The Super Bowl is the final of the National Football League (NFL), and it is one of the biggest events in America. Every year around the same time, millions of Americans gather in front of the television and watch the game with family and friends. The Super Bowl is the most watched program, and it is also heavily followed in other countries.
Apart from watching the game, which can be very interesting, like it was this year, but also boring and predictable, like last one's, there are many other traditions related to this day that are almost as important.
One of them are the commercials. Due to the high numbers of viewers watching the game, companies interested in advertising their product during this time pay a very, very high price for air time. In fact, every ad costs around $4 million, that just counting the air time, to which you have to add the production, advertising campaign etc.... Just crazy. But also worth it, since many of the companies that advertise during this time rapidly increase their revenue. And it is logical, there are more than 100 million people watching your ad! But also due to the high audience, there is a lot of pressure for the companies to be innovative, creative, and develop an ad that is memorable, funny and clever. If you want to take a pic at them, visit this website: http://www.superbowlcommercial2015.com.
We had 2 favorites: the funniest one was from Fiat
And the most socially concious was the one form Always
Another important aspect of the Super Bowl Sunday is the food. After Thanksgiving, more food is eaten on the Super Bowl day than any other day of the year. Across the country, people would eat more than 1 billion chicken wings, 4 million pizzas, and 325 million gallons of beer (source).
A third argument for watching the Super Bowl is the half time show, which is normally performed by a super star, or several. Initially, the mission of the halftime was to fill time and entertain fans while the game's break. However, with the time this evolved. From "simple" musical bands, to super stages with incredible visual effects and the most famous artists of the time, like Michael Jackson, the Rolling Stones, Prince, the Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce,... This year it was Katy Perry's time, together with a short intervention of Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliot.
The other matter that gathers so much people is, well, the TV itself. It is convenient, it is always there for us, and for once, nobody says "There's nothing good on television". Even if the game is not good, people like to gather to watch this game, even if their team is not playing, or if they don't find the good commercials funny, or if the half time show is not their favorite of all times. It is an event that joins friends in front of a television, with food on the table... Simplicity and enjoyment always go hand in hand.
In conclusion, the Super Bowl is an unofficial National Holiday. People gather to watch TV in good company, rate the commercials they see and await for the half time show. And in between, there is also an interesting game where the best two teams play the last game of the season. What is not to like?
By the way, although the game may be secondary, this year it was really interesting until the end. The Seattle Seahawks (blue shirt) played the New England Patriots (white shirts), and it seemed like Seattle would win until Butler, from the Patriots, made this interception, one minute prior to the end of the game. This changed it all. Final score, 28 vs. 24 for the Patriots. Overall, a really good show!
Thanks for reading,
Lita & Andres
