Omaha!
How many times will Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning yell this word at the line of scrimmage during the Super Bowl on Sunday?
This will be just one of the innumerable prop bets taking place during Super Bowl 50. But it’s also one of the storylines behind the gridiron granddaddy of gluttony, offering viewers who aren’t football fans something to cheer for, bet on or laugh about.
This time of year is typically the most boring, long after we scream “Happy New Year!” and before we mutter “Happy Valentine’s Day” to our football widows. It’s a cold, dreary netherworld, so why not escape it by watching a five-hour global event that everyone else will be talking about on Monday?
This the universal aspect of spectator sports, even for non-fans of the NFL. It can entertain us, distract us and offer us an end run to escape our lives, if only for a few hours. The Super Bowl also offers us a day-long reflection of ourselves – what we want, what we value, and what we deem important.
A professional sports game at its pinnacle. The rich history of a pop culture phenomenon. The all-out blitz of multi-million dollar commercials. A glitzy half-time show that resembles a rock concert. And a reason to get together with others to overeat, overdrink and overanalyze an overhyped kid’s game. Let’s break it down.
First quarter – how things have changed
The first Super Bowl was played on Jan. 15, 1967, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, when the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 35-10. No one could have imagined how much the championship game could have evolved to what it is today.
In that year, the U.S. population was 197.5 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The current estimated population is 322.8 million. That’s quite a jump until you see how much the world’s population exploded, more than doubling from 3.5 billion to 7.3 billion.
In 1967, the median sales price of a new single-family home was $22,700, according to Census figures. This year, it’s estimated at $282,800. The median annual income in 1967 was $7,289 for men and $4,198 for women. This year it’s projected at $49,400 for men and $30,087 for women.
The cost of a gallon of regular-octane gasoline was 33 cents compared to $1.86 (as of last week). The price of milk was $1.03 a gallon compared to $3.31 a gallon today. And a first-class stamp cost 5 cents compared to 49 cents today.
The contrasting Census figures that caught my attention most was the number of foreign-born Americans. In 1967, that figure was roughly 9.6 million, which comprised 4.7 percent of our total population (with Italy the leading country of origin). This year that figure is 42.4 million, comprising 13.3 percent of our total population (with Mexico the leading country of origin).
Again, I’m guessing that no one in 1967 imagined how much our country would have evolved to what it is today.
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Second quarter – super-sized trivia
We know the average cost of a 30-second TV commercial in this year’s Super Bowl is around $5 million. But did you know that a commercial in the first Super Bowl cost about $40,000?
This is one of many trivia tidbits revolving around the game, making too many armchair quarterbacks sound like Cliff Clavin from the TV show “Cheers.”
Still, such fast facts are handy to dish out during the game, which features only 12 minutes or so of actual game-time action. The rest of the time is filled with huddles, booth reviews, sideline strategies, and so on. (Another trivia tidbit for you to share.)
Also, did you know that Super Bowl bonuses for players on the winning team will be $102,000, with losing team players paid $51,000. (In the first Super Bowl, $15,000 was paid to the members of the victorious Green Bay Packers.)
More trivia: Do you know who has more Super Bowl rings than any player in NFL history? It’s Charles Haley. Who? Yes, the defensive lineman won two rings with the San Francisco 49ers and three rings with the Dallas Cowboys.
The fastest score in a Super Bowl game is just 14 seconds. By who? The Bears’ Devin Hester, who returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI.
One final yet tasty tidbit: According to the Hass Avocado Board, Americans are expected to consume 139 million pounds of avocados (for guacamole) Sunday. Really? Hmmmm.
Third quarter – the essence of competition
The sociological upside of football is that it creates a familiar huddle for fans from different social classes, religious beliefs, political parties and geographical end zones.
Instead of, say, rooting for what faith we worship, our lifestyle choices or our political leanings, we can say we’re Broncos fans, Panthers fans or simply sports fans. By doing so, we get drafted onto a roster of like-minded fans, transcending so many other societal walls, obstacles and prejudices.
For me, it all boils down to competition, the pure essence of all sports. All the other trappings shoved down our throat – commercials, hype, analysis – are merely the price we pay to watch such competition. Is it worth the price? We’ll see.
Fourth quarter – suggested Tweets
The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism claims that too many fans will overindulge with their drinking as the game drags on. And the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says Sunday night is one of the most dangerous times to drive because so many people who drank at parties are driving afterward.
The NIAAA offers this suggested Tweet: What’s the most important drive of the Big Game? The drive home. Visit www.RethinkingDrinking.niaaa.nih.gov. @NIAAANews #SafeFans
My suggested Tweet: Drink up my final score prediction and drive it to the bank – Panthers 27, Broncos 24. #OmahasAreOverrated
Twitter @jdavich