You may assume I hate the Superbowl because I am the nerdy type who dislikes sporting events. I don’t know why you might do that, but you might. It is, however, very much not true. I quite enjoy many sports; they are fun to play, good exercise, and a decent reason to get together with friends. It’s also fun to watch, and pretend to be a part of a team (even if your part is drinking beer in the basement). I don’t even judge those who care too much, and follow player statistics, know player names, and all of that–everybody needs a hobby. It’s kind of a waste of time, but so is pretty much everything, so go ahead and waste away in a manner of your choosing.
Moreover, I don’t even hate the Superbowl because of the ridiculous salaries players get. I mean, sure, they’re getting paid way more than what they’re doing is worth, but they bring in crowds… And that brings the franchise tons of money, so in a way they’re paid what they’re worth. There is a lot more to say on how the relationships between cities that have teams, and the teams themselves, and the arenas that house the teams work, but in principle they make a lot of money because they bring in a lot of money, so we’ll leave it there for now.
And no, it isn’t even because I hate ads, and ads are one of the biggest parts of the Superbowl. I do hate ads, and I’m sure I’ll mention that again, but here’s the thing.. And the Superbowl is what, the most watched event all year? At least in the USA. So companies pay a fortune to put their ads on. But because they’ve spent so much money on them, the ads are fairly well put-together. Some people, who don’t even like football, find them so entertaining that they’ll watch (or watch replays) of just the ads. And again, if that kind of time waste floats your boat, more power to you.
Here’s the thing. I think the superbowl is a massive missed opportunity. It’s the biggest sporting event of the year. People throw parties, gather their friends, watch the game… But it’s just another game. Sure, there are better ads, and a big half-time show, but I think it needs a little more drama. If football is so big, and this is your big event, put in a little more effort.
Think about any sports movie you’ve ever seen. There’s an underdog story, or the players are going through something hard, or there’s something big to prove. You’ve got bigger conflict than, “we want to win more than they do,” you’ve got inspirational speeches, you’ve got dramatic cuts and raw emotions. That’s what the Superbowl needs.
Each team should be required to film a number of shots before the event to cover a spread of contingencies. Last few seconds of the game and you need a touchdown or it’s over? Film a ten-second motivational huddle. Just got intercepted? Film your quarterback falling on his knees in emotional pain. It’s half time and the other team is ahead? Get the coach’s rallying speech. Get both teams to record a bunch of these, for winning and losing, and then during the actual game between plays you play whichever ones fit. Drama. Emotion. War. Turn a game into a movie-quality experience.
They already do player bios, and stories of the team’s history trying to build up the hype. They’ll do news stories on the players’ wives, and the struggle it took to get them there. I’m just saying… Take it further. And then when the game is all over, the winning team gets one of those credits montages with captions of what each player went on to do. Make it up, heck, let the players write their own.
Sure, it would all fake and made up, but you’re taking a live action sporting event, and turning it into something new, in real time. The game itself would be exactly the same, but the experience is elevated. Considering the resources they have available, I don’t think that should be too hard, and would turn out really well. And with all the attention and money being dropped on the event, the added spectacle would be worth it. Heck, even I might bother to watch it then.