I never understand how the Super Bowl evolved into this big cultural event.
I’m just a more casual fan. But when you get right down to it, the Super Bowl is simply the NFL championship game. Yet for some reason, it’s a big event far beyond football.
Only one reason...$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
The Super Bowl is the beneficiary of a feedback loop. First the NFL is the most popular sport in America, with the only thing coming close being college football (most years football and football related programs make up around 97 of the 100 highest rated shows in the country). This makes it very popular with advertisers.
Next because the NFL is our only major pro league that doesn’t have playoff series we always know ahead of time the exact date a champion will be crowned. This is also very popular with advertisers since they can buy 1 add in 1 game to get that audience.
Because of that certainty of scheduling anybody that might share an audience with the NFL tries not to schedule against the Super Bowl. Once again something advertisers love.
So then it becomes basically the red carpet of commercials. With new ad campaigns started there, some commercials only ever shown during the Super Bowl.
Which just adds more “event cred” to the game. The Super Bowl isn’t just the biggest game of the NFL season, or even just the biggest sporting event of the year. It is the biggest television event of the year.
So ratings go up and up. Making it more desirable for advertisers. Making it a bigger event. With more viewers...