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A mega Super Sunday and, oh, a football game
Super Bowl XLI is about much more than mere athletics.
By Warren Richey | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitorfrom the February 1, 2007 edition
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MIAMI - The grass alone costs a half million dollars.
Local hotel rooms are going for $250 to $1,800 a night with a four-night minimum stay. The average game ticket is selling for $5,000. Skybox seats are a little more pricey with some topping $200,000 each. And a 30-second TV ad costs $2.6 million.
They don't call it the Super Bowl for nothing.
As many as 1 billion viewers in 230 countries are expected to tune in to watch the Indianapolis Colts battle the Chicago Bears in the National Football League championship game Sunday evening. It is the biggest stage in American sports. And with pregame and halftime entertainers like Prince, Billy Joel, and Cirque du Soleil, some might even call it the greatest show on earth.
Football is the marquee attraction, but Super Bowl XLI is about much more than mere athletics. It has become a kind of national celebration of competitive accomplishment, a clinic in effective management, an arena to spotlight the creative talents of the advertising world, an inducement to sell more than 2.5 million big-screen televisions in stores nationwide, and an excuse to order billions of pizzas. For 120,000 fans headed to Miami, it means a long weekend of nonstop partying.
But ultimately the Super Bowl is about money – big money. "It is the most watched sporting event in the world and the exposure it brings is truly priceless," says Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez.
He estimates the event could yield a $400 million boost to the south Florida economy. Some economists question the size of the boost, but all agree the event pays lasting dividends.
"This is the hottest city in the world and it gets hotter as the sun goes down," says Miami Beach Mayor David Dermer, touting his trend-setting South Beach neighborhood. "Our hotels are packed, our city is vibrant, and we have the best weather on the planet."
Private and corporate jets are already arriving. Limousines are booked solid. Caterers are working flat out. And the competition is heating up over who will host the wildest pregame parties. On Friday night, a thousand dollars gets you into The Fifth on South Beach to engage in lively football banter with Hawaiian Tropic beauty pageant contestants.
Another option at $995 is the Taste of the NFL Party on Saturday. Top chefs from the 31 NFL cities share their talents with paying guests who dine and mingle with current and former NFL players.
Not everyone is partying. Bears Coach Lovie Smith has made it clear that he has only one priority in south Florida.
"I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't dance – what is there for me to do?" he told reporters with a laugh. Coach Smith added: "To show up Sunday [to compete in the Super Bowl], that's all the excitement you really need, as I see it." He's set a midnight curfew for Da Bears.
There are drawbacks to attracting international attention. Homeland Security officials have designated the Super Bowl a "Level 1 national security event," akin to a State of the Union speech.
Officials say there is no specific intelligence suggesting a terror or other attack is imminent, but they say they have planned for almost every eventuality – including the potential death of Fidel Castro during halftime.
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