Title of America’s Pastime is…

Many Americans may not want to admit it, but football has unofficially — yet decisively — usurped the title of “America’s pastime” away from baseball. The National Football league is easily the most dominant sports league in the United States, inspiring a level of fandom and following that’s unsurpassed.

With the National Hockey League and the National Basketball League each having a season that spans 82 games, and Major League Baseball having a season that spans almost double that number of games (162), the rarity and importance of each of the 16 football games that every NFL team plays is amplified, especially for the teams with legitimate postseason aspirations. And again, unlike the other sports leagues whose postseason matches are decided over the course of several games, an NFL team’s postseason journey can either continue or end based on the result of one 60-minute game. Baseball, basketball, and hockey might be able to brag about the excitement of a “Game 7,” but in football, every single game in the postseason is a “Game 7.”

That’s perhaps one of the biggest reasons why the Super Bowl has become the most dominant sporting event in all the United States. It’s the 60-minute culmination of an entire season. In one afternoon or evening (depending where you are), on that first Sunday of February, a champion is going to be crowned. There’s no “tomorrow.” The anticipation, the excitement, and that pressure is not only felt by the players participating in the game, but fans all over the world who watch the game as well.

Naturally, as the NFL exploded in popularity beginning in the 1970’s and 1980’s, thanks to the dynasties of legendary teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, and Dallas Cowboys, so too did the importance of the Super Bowl in American culture. It became a de facto occasion for gathering, as fans would all get together to watch, discuss, and enjoy this last game of the season together. And with any type of gathering pertaining to sports, there would naturally be great food and drinks to accompany it. Out of these simple gatherings of friends and family came the ever-popular Super Bowl parties that we now know today.

As the league’s — and the game’s — popularity continued to skyrocket through the present day, it’s gotten to the point where you’re hard pressed to find anyone who didn’t watch the Super Bowl. Nobody, whether they’re a sports fan or not, wants to be the person who says they didn’t watch the Super Bowl, lest they be made to feel like some type of social pariah. Even those people who have no knowledge or interest in the game will end up watching it at some level. That’s exactly why companies — or more specifically, their marketing departments — brilliantly deduced that the Super Bowl is the perfect time to advertise their products, fully knowing they’ll be able to generate the most brand awareness, because of the number of people watching. Today, it’s to the point where the sports fans will discuss the results of the game several days after it’s over, but the more casual fans — or the fans who really don’t care about football — will pay closer attention during the commercials, discussing them for days on end after the game.

That’s why the Super Bowl means so much to the American people. It’s the one game where a player’s career can be immortalized. It’s a gathering in which everyone gets to enjoy the entertainment of the game, the food and drinks that are assembled, and the company of the people gathered. It’s a discussion point for everyone, regardless of their interest in the actual sporting event.

It’s simply the most popular event in American culture.