Making Super Bowl Sunday a National Holiday

So this week I learned that my daughter’s u13 travel soccer team had a game scheduled at 5:30pm on Super Bowl Sunday (here on the East Coast that basically coincides with game time at SoFi stadium in LA).  Worth mentioning that I’m the coach of my daughter’s team and we’ve been having a great season.  But the truth is:  I didn’t want to give up this once-a-year event with family and friends, especially during a pandemic when in-person get-togethers are just too few and far between.

Super Bowl LVI / NBC

And it got me thinking (with a bit of tongue in cheek since I’m not even a football fan): maybe Super Bowl Sunday should be a national holiday.  In reality I don’t expect the US Congress to get this passed (or just about anything passed these days). 

Here are the top reasons that Super Bowl Sunday is revered in our family, and I hope it is in your family too:

The Competition:

Even non-football fans like me have to appreciate that five months of competition lead to one single game, winner takes-all, no participation trophies awarded for second place….and I love that.

An Ending and a Beginning: 

Regardless of your religion or faith, we constantly revere and celebrate points in time where one cycle ends and another begins.  So it is for the Super Bowl, the end of the football year for players and fans, but the beginning of the next football year for football owners and front office executives.

The Epitome of American Pop Culture:

Want to know what musicians are hot right now, watch the halftime show.  Wondering what products and companies are defining our culture, watch the Super Bowl ads.  Curious to know who are the biggest influencers and what are the hottest topics, watch them trend on social media during the big game.

Time with Loved Ones: 

I’ve always been a “more the merrier” kind of guy…and so for every Super Bowl in recent memory, I’ve been surrounded by many family and friends.  Some really care about the game. Some really just care about the ads or the halftime show.  And some want to get to bed early so they leave after the first half. But I love them all nonetheless.

The Culinary Cornucopia: 

I always love how everyone brings their best football day dish to the Super Bowl party (a bit of a competition in and of itself).   Nothing fancy, or pricey, just down-home cooking that will leave you full and happy by the end of the night.  This year’s Super Bowl party with my family will feature buffalo wings, rigatoni bolognese, pizza, pear and balsamic vinegar salad and more.  

So, while my daughter’s travel soccer team is on a tear this year, the Super Bowl is a great reason to take a day off from games/practices to enjoy what’s most important in life.

Post by Ian Goldberg, CEO of iSport360 and #GirlDad. Ian is a passionate sports dad, youth sport coach and Founder of iSport360. He spends more time at the ballfields than most, but considers it valuable R&D for the company. As the Editor of the iSport360 newsletter and thought leader in the youth sport industry, Ian is a frequent speaker at industry events and was recently invited to join the National Advisory Board for the National Alliance for Youth Sports.