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# The Superdome Has Seen Everything. Here Are the 10 Biggest Nights in Its 51 Years
- URL: https://www.grumpybuck.com/the-superdome-has-seen-everything-here-are-the-10-biggest-nights-in-its-51-years/
- Published: 2026-10-07T14:12:27.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-07T14:12:27.000Z
- Description: Eight Super Bowls, 6 Final Fours, Ali's third title, the Stones' indoor record, the Undertaker's streak, a blackout and a hurricane shelter. The 10 biggest nights in the Superdome's 51 years.
- Author: Brad Riddell
- Tags: Sports History, Top 10, Football

The Falcons were in the Superdome on Monday night, which is about as ordinary as a game in that building gets. Then you look up at the roof and start counting.

The Louisiana Superdome opened on Aug. 3, 1975, cost about $163 million, and has since hosted 8 Super Bowls, more than any other stadium on earth, plus 6 Final Fours, the biggest live gate in boxing history to that point, an indoor concert record that stood for 33 years, and the worst week in the history of New Orleans. It has had 3 names. It has had 1 roof peeled off by a hurricane and 1 blackout in the middle of a Super Bowl. Here are the 10 nights that matter most.

![The Louisiana Superdome on a 1970s postcard, not long after it opened in August 1975.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/superdome-postcard-1970s.jpg)

The Louisiana Superdome on a 1970s postcard, not long after it opened in August 1975.

## 10\. The Rolling Stones set a record that stood 33 years (1981)

**Dec. 5, 1981.**

The Stones closed out their 1981 American tour with a Saturday night in the dome, with the Neville Brothers and George Thorogood opening. The crowd was 87,500, the largest ever to see an indoor concert, and nobody beat it until George Strait drew 104,793 to the Cowboys' stadium in 2014\. The Superdome was 6 years old and already the biggest room in America.

![Mick Jagger and Keith Richards on the 1981 American tour, in St. Louis 2 weeks before the Superdome show. (Photo: Patricia Fitzgerald, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/rolling-stones-1981-tour.jpg)

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards on the 1981 American tour, in St. Louis 2 weeks before the Superdome show. (Photo: Patricia Fitzgerald, [CC BY-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/?ref=grumpybuck.com), via Wikimedia Commons)

## 9\. The Streak ends (2014)

**WrestleMania XXX, April 6, 2014.**

The Undertaker was 21-0 at WrestleMania and had been for 23 years. Brock Lesnar hit him with a 3rd F-5 and pinned him, and the dome went quiet in a way wrestling crowds don't. The 21-1 graphic on the video board is still the most famous image in the company's modern history. Daniel Bryan beat Triple H earlier in the night and then beat Randy Orton and Batista in the main event for the title, which is what the crowd had come for. WWE announced 75,167; the real number was closer to 65,000\. The company came back for WrestleMania 34 in 2018.

![Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin and The Rock open WrestleMania XXX in the Superdome, April 6, 2014. (Photo: Miguel Discart, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/wrestlemania-xxx-hogan-austin-rock.jpg)

Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin and The Rock open WrestleMania XXX in the Superdome, April 6, 2014\. (Photo: Miguel Discart, [CC BY-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/?ref=grumpybuck.com), via Wikimedia Commons)

## 8\. The first Super Bowl indoors (1978)

**Cowboys 27, Broncos 10\. Super Bowl XII, Jan. 15, 1978.**

The game itself was a mess. Denver turned the ball over 8 times, 7 of them in the first half, and Craig Morton finished with a passer rating of 0.0\. Butch Johnson, playing with a broken thumb, made a diving 45-yard touchdown catch from Roger Staubach in the 3rd quarter, and fullback Robert Newhouse threw a 29-yard halfback option to Golden Richards for the last score. Harvey Martin and Randy White shared the MVP, the only time that's happened. But this was the first Super Bowl ever played under a roof and the first played in prime time, and it changed where the game goes. Two of the most lopsided Super Bowls ever followed in this same building: the Bears 46, Patriots 10 in 1986, which set the scoring record, and the 49ers 55, Broncos 10 in 1990, which broke it with Joe Montana throwing 5 touchdowns. Both records still stand. The best finish a dome ever produced came in Atlanta's Georgia Dome 22 years later, when Mike Jones tackled Kevin Dyson a yard short.

![Golden Richards (83) catches Robert Newhouse's halfback-option pass for the last Dallas touchdown in Super Bowl XII, over Denver's Steve Foley (43) and Bernard Jackson (29).](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/golden-richards-td-sb-xii.jpg)

Golden Richards (83) catches Robert Newhouse's halfback-option pass for the last Dallas touchdown in Super Bowl XII, over Denver's Steve Foley (43) and Bernard Jackson (29).

![Ed "Too Tall" Jones (72) brings down a Bronco. Denver turned the ball over 8 times.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/too-tall-jones-sb-xii.jpg)

Ed "Too Tall" Jones (72) brings down a Bronco. Denver turned the ball over 8 times.

![The Houston Post, Jan. 16, 1978: "Cool Cowboys rip Broncos." Denver's Randy Gradishar flips Billy Joe DuPree. (AP Wirephoto)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/the_houston_post_1978_01_16_52.jpg)

The Houston Post, Jan. 16, 1978: "Cool Cowboys rip Broncos." Denver's Randy Gradishar flips Billy Joe DuPree. (AP Wirephoto)

The Superdome has hosted 8 Super Bowls, the most of any stadium: 1978, 1981, 1986, 1990, 1997, 2002, 2013 and 2025\. Counting 3 at old Tulane Stadium, New Orleans has hosted 11, tied with Miami for the most of any city.

## 7\. Alabama ends Miami's streak (1993)

**No. 2 Alabama 34, No. 1 Miami 13\. Sugar Bowl, Jan. 1, 1993.**

Miami was the defending national champion and came in on a 29-game winning streak with the Heisman winner, Gino Torretta, at quarterback. Alabama was a 9-point underdog. Torretta had thrown 4 interceptions all season. That night he went 24 of 56 and threw 3 more. Alabama barely bothered to pass: 4 completions for 18 yards, and 290 yards on the ground. George Teague returned one 31 yards for a touchdown in the 3rd quarter, then made the play everyone remembers: he ran down Lamar Thomas from behind on a long completion and took the ball out of his hands at full speed. The play was wiped out by an Alabama offside, and nobody cared. Derrick Lassic ran for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Gene Stallings had Alabama's first national title since Bear Bryant's last in 1979, in the program's 100th season. Alabama finished 13-0.

![Gene Stallings is carried off the Superdome floor after the 34-13 win, Jan. 1, 1993.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/stallings-carried-1993.jpg)

Gene Stallings is carried off the Superdome floor after the 34-13 win, Jan. 1, 1993.

![The Huntsville Times, Jan. 2, 1993: "Tide climbs to top." Kevin Lee (37) and Eric Curry (80) carry the flag. (Alan Warren/Huntsville Times; AP)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/the_huntsville_times_1993_01_02_15.jpg)

The Huntsville Times, Jan. 2, 1993: "Tide climbs to top." Kevin Lee (37) and Eric Curry (80) carry the flag. (Alan Warren/Huntsville Times; AP)

![Sports Illustrated's special commemorative issue: "No. 1. Alabama blasts Miami to win the national championship."](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/si-alabama-no1-1993.jpg)

Sports Illustrated's special commemorative issue: "No. 1\. Alabama blasts Miami to win the national championship."

## 6\. Webber calls timeout (1993)

**North Carolina 77, Michigan 71\. NCAA championship game, April 5, 1993.**

The Fab Five were in their 2nd straight title game, and Webber had been the best player on the floor for 39 and a half minutes: 23 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocked shots. Down 2 with 20 seconds left, he grabbed the rebound of a missed North Carolina free throw, got away with a travel the officials didn't see, dribbled into the right corner with 2 defenders on him, and with 11 seconds left signaled for a timeout. Michigan had none. The technical foul gave Donald Williams 2 free throws, he made 2 more after the inbound, and Dean Smith had his 2nd championship, 11 years after his first in the same building. Williams was the Most Outstanding Player with 25 points. "I just called a time-out; we didn't have one left," Webber said afterward. "That probably cost us the game." He has spent 33 years being asked about it.

![Chris Webber signals for the timeout Michigan didn't have, April 5, 1993.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/webber-timeout-1993.jpg)

Chris Webber signals for the timeout Michigan didn't have, April 5, 1993.

![The Detroit Free Press, April 6, 1993: "Sour ending to Webber's sweet game." (Photo: David Longstreath/Associated Press)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/detroit_free_press_1993_04_06_28.jpg)

The Detroit Free Press, April 6, 1993: "Sour ending to Webber's sweet game." (Photo: David Longstreath/Associated Press)

## 5\. The lights go out on the Super Bowl (2013)

**Ravens 34, 49ers 31\. Super Bowl XLVII, Feb. 3, 2013.**

Baltimore led 28-6 with 13:22 left in the 3rd quarter. Jacoby Jones had just opened the half with a 108-yard kickoff return, tying the longest play in Super Bowl history. It came a few minutes after Beyoncé's halftime show, with all its lights and video. Then half the building went dark. The lights were out for about 22 minutes and the game stopped for 34, long enough for players to sit down on the field, for fans to start doing the wave, and for Jim Nantz and Phil Simms to go silent on CBS. The cause turned out to be a newly installed protective relay in the power vault feeding the dome. The manufacturer said the utility had set the trip threshold too low.

When play resumed, San Francisco scored 17 straight points and got to the Baltimore 5-yard line in the final 2 minutes before 4 straight incompletions ended it. Joe Flacco was MVP. John Harbaugh beat his brother Jim in the first Super Bowl between sibling head coaches. Ray Lewis, playing his last game, said what everyone was thinking: "You're a zillion-dollar company and your lights go out? No. No way."

![The Superdome half-lit during the 34-minute stoppage in Super Bowl XLVII, Feb. 3, 2013.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/superdome-blackout-2013.jpg)

The Superdome half-lit during the 34-minute stoppage in Super Bowl XLVII, Feb. 3, 2013.

![The Associated Press story as it ran in the Rochester (Minn.) Post-Bulletin, Feb. 4, 2013: "Power outage brings game to standstill."](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/post_bulletin_2013_02_04_28.jpg)

The Associated Press story as it ran in the Rochester (Minn.) Post-Bulletin, Feb. 4, 2013: "Power outage brings game to standstill."

## 4\. Ali wins the title for the 3rd time (1978)

**Muhammad Ali def. Leon Spinks, unanimous decision. Sept. 15, 1978.**

Seven months earlier, Spinks, 7 fights into his pro career, had taken Ali's title in Las Vegas. The rematch in New Orleans drew 63,352 people into the dome, an indoor boxing record at the time, and a live gate of $4,806,675, the largest for any sporting event to that date. About 90 million Americans watched on ABC.

![A 1978 poster for the rematch, "Spinks vs. Ali, Sept. 15, 1978, Superdome, New Orleans."](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/ali-spinks-poster-1978.jpg)

A 1978 poster for the rematch, "Spinks vs. Ali, Sept. 15, 1978, Superdome, New Orleans."

Ali was 36\. He fought the smart fight he hadn't fought in February, jabbing and moving for 15 rounds, and won on all 3 cards: 10-4-1, 11-4 and 10-4-1\. He became the first man to win the heavyweight championship 3 times. "I know I lost," Spinks said. "You saw it. You know I lost. He was no tougher. It's just that my mind wasn't in it." Ali fought twice more and should not have. This was the last great night.

![Leon Spinks and Muhammad Ali in 1978.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/ali-spinks-1978.jpg)

Leon Spinks and Muhammad Ali in 1978.

![The Chicago Tribune, Sept. 16, 1978: "Ali wins crown for 3d time." The night-of estimates, a crowd of 70,000 and a $6 million gate, both came down when the official numbers came in. (UPI Telephoto)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/chicago_tribune_1978_09_16_101.jpg)

The Chicago Tribune, Sept. 16, 1978: "Ali wins crown for 3d time." The night-of estimates, a crowd of 70,000 and a $6 million gate, both came down when the official numbers came in. (UPI Telephoto)

## 3\. Vinatieri, and the start of all that (2002)

**Patriots 20, Rams 17\. Super Bowl XXXVI, Feb. 3, 2002.**

The game was pushed back a week because Sept. 11 had pushed back the season. The Rams were 14-point favorites, the Greatest Show on Turf, 2 years removed from a title. The Patriots had a 24-year-old quarterback who'd started the season on the bench. Before kickoff, New England declined to have its starters introduced one at a time and ran out as a team. Every team has done it since. They had finished last the year before and opened the season at 75-1 to win it all.

Ty Law returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown. The Rams tied it 17-17 with 1:30 left. John Madden said on the broadcast that the Patriots should run out the clock and take their chances in overtime. Tom Brady drove them 53 yards instead, and Adam Vinatieri hit a 48-yard field goal as the clock hit zero, the first Super Bowl ever decided on the final play. Brady was the youngest quarterback to win one. Brady went 16 of 27 for 145 yards. Nobody in the building knew they were watching the first of 6\. Accepting the trophy, owner Robert Kraft said, "At this time in our country, we are all Patriots, and tonight the Patriots are champions."

![Adam Vinatieri's 48-yard field goal as time expired, with Ken Walter (13) holding, Feb. 3, 2002.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/vinatieri-kick-2002.jpg)

Adam Vinatieri's 48-yard field goal as time expired, with Ken Walter (13) holding, Feb. 3, 2002.

![The Boston Globe, Feb. 4, 2002: "CHAMPIONS!" Boston's first major pro title since 1986.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/the_boston_globe_2002_02_04_1.jpg)

The Boston Globe, Feb. 4, 2002: "CHAMPIONS!" Boston's first major pro title since 1986.

## 2\. Michael Jordan, freshman (1982)

**North Carolina 63, Georgetown 62\. NCAA championship game, March 29, 1982.**

The crowd was 61,612, nearly double the biggest title-game crowd before it, and by 1997 the Final Four had moved into domes for good. Patrick Ewing, a freshman, was called for goaltending 5 times, 3 of them on James Worthy early, and Worthy scored a career-high 28\. Down 62-61, Dean Smith, who had been to 6 Final Fours without a title, called timeout with 32 seconds left and drew up a play for his other freshman. Michael Jordan hit a 16-footer with 15 seconds to go. He told reporters he'd seen the shot in a vision before the game. "To tell the truth, I didn't see it go in," he said. "I didn't want to look."

Georgetown still had time. Fred Brown brought the ball up, looked for a teammate, and passed it directly to Worthy. "Oh, he threw it to the wrong man," Gary Bender said on CBS. "He threw it to Worthy!" Worthy was fouled with 2 seconds left and missed both free throws, and Georgetown's heave fell short. Smith had his first championship. "I'm not sure we were the best team tonight," he said. "We were the lucky team." Jordan had the first of a very long list of shots.

![Michael Jordan's jumper with 15 seconds left, March 29, 1982.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/jordan-shot-1982.jpg)

Michael Jordan's jumper with 15 seconds left, March 29, 1982.

![The Rocky Mount (N.C.) Telegram, March 30, 1982: "Tar Heels Are National Champions!" and "Jordan Sees His Shot In Vision." (AP Laserphoto)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/rocky_mount_telegram_1982_03_30_10.jpg)

The Rocky Mount (N.C.) Telegram, March 30, 1982: "Tar Heels Are National Champions!" and "Jordan Sees His Shot In Vision." (AP Laserphoto)

![Dean Smith cuts down the net after his first national title.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/dean-smith-net-1982.jpg)

Dean Smith cuts down the net after his first national title.

## 1\. The Saints come home (2006)

**Saints 23, Falcons 3\. Monday Night Football, Sept. 25, 2006.**

Thirteen months earlier the Superdome was the shelter of last resort. As many as 30,000 people passed through it in the days after Hurricane Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29, 2005\. The roof covering peeled away, the interior flooded, and the building became the image of the city's collapse. There were real conversations about tearing it down and about the Saints leaving for San Antonio. Instead the state spent $185 million on repairs, and the Saints played the 2005 season on the road and came back.

![Residents line up outside the Superdome with what they could carry on Aug. 28, 2005, the day before Katrina made landfall. (Photo: Marty Bahamonde/FEMA)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/superdome-shelter-line-2005.jpg)

Residents line up outside the Superdome with what they could carry on Aug. 28, 2005, the day before Katrina made landfall. (Photo: Marty Bahamonde/FEMA)

![The Superdome roof a week after the storm, Sept. 5, 2005. About 70 percent of the covering was gone. (Photo: Win Henderson/FEMA)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/b0/6ab0eb2f-edcf-411e-aaff-39e6be3d4e39/content/images/2026/10/superdome-roof-damage-2005.jpg)

The Superdome roof a week after the storm, Sept. 5, 2005\. About 70 percent of the covering was gone. (Photo: Win Henderson/FEMA)

On the first Monday night game back, U2 and Green Day played on the field, George H.W. Bush flipped the coin, and on the 4th play of the game, Steve Gleason came through the line and blocked Michael Koenen's punt. Curtis Deloatch fell on it in the end zone, 1 minute 30 seconds in. The dome made a sound people still talk about. The Saints won 23-3, the game drew ESPN's biggest audience to that point, and that season they went to the NFC Championship Game for the first time in franchise history.

In 2012 the team put a statue of the block outside the stadium. It's called "Rebirth." Gleason, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2011, was there when they unveiled it. No play in the building's history meant more, and no play in the building's history had less to do with who won.

## The ones that just missed

- **The 2009 NFC Championship, Jan. 24, 2010:** Saints 31, Vikings 28 in overtime. Tracy Porter intercepted Brett Favre with 19 seconds left in regulation, and Garrett Hartley won it from 40 yards. The Vikings never touched the ball in overtime.
- **The 1987 Final Four:** Keith Smart's baseline jumper with 4 seconds left gave Indiana a 74-73 win over Syracuse and Bob Knight his 3rd title.
- **Jan. 13, 2020:** LSU 42, Clemson 25\. Joe Burrow threw for 463 yards and 5 touchdowns to finish 15-0, about 80 miles from campus.
- **Two more LSU titles:** Jan. 4, 2004 over Oklahoma, 21-14, and Jan. 7, 2008 over Ohio State, 38-24.
- **The 2003 and 2022 Final Fours:** Carmelo Anthony and Jim Boeheim's first title, then Kansas coming back from 15 down on North Carolina, the biggest comeback in a title game.

**Which Superdome night did we get wrong? Tell us in the comments.**