Watching the Super Bowl for more than just the game
2 min read
IBTimes | Creative Commons
By ANDREW ARENAS
Around this time every year, the nation’s largest and most watched television event is viewed by millions around the world. The Super Bowl has become a day where friends and family come together and consume tons of snacks at parties all across the country.
Having the shared experience of watching the Super Bowl is an everlasting bond for all of us and the brands that take part in it. We live in a culture that craves shared experiences that can consolidate us. The Super Bowl that was broadcasted on Sunday night gave us the opportunity to have that celebratory experience, from the halftime entertainment, the competition, to even the commercials.
Cable programming, satellite delivery and broadcast stations continue to be fragmented and having a unified event for such a large audience is so rare, which is what makes it attractive to people and advertisers. The event has become so much more than just to see the game that determines who wins the NFL championship; it’s a media spectacle that will be talked about for the weeks to come.
It is the Super Bowl commercials that attract non-sports fans who might not watch the game at all. One of the best commercials that got everyone talking was in 1984, when Apple aired the famous one-minute ad that introduced the Apple Macintosh personal computer. Since then, the commercials have contained cute talking animals, supermodels and celebrity product endorsements.
The halftime show is a must-watch spectacle that brings in some of the most discussion after it is over. This year’s half time show in particular highlighted the grand history of other halftime shows showcasing artists such as The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson and U2.
Having a Super Bowl party with friends and family is a great way of enjoying the event with others and experiencing the highlight moments as they happen. Baseball is always known as America’s pastime, but football is intertwined in the country’s culture. The NFL season has fewer games by a large margin than other major American sports, with 16 games in a season compared to the 162 in baseball. This makes football games more consequential and ultimately more eventful.
Super Bowl Sunday is that unofficial holiday in the United States that can be enjoyed in a multitude of ways. People want to view the event to be in the conversation of what happened in the days, months, or possibly even years after the big game is over.
