Having watched every Super Bowl since 1987, when Phil Simms and the New York Giants defeated John Elway and the Denver Broncos, I’ve noticed it’s no longer really about the football.
It’s becoming more about business and also about excess.
Super Bowl XLV is set to go this Sunday in Arlington, Texas and it’s fitting – as they say, “Everything’s bigger in Texas.”
Tickets to the game are big, when it comes to price – according to ticket buy and sell website stubhub.com, tickets to the plaza party cost between $150 to $698 – tickets to the actual game cost between $2,299 to $294,008 according to stubhub.
Commercials are also a big thing when it comes to the battle for the Lombardi trophy.
A Sept. 22, 2010 report from Reuters said that a 30-second spot in this year’s game cost advertisers $3 million and there was no shortage of companies willing to spend.
Big names and big acts are also part of the game. The National Football League won’t be skimping on the national anthem ceremony, as Christina Aguilera will lend her booming voice.
Like the anthem, no expense was spared on the halftime festivities as The Black Eyed Peas will be performing, and speaking of ads, sponsorships and the like, halftime entertainment is brought to you by Bridgestone.
But while big acts for the anthem and halftime have been a tradition for some time, the NFL is also getting big acts to perform prior to the game.
Prince, Faith Hill, Kid Rock and Duran Duran are also being hyped for performances in the days leading up to Super Sunday and tickets aren’t cheap either.
The site of this year’s Super Bowl is also a monument to excess. Cowboys Stadium, which holds 80,000 and is said to be able to hold up to about 100,000 when standing room is factored in, cost over $1 billion to build.
The stadium covers 73 acres and the entire stadium site, 140 acres.
The Jumbotron screen, said to be the largest in the world, measures 72-feet high and 160-feet wide, hanging from the roof and consisting of four sides – atop the screens, where no one can see, the Dallas Cowboys’ logo.
In a case of irony, the two
combatants hail from areas of America that are known for working class people – that would be Green Bay and Pittsburgh.