Why Do People Get So Excited About the Super Bowl?

What would it take to get people as excited about education as they are about a football game? Does it strike anyone as odd that the percentage of Americans who watched yesterday's Super Bowl drastically surpasses the percentage of American's who get an annual physical? What would it take to get people as excited about more worthwhile investments of their time as they are about a football championship?

To date, the three most watch television broadcasts in United States history have all been Super Bowl broadcasts. Not "State Of The Union" addresses by the President, not a space shuttle launch, not educational programming, and not a telethon raising funds to find a cure for childhood diseases.

• According to one article, teachers estimate that only 57% of parents attend parent-teacher conferences.
• According to the Washington Post, 25% of Americans didn't read so much as one book last year.
• However, according to Sportingcharts.com, each year, over 100-million people tune in to watch the Super Bowl on TV.

First, let me state I intend no disrespect to those who enjoy following professional sports. People don't understand why I stand in line for hours to see a Star Trek movie, drive all the way to Los Angeles to meet one of the stars from the show for a total of 30 seconds, or why I would pay $200 for a used Enterprise Christmas ornament. We all have our interests.

If 100-million people are tuning in for a Super Bowl broadcast on TV, that breaks down to about 1/3 of the American population. A few months ago, I attended a free recital in Grand Junction performed by a young Violin prodigy who was born and raised in a third world country. Inflated estimates of the number of people in attendance at the concert would be somewhere around 100 to 110 people at best.

Based on estimates from 2012, the population of Grand Junction, Colorado, is 59,899. So, by my math, only one out of every 598 people in Grand Junction attended this incredible performance, but one out of every three residents can set aside an entire day to watch the Super Bowl.

My question relates to the monumental fascination people have with this one game. The video store across the street from my house had a sign in the window over the weekend which read, "We will be closing at 4:00 on Sunday for the Super Bowl... go Broncos!"

Businesses closing early? People financing trips to New Jersey, paying between $1,750.00 and $7,500.00 for a single ticket to Super Bowl? Does this not seem a bit out of proportion?