Essay, Research Paper: The Superbowl As A Tradition

Over the last thirty-five years, the Super Bowl has developed from a simple, league-championship game, into a supposed world-championship game, and in the process, the biggest spectacle in entertainment. When the original championship game was played between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs, no one could have imagined the effect the game would have on American society, and the way people accepted the game.
Back when the game was just that, a game, people would habitually join together to watch the game on the last Sunday of every January. Families would gather in the living room, around their thirteen-inch television, and watch in awe as their favorite teams battled on the gridiron to see who would be league champ. Every year, the families would follow the same routine, drive to a relative s house, eat dinner, and watch the game. After the game, the family would pile into a car and drive home; and wait to do it again the next year.
With the invention of satellite television, more and more people, not only in America, but also around the world, could see the game of football. You no longer had to root for a team in your region; you could see games as far as the other coast. This brought a lot of attention to the game of football, and its popularity in America skyrocketed. More and more people were watching football every Sunday.
In the late nineteen sixties, the NFL and AFL merged, adding more teams to the
NFL, and setting up a league championship game that would be seen by the whole world every year: The Super Bowl. Initially the game was just that, a game. Not very many people were interested in watching the supposed best game of the year, when in actuality it was just another football game. The fans wanted additional entertainment.
Since the inception of the original Super Bowl, the NFL has tried to book the best half time entertainment year after year, to keep the thousands in attendance, and the millions watching at home thoroughly entertained. Every year the NFL office has booked stars from Michael Jackson to Diana Ross to sing at half time of the game. There has also been growing anticipation every year on how entertaining the commercial breaks will be. People throw parties each year, not for the game, but for the commercials.
In the late nineteen seventies, the NFL needed a better way to entertain the audience during the half hour that the teams were off the field; they needed to find a way to keep the fans in their seats. The authorities within the NFL introduced the half time show. The half time show would consist of a musician or group who would perform for the half an hour. Today the half time show garners more attention than most of the game.
Another reason the Super Bowl attracts the audience every year are the commercials. The commercials did not factor into the hype surrounding the game until the mid-eighties, when television advertisements were considered new and innovative. Companies realized that with the exposure from the game, they could generate a large amount of revenue from the target audience, who were watching at home. In order to get the audience to buy into their product, advertisers had to be creative and witty when deciding what substance their commercials would contain. People now were watching the game every year, not only for the game, but also for the half time show and commercials. The commercials were a new sensation, and cause for conversation around the water cooler the next day at work.
Each year the Super gives people a good excuse to go out and have a party. The last Sunday in January is no longer spent in the living room with the family watching the big game , but is usually spent at bars or other venues where the masses can converge and watch the game as well as the commercials. There are people who plan all year for their parties. The majority of people who watch the Super Bowl every year are not necessarily concerned with the outcome of the game. That inconsequential. What they want to do every year during Super Bowl weekend it go out and have a good time, visit and see friends they haven t seen in a while, and if they happen to cross a television screen, watch the game.
The Super Bowl has evolved from being a lowly annual football game, into a yearly entertainment spectacle. From the hilarious television ads, to the game itself, the Super Bowl seems to provide entertainment for everyone. Today, the entertainment value alone brings people together every last Sunday in January since the late sixties. As long as the game is played, and there are some commercials and a half time show, people can keep on gathering every year for the ritual they call the Super Bowl.