Not a cheap ticket. However, if you could go to a major sporting event, is the Super Bowl worth it? I think it would be, for once in my lifetime. I think I’d enjoy it if I lived in the city where the Super Bowl was being played.
Where’s the debate?
Is it worth it? I think so. Of course, when I went, a relative had free tickets, so it didn’t cost me anything. It was a great experience. The host city really goes all out to put its best foot forward. The event brings in a lot of money for the local economy, and the city usually has a few years to prepare.
Will there be a Super Bowl held in your home town (of Columbus, OH) anytime soon? I highly doubt it. Super Bowls are only played in “cold weather” cities if the city has a dome (like Minneapolis or Detroit). For a city that does host the game, it seems like there is a really intense buzz in the air. I don’t know what it’s like leading up over the long term, but the week before the game is incredible. Everyone knows whats going on; there’s a ton of people coming in to town and they’re all excited. On my return flight home both of the people I sat next to had gone to the game. The man I sat next to said he had been to three Super Bowls. The previous two he went just to go, and then for the third, he hadn’t planned to go, but since it was “his” team playing, he said it made it special.
It is a great experience. It would probably set you back a couple G’s (if you’re going to go, go all out, don’t go on a shoe string) when all is said and done, but if you’re a sports fan, and you get the opportunity, why not take it?
Hell no. Major sporting events are the terrible live. Unless youv’e got a box seat, you can’t see worth a damn most of the time. The weather is always off somehow. You’re surrounded by drunk strangers. The seat is a cheap uncomfortable piece of plastic. Beers cost $10 a pop, and you don’t even want to know about the snacks. Then you have to deal with traffic getting in and out, crowded bathrooms. Just not that fun.
At home, however, the magic of television always gets you a good view. You’ve got expert commentary. You’ve got cold beers and snacks at supermarket prices. You’ve got a comfy chair and air conditioning. No line at the bathroom. No traffic. And if the game gets boring, you can watch something else.
I’ve never understood how they get so many people to go to the games. I’d want them to pay me, not shell out fifty bucks a head.
Moderator’s Note: I think this one would be better suited to IMHO, so I’ll pass it over there.
The reason not to take it is because the Superbowl is not really a sporting event. It is a spectacle unto itself. The people who go to the Superbowl are not sports fans - they are rich people. I’m sure that some/many of these rich people do have an appreciation for sport, but the real name of the game at the Superbowl is to show your affluence and spend money. *
If I got a free ticket, I’d sell it - it’s not worth thousands to go see a football game to me, and I am a huge football fan. (Ok, if the Redskins were in the superbowl and I had a free ticket, I would NOT sell it 
)
- I base these comments on the experiences of two people I know who have worked at Superbowl games, one in the 1970s, and one quite recently.
What would it take to get me to go to a Super Bowl? Lesse…
- The Giants would have to be in it (preferably against an AFC team I really hate, like the Jets).*
- The ticket to the game would have to be free.
- I’ll need a nearby hotel booked at a non-price-gouged rate.
If you can’t do all that for me, then the hell with it. I’ll sell my ticket and use it to buy beer for our annual SB Party. Yes, I would like to have another notch on the life-experience belt, but it would all be for the surrounding events. For the game itself, I’d prefer my 65" of Hi-Def glory, a house packed with friends, and the commercials.
*I would also probably go if it were Miami/Philly, seeing as how my wife is a huge Dolphins fan and I hate the Eagles with such a passion.
I’ve been to live sporting events. They just aren’t worth the price of admission, unless it’s a very small arena where you can see, like a AAA ballpark or one of the smaller hockey rinks.
Given the choice of spending oodles on beer and snacks to sit on a hard, uncomfortable stadium seat or spending less on beer and snacks to sit in my comfy chairs and take 30 seconds to go to the bathroom versus 30 minutes…I’ll stay home every time.
Why pay to go to a bad football game when I can go see my beloved school beat up on Central Michigan for free once a year? Sure, they’re not household names, but the game is usually more interesting. Plus, I can actually stand up for the entire game without anyone saying anything about it.