Happy (NFL) holidays!

Bill's Rant

The notion of Super Bowl Sunday as a sort of national holiday has pretty much taken root. It's certainly not a novel idea, but I want to stake a claim to spreading that particular gospel for more than a decade. I used to open the college undergraduate classes I taught with the lecture on sports' important role in American culture by using the Super Bowl-as-a-holiday concept.

By now, you've probably heard it all about how the NFL championship mimics other holidays: great anticipation of the event, targeted consumer spending, a gathering of family and friends and a shared object of attention (replace the Christmas tree or Thanksgiving turkey with a big-screen TV).

But in a recent survey released by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association, there was one finding that indicated how the essence of Super Bowl Sunday transcended passes, tackles and touchdowns.

When those who watch the game were asked what was the most important part of the Super Bowl for them, only 46.7 percent of the respondents said it was the game itself. More than a quarter of those likely viewers said the commercials were most important. Nearly 20 percent said simply getting together with friends was most important. And nearly 8 percent said the halftime show.