The Super Bowl: More Than Just a Game

In American culture, the Super Bowl has become one of America’s most important events. Whether it is for the social experience or for the TV ads we all watch the Super Bowl for various reasons. But what are these reasons? What makes them important? What role do these reasons play in our culture?  Whatever these reasons might be to understand them, first we must look into how the Super Bowl came about, only then will we begin to understand what they mean to not only the game, but also to the American culture.

The Super Bowl was a result of the official formation of the NFL. Before the game there were two divisions of football the AFC and the NFC. (Shmoop.com) When the NFL first had its Super Bowl it was nothing compared to what today, we see as the Super Bowl. It was just a game between two teams. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that the Super Bowl became a cultural phenomenon:

“Perhaps even more significant than the action on the field, the 1970s witnessed the beginnings of the Super Bowl's transformation from a mere sporting event—albeit a wildly popular one—into a true force in American popular culture. The first really memorable Super Bowl ad aired in 1973, when blonde bombshell Farrah Fawcett seductively lathered Noxzema shaving cream all over the smiling face of Joe Namath. While the ad now seems almost hilariously rudimentary in its production values, it proved the Super Bowl's potential to launch memorable branding campaigns. (Shmoop.com) “

Thus the Super Bowl was born and there began a cultural revolution. It was after this commercial that advertises and big business owners really started to capitalize on the commercials. Advertisers came to realize how powerful an ad could be.  David Henley of the NY daily news put it perfectly:

“Is there another event in television history, or human history for that matter, where tens of millions of people were so eager to hear sales pitches? It’s probably true, of course, that most of us aren’t going to jot down our favorite ads and race out to buy the product. (Hinckley)

The Super Bowl soon became something far more than just a game, it became an experience. Advertisers soon became more creative with their commercials. Take for example in 2006, Doritos created a commercial contest where fans could create their own commercial and have the chance for it to air during the game. (crashthesuperbowl.doritos.com) This creates a sense of community and belonging. It also gets generates hype for not only the game but also for the actual commercial. In a recent survey done by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, it found that 25.8% of people watch the Super Bowl solely for the commercials. On top of that they also found that 4 million people buy a brand new TV just for the game. (Hinckley) Regardless to say, TV is by far one of the largest drawing factors that will bring us all together as one community.

            On the other hand, some people may argue against the importance of the commercials. One blogger believes that the commercials are solely for entertainment purposes:

“These are some of the most entertaining commercials to watch on television, but do they actually work in selling the product?  Reports show a well-made ad can make a difference in a products sales and awareness. Honestly, I remember the story of the commercial, but not the brand name or product sold. (Kirby)”

First off, if a commercial does not provide an entertainment value, a person will lose interest. After all, some of the most impactful commercials have been played during the Super Bowl. An example includes during 2011 where a young boy dressed as Darth Vader tries using the force on various objects, but has no success. However, his father comes home in his Volkswagen and when the boy tries using the force on the car, the alarm went off. This created a lot of buzz about the commercial and even got the boy various television interviews.  This buzz is extremely important to a product. The more people are talking about the commercial the more likely they are going to see the Volkswagen logo and associate the commercial. In theory, then they might go and take a look at the dealership.  If ads where not effective why would they still be on TV? While it might be true that you might not go out and buy a product, you’ll still notice it if you pass by.

            Another reason why people watch the Super Bowl is for the social experience. Families and friends get together and watch the game. Alongside this food consumption is at a high rate: 

“Super Bowl Sunday has become the country’s second-largest food consumption day, trailing only Thanksgiving.Thexodirectory.com estimates we consume 4,000 tons of guacamole, 14,500 tons of chips and 4,000 tons of popcorn. We’ll eat 1.23 billion chicken wings, making 615 million chickens very unhappy, and drink 325 million gallons of beer. (Hinckley)”

Obviously food is a big deal and a huge money maker. The question that you may then ask is why are the sports teams so important? We understand the significance of why some people watch the game, but what about the people that watch the game for the teams? What makes the teams so important to them and the game? 

            It is my belief that the reason we place so much value on the teams is because of a concept known as “the word is not the thing” which is a concept from a book I read (Communicating Well: A Fundamental Toolkit). This idea suggests that the words in themselves mean nothing we give them associative meaning. In other words, we could call a chair a desk and a desk a chair, as long as we collectively agree that object is represented as that word it doesn’t matter what we call it. Similarly, with the Super Bowl or any sports in general, we identify with that particular team for a reason. Teams build a sense of community and belonging. Without this connection that unifies us under one body sports in general would not quiet be the same.   

 

Resources

Chinn, Brecken, John Barrett Dorria DiManno, Marcy Holbrook ,Robert MacDougall, Vicki Nelson, Sharon Sinnott, Ruth Spillberg. Communicating Well: A Fundemental Toolkit. 1st ed. San Diego: Cognella. Print

David , Hinckley. "The Super Bowl is the biggest show of the year, but football is only part of it." NY Daily News. N.p., 2 Feb. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. <http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/football-part-super-bowl-article-1.1597013>.

"Doritos Crash The Super Bowl." Doritos Crash The Superbowl. Friotos , n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. <http://crashthesuperbowl.doritos.com/>.

Kirby, Tyler. "Are Super Bowl Commercials Really Worth the Investment?" Massey Communications. 31 Jan. 2014. Web. 10 Dec. 2014.

Shmoop Editorial Team. "Culture in NFL History." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. <http://www.shmoop.com/nfl-history/culture.html>.