Clues for the Clueless
No, the Super Bowl is not a big chip bowl....so then what is it?

THIS IS WHAT THEY PLAY FOR
During the Fox broadcast (5 p.m.) you might hear the announcers mention the “Lombardi Trophy.” Awarded to the winning team at game’s end, it’s $12,000 worth of sterling silver (7 pounds), 22 inches high, and made in Parsippany, N.J., by Tiffany & Co. It takes 72 hours to hand-craft.

SHOW ME THE MONEY!
The players will be competing for something more tangible than pride: Cold, hard cash.

Lots of it.

Each player on the winning team will get $63,000 for that one game, and each loser takes home $34,500. This is in addition to the $34,500 each player won for conference championship games, the $17,000 each for divisional playoff games and the $17,000 each for wild-card games.

The extra money is nice, but players insist it’s “that ring” signifying champions they value most. The NFL pays for about 125 rings at $5,000 per (plus adjustments for increases in gold and diamonds). The league also graciously coughs up money for pieces of jewelry for the losing team.

WHAT A 30-SECOND AD WILL BUY
Fox is charging $2 million-plus for a 30-second commercial during the game. That’s a lot of money for one commercial, but with the huge audience — CBS said 131.2 million people watched last year’s Super Bowl — many advertisers consider it a bargain.

THE CHEAP SEATS
Tickets for 2002’s Super Bowl XXXVI at the Superdome in New Orleans have face values around $400.

If you don’t have a ticket but really want to see the game in person, you might secure a ticket through a scalper or ticket agency. Beware: Scalper and agency tickets are pricey, often starting at $1,500 a pop. (Gulp!)

THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT
During the Super Bowl XXXVI pre-game show, Paul McCartney will lead a tribute to honor the heroism that America witnessed after Sept. 11. His performance will be followed by Mariah Carey singing the national anthem. Mary J. Blige and Marc Anthony will join together for “America the Beautiful,” and U2 will perform at halftime.

Some previous stars to sing the national anthem: The Backstreet Boys (2001), Faith Hill (2000), Cher (1999), Jewel (1998), Luther Vandross (1997), Vanessa Williams (1996), Kathie Lee Gifford (1995), Natalie Cole (1994), Garth Brooks (1993), Harry Connick Jr. (1992), Whitney Houston (1991) and Aaron Neville (1990).

BOWL-ING FOR DOLLARS
Sales of large-screen TVs increase about five times during Super Bowl week, according to the National Electronic Dealers Association.

Most Super Bowls generate at least $100 million from merchandise bearing the Super Bowl logo.

Super Bowl weekend is the slowest of the year for weddings.BURRRP ...
No surprise here, but this is the top at-home party event of the year, surpassing New Year’s Eve. Not only that, Super Bowl Sunday is the second biggest day for food consumption behind only Thanksgiving, according to the American Institute of Food Distribution. Fans spend more than $50 million on edibles during the four days of the Super Bowl weekend (Thursday through Sunday).

Typically, Americans go through:

An estimated 14,500 tons of chips and 4,000 tons of popcorn.

8 million pounds of guacamole.

About 3,312,000,000 bottles of beer.

And, appropriately enough:

Antacid sales increase 20 percent the next day.

Six percent of Americans will call in sick.

credits

TCU Daily Skiff © 2002