Super myths and the truths behind them

[Renew Deal]

By Gerald Eskenazi
Special to SuperBowl.com

DETROIT (Jan. 31, 2006) -- It is as American as Thanksgiving -- in fact, it even has a capitalized day: Super Sunday. Yet, for an event that has been around only since 1967, the Super Bowl has created so many myths it has a core of beliefs as if it were an organized religion.

Here are some of the things we believe could happen during Super Bowl XL on Sunday:

Myth: At halftime, water pressure drops in many cities because so many toilets will be flushed. Viewers reportedly do not leave their television sets until the second quarter ends, then dash into their bathrooms.

Truth: This wonderfully nutty myth has been around since I was a kid in the 1950s. I remember reading that, on Tuesday nights, when Milton Berle ruled America as "Mr. Television," everyone would rush to the bathroom when his show ended at 9 p.m. But this urban legend goes back as far as the 1930s radio broadcasts of Amos 'n Andy, and continued through the popular TV show M*A*S*H. There even have been reports that some cities' water pipes have broken during the Super Bowl.
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More at: http://www.superbowl.com/news/story/9199311

[Lefty48197]

1. Here's another Super Bowl myth:

Prior to each season, the Detroit Lions have the same chance as any other team at winning the Super Bowl.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. The water pressure may be a myth, but electricity does have to make

allowances, in the UK at least, for major sporting events - and I'd expect the USA would have a similar effect. It's a sudden boiling of kettles for tea :D and coffee, and demand from the water companies to pump extra water.

Each day, the NGC (National Grid Company) used to estimate the amount of electricity to be used during each half-hour of the following day. They did this using a complex computer program known as GOAL. Demand is heavily weather dependent but it really is true that major social events, such as a big football match, can have an effect as everyone gets up at half-time and boils a kettle of water.

The highest ever TV pickup was 2,800 MW on 4th July 1990, at the end of extra time in the England v West Germany World Cup Semi-Final. This was only slightly less than the 3,000 MW pickup on 11th August 1999 following the Solar Eclipse.

http://www.inencogroup.com/resource_library/background_info/neta_overview.htm

That's about 100W per household - or over 5% of the country's total electricity usage.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

3. You know something, the reason that I despise the Dallas Cowboys is

and always has been the fact that Lamar Hunt owned them at one time. Lamar was nothing but a right wing facist f*ck.