Photo: APOn Sunday, February 11, the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco Fourteeners will fight for the Super Bowl trophy in Las Vegas.
For Charlie McCormick, a senior at Harvard, and for many Americans, the Super Bowl is like a national holiday. The clash of the two best NFL teams in American football, at the stadium in Las Vegas, will be an opportunity for all of the United States to gather and enjoy sports, but also the performances of famous musicians at halftime, as well as everything that the atmosphere that surrounds the "spectacle of spectacles" brings. , writes Voice of America.
“I love American football and I think it's a great sport. I try to watch it as much as I can during the season. But to me the essence of the Super Bowl is community. I'm going to have a party with my roommates and friends. There will be a lot of food and we'll have a big party," McCormick told VOA.
On Sunday, February 11 in Las Vegas, the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco Fourteeners will fight for the Super Bowl trophy.
The first Super Bowl was held in 1967, and since then the popularity of this event has only grown, so much so that it has largely gone beyond the borders of sports, including the United States, and probably represents one of the strongest export "products" of America.
What's the secret?
"The secret to the success of the Super Bowl is directly related to the fact that the NFL is unmatched by any other sport or league in this country in terms of its ability to 'capture' America's obsession with sports. We call baseball America's pastime. And football is what I call an American obsession," Martin Conway, associate professor of sports management at Georgetown University in Washington, explains to VOA.
He adds that there are several key factors to the SuberBowl's popularity - the role of the quarterback in the NFL, the possibility of betting on the games and fantasy sports, in which fans make their own teams.
"The quarterback basically became a celebrity. Not only in sports, but he became the face of the team and in many cases the NFL”. Another element is betting and fantasy sports. People bet, they follow their favorite players," says Conway, but adds that on a global level, the Super Bowl still lags behind the finals of the World Cup and the Champions League or the Olympic Games.
Profitability, "televisibility" and simplicity
Jeremy Duru, professor of sports law at American University in Washington, says that the reasons for the obsession with the Super Bowl and American football should be sought in the profitability, "televisibility" and simplicity of the sport.
The difference between the NFL and sports, Duru explains, is that during the regular season, there are only 17 games played in American football, and every one is important.
"In baseball and basketball, players skip games. But in football, all your best players play unless they are injured. And even if they are sometimes injured, to some extent, they still play. And so there is a feeling in football that every moment counts. You have to watch every game. And the Super Bowl - well, there's only one game played at a neutral site and the winner takes it all," he adds.
A global phenomenon and a paradise for marketers
As one of the most watched events in the world every year, the Super Bowl has become a "paradise" for advertisers, and for companies that market products, the place to be.
It is often referred to as the "Super Bowl of advertising" and because it draws large audiences, "the networks were able to sell ads at astronomical prices," according to Ann Osborne, a professor at Syracuse University.
According to the NFL, more than 183 million people in America watched at least one minute of the Super Bowl broadcast last year.
"The other thing the NFL has done very strategically is to attract and sign artists for the halftime show that are really spectacular, like Beyoncé, Prince and others. They want to be liked by people. "They were thinking of attracting an audience that might not be so interested in the game through those performances at halftime," Osborn points out.
This year, the main star at halftime will be Usher, and the national anthem will be sung by Riba McIntyre, also known as the "Queen of Country Music".
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