Illustration by Cassandra Stewart
by R.J. HUNT
Editor
Super Bowl Sunday can be one of the most exciting times of the year. As a die-hard Lions fan, I have never felt a direct connection to the Super Bowl, but I’m always pumped to watch. No matter how big one’s sports fandom is, all eyes are on the big game. Many TV series won’t release a new episode the night of the Super Bowl because they know where everyone’s attention stands. Whether you watch the game itself, the halftime performance, or the commercials, the game is enjoyable for everyone.
On the day of the Super Bowl many people invite family and friends over to have a Super Bowl party. This is where the trouble comes in. Adults, football, and parties are a recipe for disaster when the next day is a work day. Therefore, I say let’s just go ahead and let the Monday after the game be known as “Rest-Up Monday.”
When I was young, my mom would send me to bed before the game would end. The problem is when you have people yelling in your house after every big play, it’s hard to go to sleep. I hate to throw my dad under the bus, but every time it was an interception or a touchdown, it would wake me out of my sleep. I would go to school the next day and suffer. I forget what year, but it was the day after the Super Bowl. I was in English class, and the teacher had the class read a book. Safe to say my eyes didn’t stay open to read. Even when I was finally able to stay up and watch the whole game, school would still be a problem. My friends and I would talk about the game in the middle of class. Of course, we would all get in trouble, but how could we help it? The Super Bowl is a big deal. No matter what, I would be tired or I just wouldn’t even be able to focus. Sometimes, it would be both. School was simply the last thing on my mind.
According to The Workforce Institute at Kronos Incorporated, on average 17.2 million employed U.S. adults miss work every year the day after the Super Bowl. It’s no secret. We all know the majority of people who call in aren’t sick. On the other hand, there is a thing known as Super Bowl fever, where many report a fever the next day due to the festivities they took part in the night before. Let’s just stop wasting everyone’s time. A day off would ease the stress of all involved. It would make it easier for the ones who call in sick don’t have to stress about lying to their boss. It would make it easier for the ones who actually do go to work. If a day off for everyone is planned in advance, you don’t have to worry about your coworkers’ absence making your day harder. Just shut down the office for the day.
I will never forget the Super Bowl that featured the Patriots vs Seahawks (don’t remind me of the interception at the one yard line, I’m still not over that). That year there was a bad snowstorm. My school called right before the game and said no school the next day. All I could do was jump up and down. That was one of the best Super Bowl Mondays of all time. I got to stay up and watch the whole game. Watching the game, while knowing you don’t have anything to worry about the next morning is a great feeling.
In the past, some cities have canceled school and work the day after the game. This was because the team in the game represented their city. This year, Cincinnati Public Schools have already announced that, whether the Bengals win or lose, there will be no classes the day after the game. Most cities that have a team in the game will do this, unless you’re the city of Los Angeles, who are spoiled by having 11 different professional teams in the market, and can count on one of the 11 teams winning every year. Sorry Rams fans, you will be going to school or work.
My point is I’m arguing for the whole country, not just the city involved, to acknowledge this as a day off. So much goes into the Super Bowl. The city that hosts the game will put together an itinerary with a week’s worth of festivities, the companies who pay millions of dollars for a 30 second commercial, and of course picking the biggest names in music to perform at halftime. It’s more than a game. It’s an American holiday. If I’m having fun with family and friends, the last thing that I want to be on my mind is how I will prepare for school or work the next day. Since all of America seems to have been having this problem for years, it’s time to make a change. It’s time to enjoy Super Bowl Sunday and relax during Rest-Up Monday.
I will say if the Lions make it, and win at that, then everyone should have a whole week off. You could stretch it to a month if you wanted to. How about a year? Too much?
