Forget soccer, for now. American football will consume millions of viewers’ attention Sunday when the Kansas City Chiefs face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII.

The Chiefs are two-time champs (2020, 1970) and the Eagles won once (2018).

Can you guess the most common first names on the rosters? Last names? Leading states of birth? What about height and weight?

And some families and hometowns will be hyper focused on the big game like the Kelce family from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, which has two brothers on opposing teams: Jason plays for the Eagles and Travis for the Chiefs.

Meet 115 Players From Across the Country … and the World

Can you guess the most common first names on the rosters? Last names?

Leading states of birth? What about height and weight? Colleges and conferences most represented? Which players have the most years of experience?

The U.S. Census Bureau’s Big Game Census data visualization answers these questions and more. They can also make you smarter on game day.

Note: Click on the image to go to the interactive data visualization.

Your Cheat Sheet

• Most common first names: Jack (3), Chris (3, including Christian).
• Most common last names: Johnson (4), Smith (3), Williams (3).
• States of birth: Texas (9); Georgia and Mississippi (8); Florida (7); and Ohio (6).
• Foreign born: George Karlaftis (Greece); Jordan Mailata (Australia); and Prince Tega Wanogho (Nigeria).
• Colleges attended: Florida (5), Georgia, Michigan, and Mississippi State (4).
• Conferences represented: 25 Southeastern Conference (SEC) teams; 17 in Big Ten Conference; 13 in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC); 12 in Big 12 Conference; and 11 in American Athletic Conference (AAC).
• Years of experience: There are 19 rookies and 13 players with 10-plus years (including the Kelce brothers). The average for all players is 4.4 years.
• The tallest: Two players are 6 feet 8 inches; nine are 6 feet 6 inches; and nine are 6 feet 5 inches tall.
• The shortest: One player is 5 feet 6 inches; one is 5 feet 7 inches; and one is 5 feet-8 inches tall. (Twenty-three players are under 6 feet tall.)
• The heaviest: 365 pounds (Twenty-seven players weigh more than 300 pounds)
• The lightest: 167 pounds (Twenty-two players weight less than 200 pounds) Average weight is 244 pounds.

Home State Pride

Nothing says loyalty more than playing in the Super Bowl for a team from your home state. This year there are four (the Kansas City metro area includes Missouri and Kansas):

• Blake Bell (Oklahoma, Big 12) was born in Wichita, Kansas and plays for the Chiefs.
• Khalen Saunders (Western Illinois, Missouri Valley Football Conference) was born in St. Louis, Missouri and plays for the Chiefs.
• Kyzir White (West Virginia, Big 12) was born in Macungie, Pennsylvania and plays for the Eagles.
• Miles Sanders (Penn State, Big Ten) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (did you notice he played for Penn State) and plays for the Eagles. Now that’s triple loyalty!

Which NFL Team Is Not in a Top 50 Metro Area?

Green Bay, Wisconsin, home to the Green Bay Packers, is the smallest metro area with an NFL team. It ranked 158 in population in 2021. The Packers have a 4-1 Super Bowl record and a winning percentage that’s higher than the two teams in this year’s Super Bowl.

Eight of the teams in the top 50 metros have a .000 winning percentage in the Super Bowl. 

Can you name the four teams with a perfect 1.000 winning percentage?

Page 495 in the official NFL Record and Fact Book has the answers. 

Derick C. Moore is a senior communications specialist in the Census Bureau's Communications Directorate.

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