QUICK QUIZ: Can you name one American you know who has never watched a Super Bowl? That’s a trick question, because, according to Nielsen, few such people exist. Of the 32 most-watched TV programs in U.S. history, 30 of them are Super Bowls. What makes the big game such a big deal? So much more than just the National Football League’s top teams doing battle on the field. It’s an event we love in so many ways.

Italy might be where pizza was born, but Super Bowls are where it gives us the most heartburn. We eat more than 12.5 million pizzas on the day of the big game. The most popular topping? It’s easy to pick that winner: pepperoni, says the American Pizza Community.

Americans ate a whole lot of a very American cuisine—some 1.42 billion chicken wings—while watching the Cincinnati Bengals play the Los Angeles Rams last year, according to a real authority on the matter, the National Chicken Council.

Thirty minutes—that’s how much time TV networks usually spent setting up the game in the early years. But in 1978, before Denver played Dallas, CBS needed to fill some extra time because a golf tournament earlier in the day was postponed. And so the marathon pregame show was born. NBC’s 2022 pregame stretched for five hours.

“Hey, kid. Catch!”: Pittsburgh defensive lineman “Mean Joe” Greene limps into the locker room. A young fan gives him a Coca-Cola. Greene brightens up and tosses the kid his game jersey. “Thanks, Mean Joe!” The spot debuted in the fall of 1979, but notably ran during the 1980 Super Bowl.

“1984 Won’t Be Like 1984”: Directed by filmmaker Ridley Scott and inspired by George Orwell’s 1984—and airing that year—the ad portrays a woman throwing a sledgehammer into a giant video screen broadcasting a Big Brother figure. The epic ad announced the coming debut of the Apple Macintosh.

“The Cans Are Going Wild!”: The “Bud Bowl” was staged in commercials throughout the 1989 Super Bowl. That first Bud Bowl was so popular that seven more followed over the years.

Green Bay’s Max McGee partied throughout the night, but then scored the first touchdown in Super Bowl history in 1967, and finished with seven catches for 138 yards and two scores.

Washington trailed Miami 17-13 in the fourth quarter in 1983. On a fourth down, fullback John Riggins (nicknamed the Diesel) bounced off a defender and ran 43 yards for a score—at the time the longest run from scrimmage in a Super Bowl.

In 2000, St. Louis led by seven with six seconds left. Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair passed to receiver Kevin Dyson, who appeared to be heading for a touchdown until Rams linebacker Mike Jones prevented Dyson from getting the ball across the goal line. Photos of his outstretched arm are iconic.

In 2008, the New York Giants trailed undefeated New England 14-10 with 1:15 left to play. Quarterback Eli Manning evaded a sack and heaved the ball. Receiver David Tyree made the now-famous “helmet catch,” and the Giants won 17-14.

The greatest comeback occurred in 2017. New England trailed Atlanta 28-3 in the third quarter. But quarterback Tom Brady led the Patriots on five scoring drives to secure a 34-28 victory.

In 1989, Coca-Cola provided fans with 3D glasses for a halftime magic show called “BeBop Bamboozled” hosted by Elvis Presto, who performed tricks to ’50s music.

Then-upstart network Fox staged an audacious stunt to piggyback on the 1992 Super Bowl on CBS. Sketch comedy In Living Color performed a live mini-show at the same time as halftime, with a running clock letting viewers know when to switch back to the game.

The NFL needed to up its halftime effort. Enter Michael Jackson, who in 1993 performed a medley of hits. Halftime shows were changed forever.

The 2004 show was billed as a tribute to pop music, but what everyone remembers is the “wardrobe malfunction,” when Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Janet Jackson’s top.

In 2007, in a Miami storm, Prince played what Billboard magazine dubbed the greatest halftime show.

“I’d run over my mother to win the Super Bowl.” —Russ Grimm, 1984 The Washington lineman’s comment drew this response from Oakland Raiders linebacker Matt Millen: “I’d run over Russ Grimm’s mother too.” The Raiders ended up running all over Washington to a 38-9 victory.

“He couldn’t spell cat if you spotted him the C and the T.” —Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson, 1979 The Dallas linebacker mocked Terry Bradshaw, who then threw for 318 yards and four touchdowns in Pittsburgh’s 35-31 win. “I didn’t say he couldn’t play, just that he couldn’t spell.”

“We’re gonna win the game. I guarantee it.” —Joe Namath, 1969 And the quarterback’s New York Jets did win, 16-7, over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl 3.