What Car Was Given To The Super Bowl Mvp
Looking back on a history of giving cars away to Super Bowl MVP's.
It is the biggest promotional play in all of sports. It comes right behind the Super Bowl's final whistle, after the triumphant team's owner takes possession of the Lombardi trophy. Then, with millions of eyes watching, the game's big hero steps to the podium. He is greeted by an ecstatic broadcaster who tells him he's won the MVP award, along with...a brand new car!
However, the elevation of standard product placement to the ultimate jackpot moment is often lost on viewers amid the final result of the game itself. Or, even better, maybe you scoff at the fact a multi-million dollar athlete would be seen driving a Hyundai Sonata. Nontheless, the players who ride off into the sunset on a new set of wheels join a club that will live on in sports lore forever.
As we all prepare for Super Bowl 54, lets take a look at the overlooked and nearly forgotten tradition of giving cars away after football's biggest game.
How It All Began
The tradition actually started in Baseball back in 1955 by Sport, a now-defunct magazine, whose monthly publication started naming a World Series "Top Performer". The winner was voted on by its editors, and along with General Motors they gave each winner a Chevrolet Corvette. That year, the first set of keys went to Brooklyn Dodgers lefty Johnny Podres.
Sandy Koufax and Frank Robinson were among other baseball icons who walked away with a snazzy Corvette for their athletic accomplishments. At a time when many athletes worked in the off season to make ends meet - winning a $5,000 Corvette was a significant prize.
The 1955 Corvette that Johnny Podres won in the 1955 world series from Sport Magazine.
The National Football League
The National Football League got into the act in 1958. That year Sport magazine sponsored the Top Performer award (later renamed the MVP) for their championship game. The Baltimore Colts shocked the New York Giants 23-17 in a December 1958 overtime thriller that carved pro football's place into the national lore.
The Colts' quarterback Johnny Unitas won the Top Performer award, which included a red 1958 Corvette. This would spark a tradition synonymous with America's biggest game and the car club that represents the pinnacle of greatness.
Johnny Unitas with his 1958 Corvette.
Naturally, the party didn't really get started until the late 1960's when virtually every Super Bowl saw their MVP win a car along with a trophy. Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr, MVP of what we would become come Super Bowls I and II, went home with a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette for his triumph in the first NFL-AFL Championship Game. Starr took the same honors the next year and drove home in a 1968 Corvette.
While the first years of the Super Bowl coincided with the heyday of American muscle, both Dodge and Ford got into the act of presenting Super Bowl MVPs their ride home. The Kansas City Chiefs' quarterback Len Dawson took a 1970 Dodge Challenger home after his MVP award for Super Bowl IV. Larry Csonka of the Miami Dolphins took home a Dodge Charger in 1973. In the latter part of the 1970's, Ford took the helm.
Randy White of the Dallas Cowboys received his 1978 Thunderbird as co-MVP of Super Bowl XII. After he took delivery of his prize, he wrecked the T-Bird by hitting an animal near his farm. The following year, in 1979, GM returned by giving the Pittsburgh Steelers' Terry Bradshaw a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.
MVP Bart Starr in his 1967 Corvette Roadster
The Failed Subaru XT
An odd thing happened in the 1980s. Subaru was the Super Bowl MVP sponsor for Sport magazine that came with an unforseen design flaw. The Subaru XT that was given to the winner was not exactly a success among Super Bowl MVPs. The problem with the XT was interior space. If you're a 6-foot-4-inch football player, you might not fit in an XT.
The Washington Redskins took 1988's Super Bowl XXII, led by a four-touchdown performance from quarterback Doug Williams. For winning the game's MVP award, Williams was given a brand new Subaru XT. Williams eventually had to give it up to his brother because he couldn't fit inside.
The next year in 1989, Jerry Rice found himself in the same predicament after he won the Super Bowl XXIII MVP for the 49ers. In his acceptance speech he gave away his Subaru XT6 to his mom. These instances would begin to catch fire among future MVP winners creating a pattern of re-gifting.
As time went on, Super Bowl MVPs began earning more money in salaries and bonuses. Therefore, a car worth $50,000 isn't that attractive to a superstar making well into the seven figures. As a result, they began giving their cars away to family members, teammates, non-profit organizations, and so forth.
Jerry Rice sits on the hood of his 1989 Subaru XT6.
The Tradition Goes On
Fast forward to last decade, from 2002 to 2009, only Deion Branch opted for anything other than an Escalade when he came away with the convertible XLR in 2005. Eli Manning was named Super Bowl MVP for the second time in 2012, but instead of winning a second Escalade, Manning was handed the keys to a 2012 Corvette Grand Sport Convertible Continental Edition.
Super Bowl XLVII MVP Joe Flacco was also awarded a shiny new Chevrolet Corvette after leading the Baltimore Ravens to the Lombardi Trophy. In 2014, Tom Brady was named MVP and in a heartwarming gesture gave the prize 2015 Chevy Colorado to reserve cornerback Malcolm Butler, who made the game-clinching interception against the Seattle Seahawks.
Super Bowl XLVII MVP Joe Flacco and his new Chevrolet Corvette.
End Of An Era
Von Miller was the first super bowl MVP to miss out on winning a car after Hyundai took over sponsorship duties and broke tradition by discontinuing the MVP car giveaway in 2016.
Unbeknownst to many, the promotion hasn't happened for a few years now. But for a moment, let's pretend there is an automobile giveaway again this year in 2020. The tradition has always been cool for auto fans and the antics of giving trucks to teammates or that one year in 1995 when poor Steve Young won a Buick Celebrity.
These days, it is seen that giving a car to a star athlete may yield mixed reactions. It was just a few decades ago that the act of getting a new car for their outstanding performance was truly a gift.
All we are left to do now is cross our fingers and hope that Hyundai shocks us all and awards the Super Bowl LIV MVP with a brand new set of wheels inaugurating them as the newest member of the most exclusive car club in the world.
What Car Was Given To The Super Bowl Mvp
Source: https://www.townfairtire.com/blog/are-super-bowl-mvps-the-most-exclusive-car-club-in-the-world.html
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