Through the years, some of the most powerful voices in America have called for the Super Bowl to be moved from Sunday to Saturday.
There’s ESPN wiseguy Kenny Mayne.
There’s the American Mustache Institute (yes, really).
And, now, to that distinguished choir I add my own feeble contribution.
Not that it will ever happen. The NFL is entrenched in its position to own every Sunday – and every other day of the week, for that matter – and it certainly isn’t going to give up the climactic Sunday. The networks hate Saturday. And the host cities require an entire weekend to bilk the visitors before sending them home with damage to both wallet and liver.
Many good arguments for moving the game to Saturday apply. The at-home Super Bowl parties could be more lavish without the Monday work day looming. The kids could take in the entire game without fear of paying even less attention in school the next day.
The Monday after the Super Bowl often is classed as one of the least productive of work days, as employees chatter about the commercials, the halftime, and, to some limited extent, the game itself. Although, honestly, moving the Super Bowl one day won’t fundamentally alter our national impulse to waste time at work.
Not working the game – that duty this week is left to the skilled hands of D. Orlando Ledbetter and (No First Initial) Jeffrey Schultz – has left me with a new perspective on where America’s most overblown sporting day belongs on the calendar. Saturday would just be a more personally convenient – and my convenience is something the NFL should make paramount.
I would love a Sunday to recover. A little more time to decompress from all the excesses of a Super Bowl week, not to mention an extra day to unearth the half-eaten pigs in a blanket any guests may have left between the sofa cushions.
And wouldn’t we all be healthier for one less day of build-up?
Super Bowl Saturday. Why not? It even has the same alliterative ring as the current arrangement.
It just makes too much sense to ever happen. So, carry on and try to make the best of your Super, sigh, Sunday.
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