Since Super Bowl I was played in 1967, the NFL’s Championship game has become one of the most important televised sports entertainment events of the calendar year. The Super Bowl is not just about two teams playing a football game for a trophy, no, no, no.
This event has transcended from a sporting event to it also being a cultural and musical event too for fans of all walks of life.
While other events like the Summer Olympic Games or the FIFA World Cup take the price as the most watched sporting events in the world, the Super Bowl takes the cake when it comes to American audiences. As we get closer to February 7th, 2021, the date of Super Bowl LV, to be played in Tampa Bay Florida, an event that already has Super Bowl odds experts buzzing, let’s look back at just how big of an event is the Super Bowl.
The Super Bowl, As American as Apple Pie
The Super Bowl could easily be considered the biggest and most viewed sporting and television event in the United States. If you look for the list of the most viewed television events in American history, you will find that 10 out of 11 are all Super Bowl games. The other one? The M*A*S*H* series finale in 1983. If we speak of households alone, the NFL’s Championship game drew in over 100 million viewers according to a report from CBSSports. and that’s just viewers sitting at home watching. If you take into account the people that go to bars, restaurants or even host lavish Super Bowl parties then the numbers could continue going up. You can even say that almost all Americans watch the Super Bowl in one way or the other.
But let’s just not stop there, with the NFL’s international expansion programs, which have involved holding regular season games in México and England for example the popularity of American football outside of the US has also flourished. All this results in the Super Bowl becoming an international phenomenon year after year. It can easily be said that the Super Bowl is the world’s most popular domestic league championship game.
At the End of the Day, The Super Bowl is not just Football
So, yes, the Super Bowl is the most watched sporting event in the United States, we got that part cleared. Fans from all over flock to wherever there’s a tv to watch all the action unfold and bet on their Super Bowl favorites. The excitement is so much that many fans even end up trying their luck with online sportsbooks to try and make a little money from the game. But the Super Bowl is so much more than just a football game.
Just as important as the game itself we have other components that make this the magnificent event it is. Beginning with the rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, which is usually done by one of the hottest musical performers of the moment, you can tell this event is like no other. The game also serves like a typical celebrity galore with some of the biggest names from all different entertainment industries showing up to rep for any of the teams or just to be seen. The food and drinks are always usually on par too as Super Bowl Sunday is always known as a day to feast.
Half Time Show and Commercials, Perennial Showstoppers
Two of the main attractions that make the Super Bowl what it is are the tv commercials and the halftime shows. When a game is viewed by so many people at the same time, if you have a product, service or anything you wish to advertise to the masses, Super Bowl Sunday is your best option at success. But wait, for a 30 second spot, prices usually rise to around 2 million dollars. Companies that pay this kind of money of course come out swinging with some of the best commercials of the year trying to beat out all other competition.
With the halftime show, it’s the NFL giving its fans everywhere a 12 to 15 minute show with some of the best musical performers in the world putting out their absolute best material for the world to see. Anyone from Michael Jackson to Prince, Madonna, Beyoncé, the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen have all played the Super Bowl halftime shows so you can go figure just how important they are to the game, some might even argue that more than the game itself.
