2023). "Super Bowl commercial cost in 2023: How much money is an ad for Super Bowl 57?". Sporting News. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
- ^ "Super Bowl Game-Time Temperatures". Pro Football Hall of Fame. 2017. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
- ^ "Super Bowl Play Finder Dallas vs. Miami". Pro Football Reference.
- ^ "Super Bowl VI Play by Play".
- ^ "Owners give offense big seven-yard boost". Rome News-Tribune. Georgia. Associated Press. March 24, 1972. p. 6A.