Everyone knows that the Superbowl is the biggest day of the year in America.  It definitely beats out all other professional sports championships, and may even be as popular as the Fourth of July.  But do you really know how big the game is?

Here are some tidbits to think about when your enjoying the Superbow XLIII on Sunday, February 1, 2009 between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers:

Superbowl Broadcast Facts

• The NFC lead the Superbowl series 22-20 all time against the NFC
• Superbowl XLIII will be broadcast in 232 countries and territories
• The Superbowl is broadcast in 34 languages
• The top ten network primetime telecasts since 2000 are Superbowls
• 1.5 million TV sets will be sold during the week of the Superbowl
• A 30 second commercial during the Superbowl will cost advertisers up to $3 million

Superbowl Social Facts

• The average number of people attending a Super Bowl party is 17%, over 20 million Americans
• Half of all Americans would rather go to a Super Bowl party than a New Year’s Eve party
• An estimated 68 percent who attend the game have never been to a Super Bowl
• An estimated 50 million American women will watch the Super Bowl
• Two out of five Super Bowl watchers are not even football fans. Even people who will never watch another game all year will tune in to be part of this one national event
• Research shows that about 25% of women actually enjoy watching the game during the Super Bowl, but that leaves 3 out of every 4 who don’t. It is true that those 3 watch it because they enjoy the commercials, the food, the drink, the friends and the overall atmosphere
• Super Bowl weekend is the slowest weekend for weddings
• On average, Super Bowl plans are made 41 days in advance, our research shows (By comparison, New Year’s plans are made 35 days in advance; anniversary plans are made 30 days in advance; birthday plans are made 25 days in advance.)

Superbowl Food Facts

• Nearly one in eight or 13% of Americans order takeout/delivery food from a restaurant for a Super Bowl gathering
• Most popular choices of takeout/delivery items on Super Bowl Sunday are pizza at 58 percent, chicken wings at 50 percent and subs or sandwiches at 20 percent
• Approximately one in 20 (4 percent) Americans watch the big game at a restaurant or a bar, over 9 million Americans
• On Super Bowl Sunday, Americans will eat an estimated 20 million pounds of potato and tortilla chips and eight million pounds of avocados
• Sales for antacid increase by 20% on Super Bowl weekend

Superbowl Media Facts

• The Super Bowl will always reach the magic line in the Neilson ratings of 40-plus [household] rating
• Each of the past three Super Bowls earned household ratings (percentage of the 108 million homes with a TV) just above a 40, and in 2000 the broadcast averaged a 43 rating
• The game will have an audience estimated at close to a billion people
• The Food Network will have aired at least a dozen shows with Super Bowl themes by Super Bowl week’s end
• Every Super Bowl since 1991 has had a rating of at least 40.2, with 1996’s game earning a 46.1
• The second-most watched Super Bowl in history was in 2003 with 137.65 million American viewers
• ESPN airs more than 160 hours of Super Bowl programming during Super Bowl week
• The Super Bowl has become advertising’s big contest as well. It is believed that close to 58% of people would rather take their bathroom breaks during the game than miss the commercials.

Superbowl Economic Facts

• It is believed that an estimated 300-400 million dollars will be pumped in to the local economy of the host city
• Consumers will spend an average of $49.27 (or $5.6 billion total) on Super Bowl-related items from food and drink to new TV sets, lounge chairs and entertainment centers
• The median annual income of a Super Bowl ticket holder is $70,000, with 33 percent making over $100,000
• About 35 percent of those who attend the game write it off as a corporate expense

source: wikipedia.com encyclopedia.com superbowlmonday.com

Now that Barack Obama is President, I think it’s time that push our commander-in-chief to make Superbowl Monday a national holiday (it would have been better if the Chicago Bears were playing, though).  That’s right, Superbowl Monday, the day after the biggest athletic event in the world. America needs to make it a nationally recognized day of observation.

Think about it.  Superbowl Monday is more of a family, friend and national event, than any other - including the Olympics.

Should it be a day off? Sure, instead of giving employees two floating holidays, remove one and replace it with Superbowl Monday, call it All American Day!

Now, I’m talking tongue in cheek here, but I was looking online and found a website that is actively petitioning for Superbowl Monday to be a national holiday.  There goal was to have 20,000 signatures by the end of 2008 (I think they got over 16,000) and to have the Superbowl Monday part of the U.S. calendar by 2010.

The truth of the matter is Superbowl Monday is probably the least productive day of the year.  People are hung over or tired or come to work and chat around the water cooler all day.  Then you have to listen to that guy who won the office Superbowl pool, the one who knows nothing about football. And then you get pissed off because they have no idea of football pool etiquete- no  clue that he’s obligated to bring in donuts for everyone on All American Day -  Superbowl Monday!

The truth of the matter is Superbowl Monday is probably the least productive day of the year.  People are hung over or tired or come to work and chat around the water cooler all day.  Then you have to listen to that guy who won the office Superbowl pool, the one who knows nothing about football. And then you get pissed off because they have no idea of football pool etiquette and their obligation to bring in donuts for everyone in the office. 

Anyway,  Superbowl Monday should be a national holiday.  And  I don’t want to hear whining of those who are soccer fans, or cricket fans, or those of you against competitive sports all together.  It should be almost as big as the fourth of July!

Superbowl Monday should be almost as big as the fourth of July!