Super Bowl Monday: Tennessee lawmaker proposes holiday to recover from game day festivities
When the Philadelphia Eagles face the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII on Sunday in Arizona, the teams will leave nothing on the field in an epic battle that will surely require some major recovery time after the game. Turns out, that's also true for many of the 100 million-plus fans expected to watch the game on TV.
Instead of sore muscles and bruises, they may have other complaints: overindulgence in pizza, perhaps, or too much beer and booze. Or, just staying up too late.
The result?
According to the Work Force Institute's annual Super Bowl poll, roughly 1 out of 5 employed Americans – an estimated 26 million people – are likely to miss at least some work on Monday.
Nearly 19 million of those workers – those who don't work from home – plan to skip work outright or take the day off. Another 8 million plan to sleep-in and show up late.
And for the die-hards who do manage to make their way into the workplace on time? Thirty-three percent say they will likely be less productive because of the Super Bowl festivities the night before.
According to the folks at Workforce, it's an economically costly problem that's not likely to improve anytime soon — unless you happen to live in Tennessee. Earlier this week, Rep. Joe Towns Jr. of Tennessee co-sponsored a bill that would make the Monday after the Super Bowl an official state holiday.
Towns said the inspiration for "Super Bowl Monday" arose from some having a lack of desire to go to work on Monday after the excitement of attending Super Bowl events.
"'Man, I wish I didn't have to go to work!'" Towns said. "You know, it's kind of like that."
In fact, that Workforce poll found more than 2 out of every 5 U.S. employees — or 42% — agree, saying the day after the Super Bowl should be a holiday.
The bill has been drafted, so perhaps in time for next year's Super Bowl, which, Towns said, will hopefully include the Tennessee Titans.
But, Jacobson asked, will the lawmaker himself end up a casualty of game day?
"I have about three places I'll stop by," Towns said. "And the last one will be the one that'll cause me want to have a day off."
But, Towns added, he probably will be exempt if the bill goes through.
"I think that, with me being initiator of this kind of bill, everybody will know that I would be pulling my leg if I called in sick, okay? So, I have to be here. I will be right at work."