With picturesque beaches and perfect weather, South Florida is where millions of Americans go when they want to stop working—for spring break, for retirement or for watching a game that means everything. Or a game that means very little: During the entire decade of the 1960s, Miami hosted the NFL’s third-place game. Yes, there was a game to see which team would finish third. It was called the Playoff Bowl. (If they had held it every January in, say, Minnesota, would the players even have gone?)
Miami’s history is intertwined with Super Bowl history. South Florida has seen the game go from a concept to an enormous event, from the gritty Orange Bowl to whatever that luxurious suburban stadium is called now.