Professional sports have always been an important part of American culture. Every year, millions upon millions of spectators pile into venues across the country to watch their favorite sport live. Even more spend hours crowded around their TV to watch the pictures from places they only wish they could be.
Since the advent of television and live broadcasts, one sporting event as transcended them all. Played every year at the end of January or beginning of February, the Super Bowl has become a national holiday. Families often plan their day around the time leading up to the kickoff. No matter which network broadcasts the games, it can always bank on having more than 100 million viewers tune in to the spectacle.
But it is no longer the game itself which has become the center of the nation’s attention. Millions of sports fans tune into baseball’s World Series and the NBA Finals. But those ratings pale in comparison to numbers like the 131.7 million viewers who watched the 2002 Super Bowl.
Those who haven’t watched a minute of the NFL regular season tune in to portions of the six-plus hours of coverage the networks provide before kickoff.
Aside from the typical stories of the players off the gridiron, this year’s Super Bowl pregame featured shows produced by Nickelodeon and MTV, along with segments like Comedy Central’s “Crank Yankers” prank calling Kansas City quarterback Trent Green. Halftime shows have become spectacles themselves, featuring as many explosions and pop stars as humanly possible.
But perhaps the thing which has managed to draw in the most non-sports fans have been the commercials. Every year, many fans choose to take their bathroom breaks during game play, hoping not to miss a minute of the commercials.
The Super Bowl is no longer an event for diehard sports fans. As a result, Super Bowl and network officials directly market to those interested in everything but the game. But it’s this wide audience which makes the Super Bowl different from any other sporting event. The Super Bowl is no longer the championship game between the two best teams in the NFL – it is a national obsession.
