The date at the beginning of the episode is October 23,1976. Kelso says that it's Saturday night and Steve Martin is hosting Saturday Night Live (1975). Martin really did host that night.
Near the end, Kitty says that Red's mother (Marion Ross) dislikes her because when she and Red met, he was dating someone his mother deemed more suitable. Two years later, Ross would start a recurring role in Gilmore Girls (2000) as Richard's mother, who dislikes his wife, Emily, because Richard met her while he was dating someone his mother deemed more suitable. In the latter show, this eventually helped led to Richard and Emily's trial separation.
Red, while praying, asks for a Packers winning season. From 1960-1967, the Packers won 3 championships and two Super Bowls, arguably their best stretch as a franchise.
The episode title is a reference to "Sunday Bloody Sunday", released in 1983 by U2.