Super Pig Out

The Super Bowl is a big deal regardless of who is playing but with the Giants in the game this time around it goes to an even higher level.
I know there are plenty of Eagles and Jets fans in but the Giants are the team of choice for most in the shore and when you throw in the historic implications of their meeting with New England…well you have a lot of anticipation.

Super Bowl Sunday has become a holiday in America even though it’s not on the calendar and does not come with a day off although the day after has become the biggest sick-day of the year. It’s the second biggest pig-out day of the year behind only Thanksgiving as we’ll eat more than 19 million pounds of potato chips and tortilla chips and wash it down with about $12 million worth of beer. Much of that will come at Super Bowl parties which will be attended by some 55 million of us with another 9 million watching the game from a bar or restaurant.

2 ½ million consumers will use Super Bowl Sunday as the deadline for buying a new TV and another 1.3 million plan to purchase new furniture, including home entertainment centers. The bottom line here is that a lot of money is spent and much of that by those who not only don’t root for the Giants or Patriots but don’t know a first down from a touchback. Show me an office or work place that doesn’t have a box pool circulating as 1 of every 5 workers in this country will be watching the game Sunday cheering for the numbers they’ve drawn in one of those pools.

I don’t know when the Super Bowl went from being a football game to an event but clearly too many what’s taking place on the field is secondary. As a matter of fact only 32% of those polled said the game is the biggest part of Super Bowl Sunday. 18% said it’s the commercials which draws them to the TV and it is the only sporting event in which many get food or go to the bathroom while the game is being played and sit glued to their seats during the commercial breaks.

The Super Bowl hangover on Monday has become such a problem that there has been talk the NFL will try and extend the season two weeks so the game could be part of President’s Weekend. Another thought is to play it on Saturday night, giving America time to recover the following day.

None of that matters this Sunday when the Patriots complete a perfect season with a 38-23 victory…they’re just too good. If you disagree then feel free to call me Sunday morning when I host Bob Levy’s Topic A.