For now, and until Lionel Messi indicates otherwise (with his impressive impact with Inter Miami), “American football” – as Americans call it – continues to be the unbeatable sport in popularity in that country. And with an immovable date, the second Sunday of February, in this case the following 11thmarked for its central event: the Super Bowl, the grand finale.
Naturally, the aura of Messi himself and the other star of astronomical media proportions of the last year, Taylor Swift, will be present in this period in the final, starring the reigning champion, Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers.
It happens that Messi – who is on a pre-season tour with his football team – protagonist of one of the commercials that will be broadcast during the match. And the Nashville diva, who shook Buenos Aires and many cities with her 2023 shows? I wouldn’t go there either, as the Eras Tour has a date scheduled in Tokyo… But Taylor Swift has her place secured given that her boyfriend, in the most mediate couple in the world, Travis Kelce, is one of the stars of the Chiefs.
The Kansas team arrives fourth time in the final in the last five yearsafter winning the American Conference title against Baltimore, in what set a television ratings record for American football broadcasts (with kisses from Taylor and Kelce included in the celebration).
San Francisco, another team with great tradition, defeated the Detroit Lions to define the National Conference. Both They will clash on Sunday starting at 8.30pm, Argentine time, for the 53rd. edition of the SuperBowl for the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, with a capacity of 65 thousand spectators. This time the classic halftime show will be the protagonist, which usually brings together the main figures of pop Usher and DJ Tiesto, an explosive duo.
Anyone trying to get a last minute ticket will have to pay resale tickets ranging from $6,000 to $10,000. A record, like many that are broken in every edition of the SuperBowl. The most expensive resale tickets, until now, were paid three years ago for the final in Tampa, Florida, when the stadium’s capacity was limited by the pandemic.
The game itself is only one part – important, fundamental, obviously – of a real commercial arsenal, but it mobilizes venues in every sense. Last year, the impact of that weekend in the Phoenix, Arizona area, where the Chiefs defeated Philadelphia, was billions of dollars, a figure that will surely be surpassed by now. 570 million had already moved to Miami 2020, in addition to the 4,500 jobs generated.
Hotel capacity is overwhelmed, marketing is overwhelming, and the movement of restaurants and diverse attractions is unmatched by any other event of the season.
Las Vegas hotels took advantage of this to spend a night this weekend in some of their “luxury” hotels such as the Bellagio or the Fontainebleau One thousand dollars.
The TV show will come more than one hundred countries, while the Super Bowl broadcast will be broadcast on the networks. In the United States alone, the same audience went from 91 million in 2021 to 115 million last year, a figure that is now expected to be surpassed. According to AdMetro’s report in USA Today, both CBS and Fox, in charge of such coverage, charged 7 million dollars for 30 seconds of advertising in last year’s broadcast (6.5 million in Superbowl 2022). Both chains have assured that they have sold all their spaces.
“Messi’s commercial for Michelob beer – notes the New York Times – It will cost at least one minute and 14 million.”. Ricardo Marques, an executive at the brewery, confirmed the announcement to the AP and said that “having the best of all time, Lionel Messi, and the SuperBowl stage to kick off the year in an explosive way is something that we enthuses.” There’s no need for introductions. The power he has, the impact that his arrival in Miami had in the world of football and beyond, make us understand It is now a cultural symbol”.
Taylor Swift’s influence in the current championship, which concludes on Sunday, was already beyond doubt, even as she annoyed rival Kansas teams, with the singer’s image taking over all coverage. Many others take advantage of it. For example, American Airlines is offering an exclusive “1989” flight between Kansas and City and Las Vegas this week, in homage to one of the Swifties’ iconic albums. And another of the flights bears the number “87,” the same one Travis Kelce wears on his clothing. Moreover, the champion with the same number that Taylor Swift showed off to take to the field and congratulate her boyfriend is already breaking sales records: it is the creation of Krystin Jusczyk, stylist… wife of Kyle, rival of the Chiefs in the Superbowl.
Furthermore, it is estimated that 73 million Americans – one in five adults – will bet on this game, another growing market. These are data from the American Gaming Association. Already last year, US fans spent 106 billion dollars on sports betting (16 billion on the Super Bowl).
“American football” does not derive from “our” football – the most popular sport in the world – but from british rugby, but for half a century it has expanded towards these astronomical figures. Amid the tension or euphoria over the SuperBowl, little will be said about its physical risks (even the warnings keep coming) and perhaps, for us, everything is closer than what has come to us through cinema. Like Jerry Maguire, with Tom Cruise, or what is probably the best of the films made about this activity: “Every Sunday”, with a great Al Pacino.
Source: Clarin
