Muller: The Super Bowl...Way Over-Hyped?
By Shawn Muller--
Finally!
After two weeks of having the Super Bowl shoved down our throats by every possible media outlet known to man, the game is officially over!
Of course, we are not out of the woods just yet. We still have to listen to post-game reaction by the media this week (and probably next week) too.
Maybe I am bitter because the Bears' biggest rival won yet another Super Bowl title and their 13th NFL Championship overall last night. Maybe it was all of "the Lombardi Trophy finally comes back home to 'Title Town'" talk afterwards that had me so annoyed? Maybe it was the 4 hour long pre-game show?
Or maybe it was the fact that I think the Super Bowl is the most-overrated sporting event in the United States.
Before you clench your fist in anger over the fact that I would dare to say such a thing, just hear me out.
What other sporting event in our country gets as much hype as the Super Bowl? The World Series? Nope. The NBA Finals? Uh-uh? How about the Stanley Cup Finals? If we were in Canada, maybe.
I am fully aware that the NFL is easily the most popular sport (outside of NASCAR, anyway) in our great nation, but I just don't understand why it seems like EVERYONE gets so excited about a game that features TWO teams that only TWO fan bases care about?
I know that some people are just plain nuts about the NFL…they are on full display every week during the regular season. These are the type of people that can watch any game, anytime, anywhere--and believe me--I have plenty of friends that fall into this category. To them, the NFL is like a drug and the Super Bowl is their last chance to get their football fix before they have to wait until the following fall before they can get another taste.
I do not fall into this category.
Don't get me wrong. I like watching the team I root for playing at any chance possible, but once my team has been eliminated from the playoffs, or the playoff picture entirely, I could care less who wins the title. Call it being bitter all you want—and maybe I am—but if I am not a fan of the Green Bay Packers or the Pittsburgh Steelers last night, why should I have cared about who won the game? My team didn't win the title this season, so I could care less about which team got to celebrate in Cowboys Stadium when the final seconds ticked off the game clock.
To me, the only thing I like about the Super Bowl—assuming my team isn't playing—is the winner-take-all format. One game, one chance, one day…that is all a team gets to claim a championship. While all the other sports have championship series that feel like they take an eternity to finish...the Super Bowl is a one day extravaganza. There are no do overs and there are no, "we will bounce back in the next game" opportunities. You lose the big one Sunday and you are finished.
Other than that, I think of the Super Bowl as a Monday Night game on steroids...but with better commercials.
Do you agree with Shawn? Post your comments below.
Shawn Muller has lived in Chicago for 7 years. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and just recently received his certificate in radio broadcasting in October of 2010. Sports have always been a passion of Shawn's. In his free time, Shawn enjoys spending time with his wife Melissa and 3 year old daughter Ava, catching any live sporting event, and traveling. Check out his radio show, "Grab Some Bench with Muller and Bangser" at www.blogtalkradio.com/spmuller24.
