Heads or tails?
Few elements of a football game have as dramatic an effect as the answer to that simple—yet extraordinarily profound—question. And the emphasis is only magnified on Super Bowl Sunday.
Though the lead-up productions can be quite extensive, the Super Bowl coin toss happens in mere seconds but creates a ton of excitement and sets up the action on the NFL’s biggest stage.
Gasp—it’s ours!
Sigh—it’s…theirs.
Since the first Super Bowl, the outcome has been nearly even. Heads has landed 27 times. Tails has been the winning call 29 times. And it’s been 100% riveting each time.
But the chance-based hoopla sets an important marker beyond what’s about to take place on the football field, too. Anyone familiar with the Super Bowl commercial rush of USA TODAY’s Ad Meter recognizes that the coin toss represents the opening act to the national block of commercials featured in the ratings. (From the coin toss to the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter!)
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So, with that in mind, we’ve decided to take a look back at every coin toss since Ad Meter’s inaugural year in 1989. Who won the toss? Who won the game? Who took the Ad Meter crown?
All great questions. And here are the answers….
Super Bowl XXIII, 1989
Teams: San Fransisco 49ers vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Heads or Tails: Tails
Super Bowl Winner: 49ers
Ad Meter Winner: American Express
Super Bowl XXIV, 1990
Teams: Denver Broncos vs. San Fransisco 49ers
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: Broncos
Super Bowl Winner: 49ers
Ad Meter Winner: Nike
Super Bowl XXV, 1991
Teams: Buffalo Bills vs. New York Giants
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: Bills
Super Bowl Winner: Giants
Ad Meter Winner: Diet Pepsi
Super Bowl XXVI, 1992
Teams: *Washington Redskins vs. Buffalo Bills
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: Washington
Super Bowl Winner: Washington
Ad Meter Winner: Nike
Super Bowl XXVII, 1993
Teams: Buffalo Bills vs. Dallas Cowboys
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: Bills
Super Bowl Winner: Cowboys
Ad Meter Winner: McDonald’s
Super Bowl XXVIII, 1994
Teams: Dallas Cowboys vs. Buffalo Bills
Heads or Tails: Tails
Coin Toss Winner: Cowboys
Super Bowl Winner: Cowboys
Ad Meter Winner: Pepsi
Super Bowl XXIX, 1995
Teams: San Fransisco 49ers vs. *San Diego Chargers
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: 49ers
Super Bowl Winner: 49ers
Ad Meter Winner: Pepsi
Super Bowl XXX, 1996
Teams: Dallas Cowboys vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Heads or Tails: Tails
Coin Toss Winner: Cowboys
Super Bowl Winner: Cowboys
Ad Meter Winner: Pepsi
Super Bowl XXXI, 1997
Teams: New England Patriots vs. Green Bay Packers
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: Patriots
Super Bowl Winner: Packers
Ad Meter Winner: Pepsi
Super Bowl XXXII, 1998
Teams: Green Bay Packers vs. Denver Broncos
Heads or Tails: Tails
Coin Toss Winner:Packers
Super Bowl Winner: Broncos
Ad Meter Winner: Pepsi
Super Bowl XXXIII, 1999
Teams: Atlanta Falcons vs. Denver Broncos
Heads or Tails: Tails
Coin Toss Winner: Falcons
Super Bowl Winner: Broncos
Ad Meter Winner: Budweiser
Super Bowl XXXIV, 2000
Teams: *St. Louis Rams vs. Tennessee Titans
Heads or Tails: Tails
Coin Toss Winner: Rams
Super Bowl Winner: Rams
Ad Meter Winner: Budweiser
Super Bowl XXXV, 2001
Teams: New York Giants vs. Baltimore Ravens
Heads or Tails: Tails
Coin Toss Winner: Giants
Super Bowl Winner: Ravens
Ad Meter Winner: Bud Light
Super Bowl XXXVI, 2002
Teams: *St. Louis Rams vs. New England Patriots
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: Rams
Super Bowl Winner: Patriots
Ad Meter Winner: Bud Light
Super Bowl XXXVII, 2003
Teams: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. *Oakland Raiders
Heads or Tails: Tails
Coin Toss Winner: Bucs
Super Bowl Winner: Bucs
Ad Meter Winner: Budweiser
Super Bowl XXXVIII, 2004
Teams: Carolina Panthers vs. New England Patriots
Heads or Tails: Tails
Coin Toss Winner: Panthers
Super Bowl Winner: Patriots
Ad Meter Winner: Bud Light
Super Bowl XXXIX, 2005
Teams: Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots
Heads or Tails: Tails
Coin Toss Winner: Eagles
Super Bowl Winner: Patriots
Ad Meter Winner: Bud Light
Super Bowl XL, 2006
Teams: Seattle Seahawks vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Heads or Tails: Tails
Coin Toss Winner: Seahawks
Super Bowl Winner: Steelers
Ad Meter Winner: Bud Light
Super Bowl XLI, 2007
Teams: Chicago Bears vs. Indianapolis Colts
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: Bears
Super Bowl Winner: Colts
Ad Meter Winner: Budweiser
Super Bowl XLII, 2008
Teams: New York Giants vs. New England Patriots
Heads or Tails: Tails
Coin Toss Winner: Giants
Super Bowl Winner: Giants
Ad Meter Winner: Budweiser
Super Bowl XLIII, 2009
Teams: Arizona Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: Cardinals
Super Bowl Winner: Steelers
Ad Meter Winner: Doritos
Super Bowl XLIV, 2010
Teams: New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: Saints
Super Bowl Winner: Saints
Ad Meter Winner: Snickers
Super Bowl XLV, 2011
Teams: Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: Packers
Super Bowl Winner: Packers
Ad Meter Winner: Bud Light
Super Bowl XLVI, 2012
Teams: New England Patriots vs. New York Giants
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: Patriots
Super Bowl Winner: Giants
Ad Meter Winner: Doritos
Super Bowl XLVII, 2013
Teams: Baltimore Ravens vs. San Fransisco 49ers
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: Ravens
Super Bowl Winner: Ravens
Ad Meter Winner: Budweiser
Super Bowl XLVIII, 2014
Teams: Seattle Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos
Heads or Tails: Tails
Coin Toss Winner: Seahawks
Super Bowl Winner: Seahawks
Ad Meter Winner: Budweiser
Super Bowl XLIX, 2015
Teams: Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots
Heads or Tails: Tails
Coin Toss Winner: Seahawks
Super Bowl Winner: Patriots
Ad Meter Winner: Budweiser
Super Bowl 50, 2016
Teams: Carolina Panthers vs. Denver Broncos
Heads or Tails: Tails
Coin Toss Winner: Panthers
Super Bowl Winner: Broncos
Ad Meter Winner: Hyundai
Super Bowl LI, 2017
Teams: Atlanta Falcons vs. New England Patriots
Heads or Tails: Tails
Coin Toss Winner: Falcons
Super Bowl Winner: Patriots
Ad Meter Winner: KIA
Super Bowl LII, 2018
Teams: New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: Patriots
Super Bowl Winner: Eagles
Ad Meter Winner: Amazon Alexa
Super Bowl LIII, 2019
Teams: New England Patriots vs. Los Angeles Rams
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: Rams
Super Bowl Winner: Patriots
Ad Meter Winner: NFL
Super Bowl LIV, 2020
Teams: Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Fransisco 49ers
Heads or Tails: Tails
Coin Toss Winner: 49ers
Super Bowl Winner: Chiefs
Ad Meter Winner: Jeep
Super Bowl LV, 2021
Teams: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: Chiefs
Super Bowl Winner: Bucs
Ad Meter Winner: Rocket Mortgage
Super Bowl LVI, 2022
Teams: Los Angeles Rams vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Heads or Tails: Heads
Coin Toss Winner: Bengals
Super Bowl Winner: Rams
Ad Meter Winner: Rocket Mortgage
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