Charlotte Journal: Super Bowl 02/08/2014

Charlotte Journal　　02.08.2014

I feel bad about writing about the same thing, but you cannot live in the US in this season without this. So, let me talk about the Super Bowl, the annual championship game of the NFL.       The Super Bowl is not only the biggest game of American football but also is the biggest sporting event in the US. The game enjoys tremendous popularity. The Super Bowl has continuously been the most-watched American television broadcast of the year (the viewing rate is over 40%), and “Super Bowl Sunday” is the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption after Thanksgiving Day. Not only about the game itself, but people also enjoy talking about which musician plays what in the pre-game and halftime show. It is a proof of popularity for singers and musicians to sing the national anthem of the US in the pre-game ceremonies or to perform the halftime show.  Even watching and discussing the broadcast’s commercials has become a significant aspect of the event. There is a competition of Super Bowl advertisements, and companies develop a new advertisement for this broadcast. Because of the high viewership, the cost of commercial airtime during the Super Bowl broadcast is increasing every year and was $4m (JPY 400m)per 30 seconds this year. By the way, the tickets for the game cost at least JPY 250,000 at the regular price. People still scramble for those tickets, and it is always extremely hard to get one. There was even a lawsuit claiming that the tickets are not fairly distributed and cannot be purchased. The problem is not about the price but that the event is so popular that the ticket cannot be bought for money.   The Carolina Panthers, the American football team based in Charlotte where I live, proceed to the playoff tournament this year. Although the Panthers were seeded, they lost the game with the San Francisco 49ers that came through awildcard. The 49ers were, then defeated by the SeattleSeahawks, and the Seahawks moved on to the Super Bowl. They fought against the Denver Broncos. This was an exciting match between the leagues’ strongest offensive team (the Broncos) vs the strongest defensive team (the Seahawks). It was a big experiment to decide the winner from “a sword that penetrates any shield” or “a shield that blocks any sword”.   I wanted to feel the American culture on site rather than watching the game at home. In the same as I did last year, I went to a sports bar. The game started 6:30 PM. I went to a bar at 5:00 PM, but the barwas already full (they did not take reservation). Everyone had a glass of beer and was ready for the game. I ended up watching the game in a smaller bar. Football fans usually get excited at the home team’s games cheering and crying at each play. The bar I went was rather for the older people, and there were not many people who were enthusiastically watching the game.  The game itself was one-sided. As compared to last year, it was a quieter Super Bowl Sunday. But still, it was exciting to be a part of a big event. It was fun.   I heard many people in Japan had an ‘Ama-loss symptom’ after the popular morning TV drama seriesof ‘Ama-chan’ ended. Now that the season of American football is over, I have got an ‘Ame-losssymptom’. I look forward to the next season.