Super Bowl Sunday is a big day in the United States. Sometimes referred to as Super Sunday, it is the day that the championship final in the National Football League (NFL) is being played.
It is an annual event, where family and friends gather together and usually eat a lot of food and drink a lot of (alcoholic) beverages while watching the game on TV. Typical Super Bowl foods are chips, wings, pizza and dipping sauces, such as guacamole, while beer is the favorite drink. On no other day, there are so many pizza deliveries as on Super Sunday.
Unfortunately, the police have noticed that there is more drunk driving on Super Bowl Sunday than on other days. Some commentators refer to Super Bowl Sunday as a holiday, since it brings people together.
Every year, it is the most watched television program in North America, while it claims the second spot on the list of most watched sport events worldwide, the UEFA Champions League soccer is number one on that list.
Super Bowl Halftime Shows
Super Bowl Halftime shows are known to be one of the most watched events on American television. Since the 1980’s, the Super Bowl Halftime shows feature popular artists. During the Sixties and Seventies, the halftime shows of the Super Bowl mainly featured marching bands. Artists that performed during the past decades include Madonna, Beyonce, Michael Jackson, U2, Justin Timberlake, Diana Ross and New Kids On The Block.
The halftime Super Bowl Show in 2004 caused a lot of controversy in the United States. Janet Jackson was performing together with Justin Timberlake and he exposed the breast (with a nipple shield) of Janet Jackson. MTV was producing the halftime show for the NFL and after the incident, the National Football League announced that the music broadcasting station would never be involved in any future Super Bowl Halftime shows.
Super Bowl Commercials
Super Bowl Sunday is also known for the Super Bowl commercials. These are high-profile commercials, often from well-known brands. Showing your commercial during Super Bowl comes for companies at a high price: a 30-seconds commercial will cost approximately 4 million US dollars.
(Sources: About.com. Wikipedia, Chiff)