SUPERBOWL

Ashley Pleger

In 1966, a war was raging in professional football. Right v. Wrong, Good v. Evil, it was the NFL v. AFL. During this era of football history, teams weren’t concerned with the players they had. They were concerned about the players they didn’t have. This sparked a war between the two football organizations to recruit and successfully sign as many collegiate athletes as possible. You might have heard of a guy named Joe Nameth. He was signed to a 400,000 contract immediately after graduating Louisiana. Not only was this the first huge contract to be offered but it also showed the intensity of this battle between the NFL/AFL. Quarterback already signed were only making 35,000. The teams established a “no tampering” rule but it was quickly broken. By ‘67 the two organizations merged giving us the greatest sport today.

The SuperBowl has become the biggest sporting event in the country but its beginnings were humble. The first game was played in for of thousands of empty seats at the LA Coliseum. Soon after, though, pro football’s championship game had captivated the public. SuperBowl I kicked off January 15, 1967 in Los Angeles, California. There were 61,946 fans and spectators in attendance to watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Green Bay Packers. The Packers took the game with the final score at 35-10. Vince Lombardi was GB’s head coach therefore the SuperBowl trophy was named after him. Just to give you an idea of contract salaries back then, the Packers received 15,000 per man and the Chiefs got 7,500 per man. This however, was the largest single game share in the history of team sports.

According to Hallmark, SuperBowl is now America’s top party occasion, surpassing New Year’s Eve. This past SuperBowl entertained over 800 million viewers and had over 85,000 in attendance. The American Institute of Food Distribution states that SuperBowl Sunday is the second largest day of food consumption behind only Thanksgiving. While SuperBowl is all about the teams playing and who you are pulling for, it has also become infamous for its commercials. In 1984, Apple Computers began commercial competition when they ran an ad introducing Macintosh. It was highly innovative and creative and is actually considered the most creative ever by some ad specialist. In 2001, 69 SuperBowl commercials were aired. Each 30 second ad cost 2 million just for air time, not including production costs.

Along with the commercials, viewers also tune in for the pre-game and halftime shows. There is also the National Anthem to see. In 1967 the Universities of Arizona and Michigan Bands performed all three. In 2003 the Dixie Chics performed the National Anthem, pre-game was performed by Bon Jovi, Santana, Beyonce Knowles, Melissa Branch and halftime consisted of Shania Twain, No Doubt and Sting. Up until around 1975, churches, universities and military organizations handled the National Anthem and halftime shows.

SuperBowl has come a long way to becoming one of the top five biggest events. Athletes are now more competitive and are getting signed to bigger contracts usually to the tune of millions of dollars. This NFL event gives recognition to not only the dedication that the players have put forth, but also recognizes the corporations that sponsor/promote it along with music artists who have dedicated themselves in a different way.

Links: www.superbowl.com