Super Bowl Host Teams

After last night's wacky Super Bowl, it's only 363 more days until the next one. For the first time, it will be played outdoors in a cold weather city, at MetLife (née Giants) Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ on the outskirts of New York City.

The Giants and the Jets will try to become the first team (or teams) to play in a Super Bowl being held in their home stadium.

So how have teams performed knowing that the Super Bowl will be in their house that winter? Not well:

Year	SB	Host	Host Team	Record (Place)	Playoffs
1966	I	Los Angeles	Rams	8-6 (3)
1967	II	Miami	Dolphins	4-10 (3)
1968	III	Miami	Dolphins	5-8-1 (3)
1969	IV	New Orleans	Saints	5-9 (3)
1970	V	Miami	Dolphins	10-4 (2)	Div: L 21-14 @ OAK
1971	VI	New Orleans	Saints	4-8-2 (4)
1972	VII	Los Angeles	Rams	6-7-1 (3)
1973	VIII	Houston	Oilers	1-13 (4)
1974	IX	New Orleans	Saints	5-9 (3)
1975	X	Miami	Dolphins	10-4 (2)
1976	XI	Pasadena	Rams*	10-3-1 (1)	Div: W 14-12 @ DAL
					NFC Ch: L 24-13 v. MIN
1977	XII	New Orleans	Saints	3-11 (4)
1978	XIII	Miami	Dolphins	11-5 (2)	WC: L 17-9 v. HOU
1979	XIV	Pasadena	Rams*	9-7 (1)	Div: W 21-19 @ DAL
					NFC Ch: W 9-0 @ TB
					SB: L 31-19 v. PIT
1980	XV	New Orleans	Saints	1-15 (4)
1981	XVI	Pontiac	Lions	8-8 (2)
1982	XVII	Pasadena	Raiders/Rams**	Raiders 8-1 (1)	WC: W 27-10 v. CLE
					Div: L 17-14 v. NYJ
				Rams 2-7 (4)
1983	XVIII	Tampa	Buccaneers	2-14 (5)
1984	XIX	Palo Alto	49ers	15-1	Div: W 21-10 v. NYG
					NFC Ch: W 23-0 v. CHI
					SB: W 38-16 v. MIA
1985	XX	New Orleans	Saints	5-11 (3)
1986	XXI	Pasadena	Raiders/Rams**	Rams 10-6 (2)	WC: L 19-7 @ WAS
				Raiders 8-8 (3)
1987	XXII	San Diego	Chargers	8-7 (3)
1988	XXIII	Miami	Dolphins	6-10 (5)
1989	XXIV	New Orleans	Saints	9-7 (3)
1990	XXV	Tampa	Buccaneers	6-10 (2)
1991	XXVI	Minneapolis	Vikings	8-8 (3)
1992	XXVII	Pasadena	Raiders/Rams**	Raiders 7-9 (4)
				Rams 6-10 (3)
1993	XXVIII	Atlanta	Falcons	6-10 (3)
1994	XXIX	Miami	Dolphins	10-6 (1)	WC: W 27-17 v. KC
					Div: L 22-21 v. SD
1995	XXX	Tempe	Cardinals	4-12 (5)
1996	XXXI	New Orleans	Saints	3-13 (4)
1997	XXXII	San Diego	Chargers	4-12 (4)
1998	XXXIII	Miami	Dolphins	10-6 (2)	WC: W 24-17 v. BUF
					Div: L 38-3 @ DEN
1999	XXXIV	Atlanta	Falcons	5-11 (3)
2000	XXXV	Tampa	Buccaneers	10-6 (2)	WC: L 21-3 @ PHI
2001	XXXVI	New Orleans	Saints	7-9 (3)
2002	XXXVII	San Diego	Chargers	8-8 (3)
2003	XXXVIII	Houston	Texans	5-11 (3)
2004	XXXIX	Jacksonville	Jaguars	9-7 (2)
2005	XL	Detroit	Lions	5-11 (3)
2006	XLI	Miami	Dolphins	6-10 (4)
2007	XLII	Glendale	Cardinals	8-8 (2)
2008	XLIII	Tampa	Buccaneers	9-7 (3)
2009	XLIV	Miami	Dolphins	7-9 (3)
2010	XLV	Arlington	Cowboys	6-10 (3)
2011	XLVI	Indianapolis	Colts	2-14 (4)
2012	XLVII	New Orleans	Saints	7-9 (2)
2013	XLVIII	East Rutherford	Giants/Jets
				332-423-1
				6.64--8.46

* Even though the game was played at the Rose Bowl and the Rams played their home games at the Coliseum, I counted the Rams as the host club as a representative of the L.A. region.

** I did the same thing with the Raiders once they moved south from Oakland. The Rams moved to Anaheim and the Raiders settled into the Coliseum, but I counted both teams as the host.  

*** The 49ers won Super Bowl XIX at Stanford Coliseum in Palo Alto, 30 miles south of Candlestick Park. This is the closest instance of a host team winning the title.
 
Cumulatively, host teams are almost 100 games under .500, with some dreadful Saints teams accounting for more than half of the margin. The average mark is roughly the equivalent of a 7-9 team.

In four cases, the host team not only missed the playoffs, but finished with the worst record in the league. The 1973 Oilers went 1-13, then traded the first pick of the draft to Dallas. The Cowboys used that to take Ed "Too Tall" Jones. Houston also included a third-round selection in the deal and Dallas chose quarterback Danny White, who would help guide the Cowboys to three straight NFC title games. The Saints went 1-15 in 1980 before taking Heisman-winning running back George Rogers with the top pick in '81, leaving the Giants with a guy named Lawrence Taylor. The Bucs were 2-14 in 1983, but didn't have a first-round pick the next year. The "Suck for Luck" Colts bottomed out last season at 2-14, but they seem to be in good shape moving forward with their heir to Peyton Manning.

As for teams aiming to play the game on their actual home field, only five have made the postseason. The Dolphins lost in the first round in 1970 and 1978. With Dan Marino in 1994 and 1998, they won the Wild Card game at home before falling on the road in the divisional round. The 2000 Bucs lost in the opening round and no host team has made the playoffs since.