Fun Fact Friday: Midwest Football

September 7, 2012 10:00 am CT

Football season is finally here! It’s time to dust off your favorite jersey, return to the prized tailgating spot and put your fantasy league strategies to the test. The Midwest is home to nine different football teams which have left their individual mark on the game. Check out these interesting, and sometimes little-known, facts about the teams in our area.

Chicago Bears

• The Bears played two of the five football games in history ending with a 2-0 score. Both were against Green Bay Packers.
• The first Chicago Bears quarterback to have more than one 3,000 yard season was Erik Kramer.  He accomplished this feat in 1995 and again in 1997.

Cincinnati Bengals

• The Bengals’ unique tiger-striped helmets were debuted for the 1981 season.
• The Bengals played their first two seasons in Nippert Stadium on the University of Cincinnati campus.

Cleveland Browns

• The Browns are the only team in the NFL without a logo on their helmets.
• The original Cleveland Browns team moved to Baltimore in 1996, becoming the Ravens. The current Cleveland Browns team was admitted to the NFL as an expansion team in 2000.

Detroit Lions

• Originally started in 1929 as the Portsmouth Spartans, the team joined the NFL in 1930 and officially became the Detroit Lions in 1933.
• The Lions’ team colors have been the same since their inception, except for the 1948 season when they switched to maroon jerseys. This change was made by Coach Bo McMillin who had coached at Indiana University.

Green Bay Packers

• The first rushing touchdown in Super Bowl history was scored by the Packers fullback great Jim Taylor.
• The Packers team name comes from the company that first supplied them with uniform money, the Indian Packing Company.

Indianapolis Colts

• Super Bowl XLI, in which the Colts defeated the Chicago Bears, was the first Super Bowl played in the rain.
• In 1972, Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom traded the entire Colts franchise to Robert Irsay for his Los Angeles Rams franchise. Players, equipment and everything stayed in the original cities, just the ownership changed.

Kansas City Chiefs

• The Chiefs were founded in 1960 in Dallas and were originally named the Dallas Texans.
• The Chiefs have won more AFL Championships, a total of three, than any other team in the league.

Minnesota Vikings

• The Minnesota Vikings were the first team to play in four Super Bowls, as well as the first team to lose in four Super Bowls.
• Because of damage to their stadium’s roof, the Vikings played a home game on Detroit’s Ford Field in 2010 against the New York Giants .

St. Louis Rams

• The team was first known as the Los Angeles Rams and relocated toSt. Louis in 1995. This was the second time the team had relocated, as they were originally the Cleveland Rams before moving to Los Angeles in 1946.
• The Rams were the first American professional football team with a logo on their helmets.

How are you gearing up for football season? Share your rituals with us in the comments below.