Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


      From Pizza to Commercials, Everything About Super Bowl Sunday is Big

   by Chris Hannas

   The spectacle of the U.S. National Football League's annual
   championship game extends far beyond the stadium in California where
   the Super Bowl is being played Sunday night.

   Super Bowl Sunday is as close as its gets to a national holiday in the
   United States that is not actually a holiday.  People across the
   country gather with friends and family at house parties and bars to
   watch the game, making for historic television ratings.

   Last year's game brought in 114 million viewers in the United States,
   making it the most watched program in history.  The next five programs
   on that list are also Super Bowls.  According to the Nielsen research
   service, 71 percent of all people watching TV during last year's Super
   Bowl were tuned to the game.

   Twitter also said that during last year's broadcast there were more
   than 28 million tweets about the Super Bowl.  Expect much of the same
   interest Sunday with CBS Sports streaming the game for free on its
   website and apps.

   The big crowds come from the social aspect of the day, which is not
   confined to football fans.  Food is a key part of any super bowl party,
   with staples such as chicken wings, chips and salsa, and of course,
   beer.  Super Bowl Sunday is one of the top sales days for pizza chains.

   The television broadcast has another element, the commercials, that
   people talk about both before and after the event.  It is a chance for
   companies to reach more consumers than at any other time, and thus they
   spend big money producing ads they hope will be among the favorites of
   the night.  The cost to get those commercials on television also spikes
   to levels unseen at any other time.  This year, companies are paying
   about $5 million for 30 seconds of air time.

   The highs of Super Bowl Sunday turn to lows Monday when people go back
   to work.  Conversation about big plays and the commercials inevitably
   includes wishes that the day after the game was a day off from the
   office.

   In 2013, someone in the southern state of North Carolina went to the
   platform set up by the White House to elicit ideas from the public and
   started a petition asking President Barack Obama to make the day after
   the Super Bowl an official holiday.  More than 17,000 people added
   their names, but that was not enough support to get an official
   response from the White House.
     __________________________________________________________________

   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/super-bowl-sunday/3180337.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/super-bowl-sunday/3180337.html