We long ago learned the Super Bowl hype drill and now we can easily anticipate which storyline will be beaten into the ground during the run-up to the Super Bowl. It wasn't too hard to see we'd be Harbaugh'ed out before either team hit New Orleans this week. It's always been this way, though, and let's blame Fred Williamson for starting the phenomenon of the overhyped storyline. The Kansas City Chiefs cornerback bragged before the first Super Bowl about how he would knock out the Green Bay Packers receivers with his swinging forearm tackle called "The Hammer" Meanwhile, the Packers cheered with glee when Willamson got knocked out in the fourth quarter. Concussion awareness was not big in the NFL in 1967. Some Super Bowl storylines can be seen coming a mile away, some sprout up from news items ("Wait, what's deer-antler spray?") or proclamations ("Who's Chris Culliver and what did he say?") during the week. But every year, there's at least one or two storylines that, by the time the game kicks off, you hope you never hear another word about again in your life. And with that, here are the most played-out, worn-down, beat into the ground pre-Super Bowl storylines in the history of the NFL's big game:
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