Vegas’ Balance Sheets Weren’t The Only Thing That Got Destroyed at the Super Bowl

Vegas’ Balance Sheets Weren’t The Only Thing That Got Destroyed at the Super Bowl

By Scot Sherman
February 7th, 2011 at 9:37 am

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An all-time ratings record, set just last year, got destroyed as well. As were the hopes of the masses that their NFL is the most “perfect”, pristine, and satisfying sport in the world. As were the career & reputation arcs of Christina Aguilera, Slash, The Black Eyed Peas, A-Rod, Groupon.com, and many others. Heck, I don’t think there was a single non-uniformed person who appeared onscreen in front of the masses at Super Bowl 45 yesterday who didn’t get heckled on Twitter, destroyed by the press, or at least suffer a reputation hit. Whatever Aguilera was drinking before she totally blanked on the words to our National Anthem, I think we all need a shot of that.

Even Fox, the network who shoved the horrendous Glee down our faces time and time again during its coverage, took 4 or 5 opportunities to cutaway to former President George W. Bush sitting in his luxury box, resulting in loud boos & throwing food at the TV at bars where the game was being shown, a couple which resulted in a TV getting destroyed and the room busting out in cheers. Talk about reputation hits.

Just the fact Bush was THERE was an ominous sign this Super Bowl was turning out to be a Katrina-sized disaster, publicity-wise, money-wise, and reputation-wise for America’s most powerful sports league. The league had us at their mercy with the world watching, yet did nothing to address the most important issues of the day.

More importantly than Aaron Rodgers being masterful and leading the Green Bay Packers to a record 14th NFL title in a closely contested game, the media failed to address the 2 elephants in the room that loomed larger than the Empire State Building-sized Jumbotron hovering above Cowboys Stadium.

The first was the fact that the NFL screwed it’s hard-working consumers out of hard-earned money by not dealing with important structural issues until the day of the game, telling 850 die-hard Steelers and Packer fans that their tickets ($900 for face, who knows how much more if they were bought on the secondary market) were moved to a TV-only section, meaning they traveled all the way to Dallas and took out over a third of their yearly earnings just so they could WATCH THE GAME ON A TV. They got nothing.

And there was another 400 whom the NFL told that their seats were no good period, leaving them scrambling for other tickets or watching the game on a screen outside the stadium, WHICH THE NFL CHARGED ADMISSION FOR. No one on TV made any mention of this all game long.

The generous $2300 basically “thank you for dealing with our incompetence” packages the NFL offered to those 400 fans did not make up for hotel costs, airline costs, & the sheer amount of time they spent due to various weather delays. From what was reported, these little gifts did little to take away the sour taste in fan’s mouths, leading into what could be a very painful offseason, the biggest elephant in the room. Roger Goodell is clearly squirming.

People have heard the “L-Word” being thrown around in various columns, yet they can’t compute it being anywhere near a reality, although it would result in an earth-shattering profit loss for the league, it’s sponsors, and all involved. If you’re not satisfied by the quality of the game that was put on for you yesterday, and not medicated enough to get you through the offseason, I got two words for you: Start praying.

Because the players, who get to hibernate every year to Gulfstream jets and private islands, might not be happy with the current labor deal, there is a possibility we might not have a season next year. It’s Monday, the Gatorade has been dumped and confetti has flown over the Packers. What now?

To end on a positive note, for all the uncertainty, losers, & reputation hits that occurred on last night’s Super Bowl, the big winner was the general public that bet on the game, and the biggest loser was Vegas & the sportsbooks. Give yourself a big pat on the back if you took the Packers and cashed in, as I was telling you to all week long.

Not only did they win, but they covered! And the Steelers covered for the 2nd half, and the total went Over, making this only the second time since 2000 that Vegas’ sportsbooks lost a ton of money on the Super Bowl. Congratulations to everyone who won money (I cashed in $162), and congrats to the Packers. And to everyone else who loves football, just keep your head up, continue to re-enjoy the thrilling game you just saw (sans annoying ads), and hope for the best. If you wish for it, good things will come, like another classic Super Bowl next year in Indy!!