The Super Bowl is the title of the final game for the National Football League (NFL) championship of the USA. This game became a national holiday of the country, especially because of multiple celebrations of the Super Bowl Sunday that accompany it. Like the Olympic Games, the Super Bowl brings people closer together and provides a break from everyday reality. This event is a prime example of how important sporting events can be to American citizens and what they represent in American traditions. In addition, this holiday reflects the peculiarities of American culture and the mentality of American citizens. Thus, this paper discusses the history of the Super Bowl and its features to demonstrate its significance in American culture.
Recently, football games were not so popular, so the AFC (American Football League) and the NFL had to fight for the audience. The Super Bowl was created because of the merger of the NFL with the rival AFL. After its creation, the NFL fought a few rival leagues until the AFL games began in 1960 as an alternative league (Fleegler para.2). However, over time, the two leagues realized that to attract viewers, they needed to join efforts to get even a little commercial benefit. Consequently, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle and Lamar Hunt, owner of the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, in 1966, agreed to merge the two leagues for the season in 1970 (Fleegler para.3). In the meantime, the winner of the NFL Championship and the champion of the young rival AFL played with each other at the end of the season (Fleegler para. 3). In this way, on January 15, 1967, the first game was held as part of the AFC-NFC championship (Hopsiker and Dyreson 1). The game has such a success among the audience that it became an annual event known as Super Bowl. After the final merger of these leagues, the Super Bowl became the game for the NFL title.
Since 1967, the game has been held annually on Sunday immediately after the playoff stage. The dates have changed over the years, but today, like the last decades, the Super Bowl is the event of the first Sunday in February. The Super Bowl games are denoted in Roman numerals but not the year they took place, except the 50th championship that was called “The Super Bowl 50” (Zanzucchi para.4). Besides, an NFL season starts in one calendar year and ends in the next, so using the year number is somewhat confusing. Although it may seem inconvenient, people are used to it, and this system is one of the particular features of the Super Bowl. Thus, although the first championship was not very successful, it started the tradition of the Super Bowl.
The history of the championship’s name origin is funny and accidental, although today it is known worldwide and represents the US. During the discussion, AFL founder and the owner of Kansas City Chiefs, Lamar Hunt, jokingly suggested naming the champion of the league “Super Bowl” (Zanzucchi para.4). Hunt came up with the name after seeing a toy of his daughter called the Super Ball (Zanzucchi para.4). Owners believed that this would be a temporary name until they found a more suitable one. The first official with a new name in the 1969 championship was called Super Bowl III, since football, any season’s start and end fall in different years, so using real date is confusing (Zanzucchi para.3). Although it is difficult to say that such a fun fact is a feature of American culture, it reflects a tendency that Americans who love and do their job create well-known projects without such an intention; for example, Apple or Starbucks.
The Super Bowl is a magic phrase for Americans, and all of America pronounces them on the eve of the main sporting event of the year as a spell. After half of the century, the Super Bowl became the most-watched TV broadcast every year in the US and almost the national holiday. Today more Americans watch the Super Bowl than vote on elections or attend religious services (Hopsiker and Dyreson 2). Long before the game starts, all tickets are instantly sold out and their cost can reach up to $5000. This shift happened because football games are no longer just a sport since they have become a manifestation of patriotism, national unity, a grand show, and a symbol of consumption.
First, most Americans watched the Super Bowl only because television and major companies put effort to make a show. During time-outs, famous pop stars’ brightest performances take place, including Lady Gaga, Luke Bryan, Beyoncé, Rolling Stones, Katy Perry, Coldplay, and others (Hopsiker and Dyreson 1; Taylor 169). During short breaks and before the game, viewers also watch various small shows and performances, such as cheerleaders dancing or teams’ greetings. For this reason, even those people who are not football fans watch the Super Bowl with interest. Moreover, most Americans do not know much about the rules of the game but visit the stadium or watch the game on TV just to feel the atmosphere of celebration and unity. This fact demonstrates one of the features of American culture, which is expressed in an abundance of loud and large-scale shows and concerts and the development of American show business. Americans who are used to Hollywood movies and Las Vegas shows are hard to surprise, and they demand spectacle to keep them interested.
This way of attracting attention has made the Super Bowl practically a national holiday. The brightness and fun of the Super Bowl have made it a traditional viewing experience for most Americans, who gather in front of TVs and stadiums with friends. Such unity of the whole nation on this day evokes a sense of patriotism in most viewers, since the tradition is exclusively American, as is the game. Although football has become more widespread all over the world, it was and still is a game of Americans and makes them proud of their invention. In addition, the US anthem is played at the beginning of each game, which awakens patriotic feelings in the audience. For this reason, those in the United States who express dislike for the Super Bowl can be jokingly accused of being non-American (Hopsiker and Dyreson 2). Consequently, the Super Bowl phenomenon also demonstrates the patriotism of American culture, which is manifested in the observance of the national tradition of watching sports.
Another feature of the Super Bowl is the commercial break culture, which is also a favorite part of many Americans. Commercial companies regularly design their best advertisements for this particular broadcast. Hence, people discuss these commercials, which is a critical part of the event. The cost of 30 seconds of advertising during the Super Bowl is $5 million, and only the most successful companies can get this time (Taylor 167). For this reason, every ad should be a masterpiece that will be remembered by viewers and will pay off its cost. In addition, the most memorable ads are discussed after games in the news and TV shows, which brings them even more fame (Taylor 167). This emphasis on commercials demonstrates the consumerism of American culture. For this reason, advertising is an opportunity for companies to gain an advantage in American consumer culture by claiming the quality and uniqueness of their product. Besides, the very viewing of ads and the Super Bowl is also an informational consumption; thus, maximum funds and efforts are invested in them to impress the viewer who is tired of the variety of food and entertainment.
Therefore, the Super Bowl is one of the most exciting and significant events in contemporary US culture. Over fifty years, an ordinary football game has become a national holiday that reflects the peculiarities of American culture. The Super Bowl is an expression of the US consumer society, which requires new approaches to amaze and interest viewers with both information and products. The Super Bowl is the result of a commercial effort that has created a new cultural phenomenon. However, at the same time, this event is a manifestation of patriotism and national unity, which is caused not by a historical event but by a sports game. This game allows people to come together and cheer for their favorite team, uniting an entire nation. Thus, Super Bowl Day is indeed a national holiday for Americans, and the importance of such events cannot be denied because it imbued people with patriotism and inspiration.
Works Cited
Fleegler, Robert. The History of the Super Bowl. The American Historian, 2020. Web.
Hopsicker, Peter, and Mark Dyreson. “Super Bowl Sunday: A National Holiday and a Global Curiosity.” The International Journal of the History of Sport, vol. 34, no. 1-2, 2017, pp. 1–6.
Taylor, C. R. “Some Interesting Findings About Super Bowl Advertising.” International Journal of Advertising, vol. 35, no. 2, 2016, pp. 167-170.
Zanzucchi, Mia. Super Bowl 2020: Why Does NFL Use Roman Numerals for Naming? NBC Sports, Web.