The Super Bowl is an event that no longer needs to be introduced, unless it’s to our wallets, especially after the game last night. With wardrobe malfunctions, national anthem screw-ups, chicken wings, Madonna, beer and the best football teams and players of the United States (sorry, Cleveland), it’s not that surprising that the game has almost become the equivalent to a national holiday in America.
Yesterday’s game was broadcast to more than 185 countries in 30 different languages, according to The Bleacher Report. Additionally, 68 percent of the U.S. was expected to tune in to watch the New York Giants and the New England Patriots fight through blood, tears and sweat during the 46th annual Super Bowl to get four things: a ring, a paycheck, a six-and-a-half pound trophy and potentially a ticket to the glorious hall of fame.
Everything you need in life, right?
Is it honestly a good thing that our nation has put a sports game on such a high pedestal?
It’s a bit ironic that more than 63,000 people are willing to pay between $600 and $13,638 on nfl.com for one ticket while complaining about the recession, taxes, college tuition and health bills. All elements that are actually detrimental to life, which are obviously tradeoffs for a football game or a supposed “lifetime experience” that you might not even be able to see, especially if 2011’s accidental oversell of tickets repeats itself.
Instead, our health care, college, and life insurance are scams, but $600 for nosebleeds at Lucas Oil Stadium for the Super Bowl is a steal.
Thankfully, in the past, America’s values were a little less skewed.
At the first Super Bowl game 46 years ago, tickets cost between $6 and $12. The winning team was only paid $7,500 each instead of today’s payoff, $88,000 per player. The event was also recorded as the least-attended game in Super Bowl history with only 61,946 people in attendance at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Then, not a single company would even consider sponsoring the game. Now, international companies, including PepsiCo and Anheuser-Busch, are lining up to pay $3.5 million for a 30-second commercial.
Clearly, football used to be seen as a simple form of enjoyment and entertainment as opposed to what football represents today. The sport was not viewed as a $13,000 investment, or a necessity for that matter. Health was more important than touchdowns, and college textbooks were more valuable than a playbook, as it should be. Too bad that’s not the case any longer.
If only the world could be reminded of the values in 1976 — or at least the ticket prices.
Lindsay Friedman is a freshman studying journalism and a columnist for The Post. Would you pay $600 for a nosebleed seat at the Super Bowl? Email her at lf328610@ohiou.edu.
