Q1: The Saints’ 31-17 win over the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV marked the fifth time that the stadium
currently known as Sun Life Stadium has hosted a Super Bowl. However, it’s the first time that this
constantly-renamed stadium has hosted a Super Bowl while known as Sun Life Stadium. How many
names has the stadium had since it opened in 1987?
A1: Seven. The stadium opened as “Joe Robbie Stadium” after the original owner of the Dolphins, then became Pro Player Park in 1996.
After just one year, “Pro Player Park” became “Pro Player Stadium,” then ten years later the Dolphins stadium became “Dolphins Stadium.”
That lasted for ten years, at which point the “s” was dropped from the end of “Dolphins.” From 2009-10, the stadium’s name was changed
to “Land Shark Stadium” in a deal with Jimmy Buffett, and just before this year’s Super Bowl, its name was changed again – for a five-year
span – to Sun Life Stadium.
Q2: What was the last year in which the English Premier League was won by a team other than one of the sides known as the “Big Four?”
A2: In the 1994-95 season, Blackburn Rovers took the title despite a 2-1 loss to Liverpool in the last game of the season. Blackburn had been
promoted only three years prior to winning the title, and only four years later, they were relegated again to Division One.
Q3: The Cotswold Olympick Games, revived in 1963 after a 150-year hiatus but beginning in England during the reign of James I, notably
feature a five-mile cross-country race, a tug-of-war, and what other traditional England sport also known as hacking?
A3: Shin kicking. Contestants stuff their pants with straw and then proceed to try and knock their opponents to the ground by kicking them
repeatedly in the shins. Usually set in a best-of-three format, shin kicking matches generally become more and more interesting as a tournament
progresses – by the finals, the competitors are barely able to stand even at the start of each match.
Sports trivia
