So we again come to this supposedly “super” day, where there exist a few facts that make me pause a little less than admiring Peyton process plays so quickly — and Richard Sherman rant at game’s end…
If we compare to last year, 108.4 million of us will sit down in front of the television at some point this evening and turn on Super Bowl XLVIII. The Seattle Seahawks will face the Denver Broncos. We will watch. We will enjoy. And we will eat. In fact, we will eat a lot…
Some of us will grill. Regardless of snow covering half the country (and the 2” – geepers – in Atlanta) Super Bowl Sunday is the second biggest grilling day of the year — the first being the 4th of July.
Dips and spreads are the top choice to eat today, followed by chicken wings and pizza. It’s the busiest day of the year for pizza restaurants, with major chains selling double what they do on a regular day. Americans will also consume an estimated 50 million cases of beer; and we’ll eat chips — an estimated 11 million pounds of them (… uh, not a ton of health food… but wait… obesity is now a “disease”).
Second only to Thanksgiving, Americans are expected to double their food consumption to 33 million pounds of snacks (… did I mention that since last year’s Harbaugh Bros. Bowl, the American Medical Association voted to recognize obesity as a “disease”?).
Beyond the indulgence of food, how about massive amounts of money? … for a “game,” I might add?
CBS is charging advertisers an estimated $4 million dollars per 30-second spot. 30 seconds. 4 million. That equates to approximately $133,333 per second (… trying not to think about all the hungry people in the world… nor that the US national debt is increasing at a rate more than $60,000 a second — and it’s unfortunately not limited to a 30-second spot!)
How about betting? Is the Super Bowl the number one gambling day of the year? Probably. According to “Business Week” magazine, “No one knows for sure since the huge majority of the money changes hands under the table.” But last year, sports fans bet a record $98.9 million at Nevada casinos on the Super Bowl. The NCAA men’s basketball tournament, aka “March Madness,” recently surpassed the Super Bowl’s total amount wagered, but that includes 67 games. So while no one truly knows, the actual figure wagered worldwide is estimated in the low billions. Gamblers place bets on everything from the length of the national anthem to who wins the coin toss.
Acknowledging the worldwide appeal, the game will be broadcast live in over 180 countries and territories and in more than 25 different languages. Brazil, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, Russia and the United Kingdom each will have crews on-site for the game.
Note that some of the world’s best-known entertainers have performed at the Super Bowl. This year’s national anthem will be performed by American soprano Renee Fleming with Grammy Award-winning singer Bruno Mars leading the halftime show. Both, no less, are hoping for no “wardrobe malfunction.”
I’m amazed at what we eat… what we spend… and how uniquely united we are…
… for a game.
Respectfully,
AR