How the Super Bowl Became Supersized

Question

Themes: Competition

On January 15, 1967, the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs kicked off a new era in professional football. Dubbed the AFL-NFL World Championship Game, it had a top ticket price of just $12, and still the stadium didn't sell out. Meanwhile, the halftime show featured a couple marching bands and two guys flying around with jet packs.

Fans of football history remember that seemingly quaint event as the inaugural Super Bowl, which the Packers won 35–10. In the years since, this annual grand finale of the American football season has not just grown, it has transmogrified into an entertainment and commercial extravaganza and de facto national holiday that transcends the world of sports.

Becoming the Big Game

The seeds of the Super Bowl were planted in 1959 when National Football League (NFL) owners spurned a group of tycoons who wanted to add their own teams to the league. Rebuffed, these entrepreneurs launched their own eight-team American Football League (AFL) that included the Dallas Texans (that later became the Kansas City Chiefs), Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, and others.

Pro football was becoming increasingly popular, and for several years, the AFL vied with the NFL for money, fans, and the best players. Finally, in 1966, the two leagues negotiated a merger to take place in 1970, which would combine the two leagues into one larger organization with two conferences. Until then, they agreed to hold a title game each year that pitted the top team from each league against the other—what became the Super Bowl.

The older NFL boasted of being the vastly superior league, and the Packers dominated the first two AFL-NFL championships. That's why the third championship game in 1969—the first one officially called the Super Bowl—is remembered as a game changer. Led by a brash quarterback named Joe Namath, the AFL underdog New York Jets beat the heavily favored Baltimore Colts 16–7—a dramatic upset that showed that the AFL was the equal of the NFL.

Funded by soaring television revenue, the NFL made football the most popular sport in the United States. The Super Bowl was its crowning event, and year after year it has remained among the top-watched programs, with more than 100 million U.S. viewers tuning in. It's also now broadcast in 25 languages across more than 190 countries.

From Sport to Spectacle

Professional sports are big business, and for years, the Super Bowl aimed its appeal chiefly at football and sports fans. Like most businesses, though, the NFL has always been eager to expand its customer base.

To that end, the Super Bowl halftime show went through a dramatic transformation starting in the 1990s. Since then, marching bands have been superseded by megastars of pop, rock, country, and hip hop. These half-hour mini concerts roll onto the football field on giant stages, backed by dozens of dancers and pyrotechnics. These shows featuring musical luminaries like the Rolling Stones, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Rihanna target a very different demographic from football, with its dedicated fan base.

Another unexpected Super Bowl attraction has emerged to entertain home viewers—the commercials. Few other TV events have so many eyes glued to their screens, and in recent years, advertisers have been willing to pay around $7 million for a 30-second advertisement during the game. Companies roll out eye-grabbing ads they hope will get consumers talking or laughing. A significant number of Super Bowl viewers report tuning in in large part for the commercials.

Taken together, these modes of entertainment translate into big bucks for the big game, with the Super Bowl generating about $14 billion in consumer spending each year. Only a small fraction of that comes from ticket sales, though the average ticket now costs $10,000 and many far exceed that.

The Super Bowl has come a long way from being a season highlight for devoted football fans. Yes, it still promises athletic heroics and a climax to the football season, but in its present-day iteration, the Super Bowl brings together millions of people of diverse ages, backgrounds, and interests to share in a singular, supersized cultural moment.

Think about and discuss these questions:
What kinds of entertainment did the Super Bowl offer at different times in its history?
Would you prefer to watch an old-fashioned halftime show or a modern one, and why?
What is one way the Super Bowl has changed over time? Write a sentence that clearly shows what happened when. Use clues such as dates or words that show time order.

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Answer 1

The Super Bowl has evolved significantly in terms of entertainment offerings over the years. In its early history, particularly the inaugural event in 1967, the Super Bowl featured entertainment that could be deemed quite modest by today’s standards, such as marching bands and a couple of performers with jet packs. However, as the event grew in popularity, it transformed into a larger spectacle. Starting in the 1990s, halftime shows began to feature major musical stars, such as the Rolling Stones and Beyoncé, transforming the halftime segment into a sought-after musical event that witnesses millions of views in its own right.

Personally, I would prefer to watch a modern halftime show over an old-fashioned one. The contemporary performances bring together high-energy music, elaborate staging, and impressive choreography that create a vibrant, engaging experience. They not only entertain football fans but also attract a diverse audience who may not be primarily interested in sports.

One significant change in the Super Bowl over time is the shift from simple halftime entertainment to elaborate musical performances starting in the 1990s. For example, in 1967, the halftime show consisted of marching bands, whereas by the 2000s, it featured major pop and rock stars who performed visually stunning shows. This evolution reflects the increasing commercial and cultural significance of the Super Bowl in American society.