Can you imagine spending $29,385 on a football game? That sum, nearly as much as the average Mississippi household earns in a year, is what Massachusetts native Marcel Nadeau paid to take his two sons to the Super Bowl.
Why?
“I’m confident the Patriots will win,” he said before the game.
Mmmmm, how to put it? That stinks.
For about the same amount, Mr. Nadeau could have had a never-before-driven 2008 BMW 128 ($28,000). Or he might have bought a three-bedroom, one-bath summer home for sale right now in Batesville, Arkansas. Or he could have stood outside the stadium and given each of the 75,000 ticket holders one pre-game Pabst Blue Ribbon.
So is this Marcel Nadeau crazy? No, he just has more money that most of us. NFL teams have inspired this kind of fanaticism across the country. According to a recent Harris poll, professional football is almost as popular as baseball, auto racing, and basketball–the next three pro sports–combined. Plus, Mr. Nadeau got three nights’ hotel, breakfast, and transportation to and from the game.
I went for free, as one of nearly 5,000 credentialed journalists from around the world. (On an unrelated note, it’s worth mentioning that the NFL employees who deal with the media are the best in the world at this kind of work. And those involved in credentialing deserve a big, fat raise.)
As a writer there to cover the game and to do some reporting for a longer article on the NFL, I could pick and choose among Super Bowl week’s non-game-related activities. Not surprisingly, I didn’t make it to a breakfast sponsored by “NFL Play 60,” the league’s “youth health and fitness campaign.” No bacon? No thanks. I also passed on an opportunity to see “The Tazón Latino II”–a flag football game between retired NFL players and Latino celebrities–that took place at something called “The NFL Experience Built by Home Depot,” sponsored by Coors Light.
My NFL experience could not have been better. On Friday night, I walked down the red carpet at the Scottsdale Performing Arts Center to attend ESPN the Magazine‘s athlete-studded “What’s Next?” party. There was C.C. Sabathia, Brian Westbrook, Marcellus Wiley, Willie McGinest. I thought I’d fake out the long line of eager photographers by pulling my baseball cap down over my eyes and shielding my face from the blinding flashes the way the celebrities do. But those flashes never came because the only pro athlete I resemble now is bowler Brian Himmler.
In a feeble attempt to combine my interest in football and my interest in politics, and because the game was in John McCain’s home state two days before Super Tuesday, I spent the weekend asking anyone I recognized who they support for president. Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, told me he had maxed out his support to McCain. MC Hammer, who looks just the same as he did when I saw him live in 1991, wouldn’t touch it. Sean Payton, coach of the New Orleans Saints, also demurred, but gave me a hint about his politics. “I’d much rather tell you who I’m supporting here,” he said. “The Giants. They’re the more conservative club.” Jim Belushi, an avid Chicago Bears fan, said he planned to write in his choice. “Mike Ditka.”
With all of the hype surrounding the Super Bowl, it’s easy to see how the game itself sometimes gets lost. Not this year. The undefeated New England Patriots came to Arizona poised to make history as the NFL’s first 19-0 team. Instead, they made history by losing–the second biggest upset since the first Super Bowl some four decades ago. The highlight of the game–and possibly of the decade–came when Eli Manning shed three Patriots defenders to fire a pass 32 yards downfield to David Tyree, who seemed to defy the laws of nature by clutching the ball against his helmet and then holding on as he crashed to the turf. That Tyree was a relatively unknown player who had lost his mother six weeks earlier gave the narrative further dramatic appeal.
There to witness the upset, in seats on the 50-yard line, was Marc, a mutual fund manager who told the Associated Press that he paid $40,000 for a package that included tickets for himself and his three young sons, all Giants fans. “I see it as a once in a lifetime event,” he said. “It’s not something I’m going to do on a regular basis.”
I’m different. I do see it as something I’d like to do on a regular basis. (On an unrelated note, did I mention how great the NFL . . . )
STEPHEN F. HAYES
