Long Super Bowl Droughts: It’s Been a While for These Teams

Shocking Price of Gasoline: The price of a gallon of gasoline in 1969 cost an average of $0.34/L! Compare this to December 2024, when the price reached $3.139/L. Adjusted for inflation, $0.34 had the same buying power as $2.95 in November 2024.

Apollo 11 Moon Landing: Months after the Jets won the Super Bowl in the summer of 69’, the Apollo 11 moon landing captivated the world. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first astronauts to land on the moon.

Armstrong famously preached, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”, upon stepping foot on the surface of the moon. To this day, the Apollo 11 moon landing remains one of the most consequential moments in history.

Richard Nixon Elected President: Eight days after the Jets won Super Bowl III, Richard Nixon was inaugurated as the 37th President of the United States. The member of the Republican Party would step down five years later following the Watergate scandal in 1974.

Mets Win the World Series: Against all odds, the New York Mets won the World Series against heavily favored Baltimore. Back when online betting sites weren’t available, Las Vegas had the Mets at 100-1 odds to win the World Series! And, thus, the “Miracle Mets” were born.

They did it! The Miracle #Mets won the World Series #OTD in 1969.

See the full Game 5: https://t.co/TEodexaEY3 pic.twitter.com/5qMlrFkJY9

— New York Mets (@Mets) October 16, 2018

The Manson Family Murders: On August 9, 1969, pregnant actress Sharon Tate was murdered at her residence by members of the Manson Family in Los Angeles. The leader of the murderous cult, Charles Manson, gripped the nation with his bizarre and insane rants from behind bars. Manson would live to 83 without seeing another Jets Super Bowl win.

The Birth of the Internet: Well before the Internet was introduced to mainstream society in the 1990s, the framework for the Internet was born in 1969. Known as ARPANET, the first digital messages were sent between computers at UCLA and Stanford in the same year that the Jets won Super Bowl III.

Barbra Streisand Tops the Charts: According to the Billboard Hot 100, Barbra Streisand’s “The Way We Were” finished as the No. 1 song of 1974.

Watergate Scandal: In one of the biggest political scandals of all time, President Nixon and his administration resigned after it was discovered they were responsible for a scheme to wiretap the Democratic National Committee. On June 17, 1972, burglars were arrested for stealing documents and wiretapping the building in support of Nixon’s reelection campaign.

Two years later, on Aug. 8, 1974, Nixon announced his resignation. To this day, it is still regarded as one of the most prominent forms of political corruption in the United States.

West Germany Wins the World Cup: In the first-ever World Cup featuring 16 countries, West Germany captured their first title. The country would unite with East Germany before the Dolphins won another Super Bowl.

Stephen King Published His First Novel: Iconic horror author, Stephen King, published his first novel, Carrie. The groundbreaking novel was the first of 65 novels published by King and the start of a career that dubbed him the “King of Horror”.

The Godfather Part II Released: The highly anticipated sequel to The Godfather was released in theaters on Dec. 20, 1974. The film received rave reviews and propelled the ascent of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro’s acting careers.

Macintosh Computer Released to Consumers: The most recent Raiders’ Super Bowl dates back to the year of the first Macintosh computer. After the successful launches of Apple I and Apple II, the Macintosh became the first computer to include a mouse and graphical interface.

The computer’s rise to prominence was thanks in part to a memorable advertising campaign during Super Bowl XVIII. It was regarded as one of the most impactful Super Bowl commercials of all time. The advertisement motivated other companies to increase their marketing budget for subsequent Super Bowls.

First Ever Olympics Hosted in the Balkans: On Feb. 8, 1984, Sarajevo, the capital of Yugoslavia, now part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, became the first country in the Balkans to host the 1984 Olympic Games. It was also the first communist nation to host an Olympics.

The Games were overshadowed by the Bosnian War in the 1990s. Structures and facilities from Sarajevo 1984 riddled with bullet holes still remain in the city to this day.

Ronald Reagan Re-elected as President: Supporters of the Raiders and Ronald Reagan had a great year in 1984. In addition to their team winning Super Bowl XVIII, Reagan was re-elected to the White House over Walter Mondale in a landslide.

Prince Dominates the Charts: World-renowned pop/R&B/funk artist Prince rose to the top of the music charts with his hit, “When Doves Cry”.

It wasn’t his only No. 1 chart-topper of the year. Between “When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy”, Prince was atop for seven weeks in 1984. Purple Rain remains one of the most highly regarded albums of all time.

Wayne Gretzky Points Streak Snapped: Beginning on the Edmonton Oilers’ season opener on Oct. 5, 1983, Wayne Gretzky started a points streak that has never been matched in the NHL.

Gretzky lasted 51 games recording at least one point, totaling 153! On Jan. 28, 1984, his streak ended against the Los Angeles Kings — the team he would eventually be traded to in a blockbuster deal in 1988.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Breaks NBA All-Time Points Record: NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar broke Wilt Chamberlain’s scoring record with 31,420 points on April 5, 1984. The record was then broken again by LeBron James eclipsed Abdul-Jabbar in 2023, but the Raiders are still waiting for their Super Bowl.

Halley’s Comet Visible: For the first time since 1301, Halley’s Comet was visible in the Earth’s orbit in 1986. Halley’s Comet could be seen through high-powered binoculars or a telescope. You will have to wait for 2061 to see Halley’s Comet again. Will the Bears win their second Super Bowl by then?

Chernobyl Disaster: On April 26, 1986, an explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the former Soviet Union wreaked havoc throughout Europe. 31 people died in the immediate area of the explosion, while the UN reported 50 deaths can be directly attributed to the disaster.

The cloud of radiation reached 500 miles away from the explosion site. According to a report by the UN in 2005, 4,000 people died from radiation exposure.

Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster: Only six days after the Super Bowl on Jan. 28, NASA’s Challenger Space Shuttle exploded 73 seconds after liftoff at an altitude of 46,000 feet.

The tragedy cut short the lives of seven astronauts, who were assigned with releasing a commercial communications satellite and studying Halley’s Comet.

The Nintendo Entertainment System is Released in the US: In one of the most important video game system launches of all time, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) was released in the United States on Sept. 27, 1986.

The gaming system would revolutionize the industry, ultimately leading to the release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Nintendo 64.

Top Gun Released in Theaters: On May 16, 1986, the original Top Gun was released in theaters in the United States. The movie was an instant hit and became the biggest film of 1986. Top Gun earned $357 million globally on a budget of just $15 million!

The movie helped catapult actor Tom Cruise into Hollywood superstardom. In 2022, Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick would become his largest-grossing film of all time at $1.5 billion.

The Oprah Winfrey Show Debuts: Running from Sept. 8, 1986, to 2011, The Oprah Winfrey Show was one of the most watched and influential daytime TV talk shows of all time.

Argentina Wins Second World Cup: Argentina defeated West Germany, 3-2, to capture their second-ever World Cup on June 29, 1986. In the years following the victory, Argentina would go on a World Cup drought before Lionel Messi led his country to glory in 2022.

Bill Clinton Re-elected as President: Democrat Bill Clinton won his second term in the White House. He defeated Republican challenger Bob Dole convincingly with 379 electoral votes compared to 159.

Launch of the DVD Era: On Nov. 1, 1996, the first-ever DVD was released to the public in Japan. The DVD ushered in a new era of how to consume movies. DVD players soon became a staple of living rooms throughout the world. They would replace VCR players as the most popular technology to watch movies at home.

Tupac Shakur Slain in Las Vegas: Six-time Grammy nominee hip hop artist Tupac Shakur was murdered in a drive-by as the passenger in a car driven by Suge Knight in the evening hours of Sept. 13, 1996. Earlier in the evening, Tupac attended the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The murder sent shockwaves across the world. Tupac transcended the hip-hop scene as one of the biggest stars in the 1990s. Three decades later and Tupac is still discussed as a titan of the rap scene. Last year, a Las Vegas grand jury indicted a witness, Duane Keith Davis, on murder charges.

Dolly Welcomed to the World: Dolly the sheep became the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell. Prior to the stunning revelation in Scotland, scientists weren’t confident that it would be possible.

On July 5, 1996, Dolly was born with great excitement to the research team at the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh. In 1997, scientists revealed that they had successfully cloned Dolly.

The Unabomber is Arrested: Ted Kaczynski, referred to as the Unabomber, was arrested and indicted in Sacramento. From 1978 to 1995, Kaczynski mailed and delivered bombs to a variety of targets around the country.

His primary targets were universities, airlines, and even the residences of citizens. Ultimately, three people died and 23 were injured during his reign of terror.

Chicago Bulls Win Fourth NBA Championship: Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls defeated the Seattle Supersonics in six games to win their fourth title in franchise history. They entered the year as +350 pre-season favorites roughly around the same time as NBA betting sites were coming online for the first time.

Phil Jackson’s Bulls won a record-breaking 72 games in a 72-10 season and regarded as one of the best rosters of all time. The team was an incredible 41-3 on Feb. 2, 1996.

The victory was the start of a three-peat for the Bulls. In total, the Bulls won six championships between 1991 and 1998. Neither the Cowboys nor the Bulls have been able to replicate their success from the 1990s.

The Olympics Return to the US: The Summer Games returned to the United States for the first time since 1984. American swimmer Amy Van Dyken highlighted the Olympics with four gold medals for Team USA at Atlanta 1996.