The Super Bowl is the second most watched sporting event in the world far behind the World Cup. However, it is the most watched sporting event in America! So what is so super about the Super Bowl? The fact that the 2 greatest teams of that NFL season fight for the championship title and the Lombardi trophy in addition to the fame and fortune that come along with it. This is the moment that all NFL fans ,who religiously watch football every Sunday, have waited for! They obviously hope that there team is the one playing. (Side note: I'm sad that my favorite team that I religiously watch, The New England Patriots, weren't in it this year.)
Everyone can agree that this is the most momentous occasion in sports. The culture behind the Super Bowl is great! We can show off our pride for America through the patriotism that can be seen when "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "America The Beautiful" are being sung. May I say Alicia Keys did great, but I was brought more to tears when I heard Jennifer Hudson and the children from Sandy Hook Elementary School sing. The tremendous singing of these magnificent songs add to our patriotism. Another cultural aspect, the half-time show. This year it was done by Beyonce, who did a great job might I say since she didn't lip sync. She sang great when she did and like all artists before her didn't sing a lot of parts either. The half-time show has become more than just a singing show, but into a theatrical show as well (probably to attract more women to watch it). The final cultural aspect, is of course the hilarious commercials. My personal favorite from this year, the Oreo commercial in the library. These advertisement went for $4 million this year. That is insane! Companies think that by having a memorable 30 second commercial it will attract more revenue and make more profits. I have some belief that it does, but not enough.
However, in the end I think that the cultural values of the Super Bowl being so super, outweigh the costs that are attributed with it coming to town. The building of new stadiums help to attract more people and instill more pride for that city and teams fans. Some say the revenue attributed with the Super Bowl isn't sufficient, but I disagree. With so much money coming into the city and surrounding area, while prices are raised for everything, people there are willing to spend the money, otherwise they wouldn't be there. I think that the revenue they bring in is enough to pay off the stadium costs quicker than 30 years, especially when one hosts the Super Bowl 1+ times. Even if money is being spent at the stadium or national chains, more money is still being brought into the local economy than normal. Not to mention places that close for any sporting event often make more by having people pay to park than they would make anyways if they were to be open for business.
Well congrats to the Baltimore Ravens on there victory and hard fought battle. Don't worry fellow Pats fans, there's always next year. (We are the favorite to win next year 7-1!)
I agree, the cultural benefit of the Superbowl far out weighs any cost, however I am biased seeing as I begged my parents to let my play football after watching the Super bowl some 9 years ago. I too wonder how anyone could doubt the benefits of hosting a Super bowl.
ReplyDeleteI agree that football is about the most iconic American thing there is. Every kid growing up has dreamed about playing in the Super Bowl at some point in their lives. Culturally I would say its impossible to argue against hosting the Super Bowl
ReplyDeleteI think there's two separate questions: should a city host the superbowl? Obviously most fans would say yes. The other question is: does it make money for the city?
ReplyDeleteThose questions may have different answers. What's problematic, I think, is conflating the two. The economist, it seems to me, mainly objects to the strategy of arguing for the Superbowl by saying that it brings money without actually looking into this issue.
His claim is that, on looking into it, it is much more ambiguous. It is hard to say that it is a clear benefit for the city overall (as opposed to certain interest groups: restaurants, hotels, local politicians, etc.)
What's most interesting is the fact that we can't separate the two questions. People who favor hosting are simply much more likely, it seems, to say that it also makes economic sense. I think this is proof of Smith's claim that much of what we perceive to be decisions about self-interest are actually much more than that.
The cultural benefit of the Super Bowl is certainly unlike any other event in the world, but I don't think culture is the reason cities want to host it. Because, culture doesn't pay the bills. In my opinion, the number one reason for hosting a Super Bowl is to boost the local economy. The cultural benefits are only a secondary motive.
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