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How Europeans Can Get in on the Super Bowl Hype

04/02/2016
Production Company
London, United Kingdom
168
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INFLUENCER: Mad Ruffian's Amanda Jones on the inclusive power of the Super Bowl

As someone who, in high school, ate lunches by the lockers and ditched pep rallies to do homework, I was hardly a subscriber to the hype of football and the fanaticism of the Super Bowl. In the small town in Colorado where I grew up, you either played football or were a cheerleader (there was no in-between).  And come Super Bowl Sunday, while everyone else was tailgating and preparing the queso dip and three bean casserole, I was planning my outfit for my very lonely Oscars party in a couple of weeks’ time.

But, however rebellious I tried to be, there was always one part of the game that I never missed... Halftime.

Halftime is like Christmas brought to you by the NFL and the ad industry. It’s that magical half hour when all types of people get to come together and share in the glory of little smokies and jalapeño poppers while laughing one moment and crying the next (all while subconsciously remembering to immediately run to the stores and buy everything you saw in the ads as soon as the game ends). It’s when the greatest stars of music put on the biggest shows with the most resplendent costumes and ride spectacular giant mechanical beasts. It’s when a wardrobe malfunction is seen by 143.6 million viewers worldwide and is actually sometimes known as “Nipplegate”. And it’s the only time all year (that I can think of) that an entire industry rallies together to create the best work they could possibly make for one thirty second moment in time.

So, although I’ve lived in the UK for three years, I think this is what makes the Super Bowl special: you don’t have to know the players or even like the game to feel included. I’ve now watched some football (or soccer as I knew it), rugby, and even some cricket. I even watched some of the Rugby World Cup which was, obviously, a huge deal for England as the hosts this past year.  Maybe it’s because there were so many matches (the format is just so different), or maybe it was that I simply didn’t understand the game (though my husband was very explicit in explaining the rules), but, I think, it really came down to the fact that there wasn’t something in it for me, too. And of course that’s only one person’s two cents in the matter but, to many Americans, Super Bowl Sunday is one of their very favourite days of the year. Perhaps another way to bring it home to the people in the UK is that the Super Bowl is like having the Olympics every year but it doesn’t mess up travel plans and you only have to commit for one afternoon.

So, how can Europeans get in on the Super Bowl hype? Well, being in the ad industry, you have a really good chance of making an emo kid join the rest of her family for some delicious snacks full of saturated fats and goodness. And, even if you haven’t yet gotten a seat at the Super Bowl prime time ad table this season, I suggest you stay up late this Sunday evening anyway (game starts at 23:30) and watch the Broncos beat the Panthers … or at least watch until halftime is over. Mad Ruffian is having a Super Bowl party next Sunday the 7th of Feb in London. Game starts at 23:30. Email me if you want to come!




Amanda Jones is Executive Creative Producer / Owner of Mad Ruffian and Ruffian Post.

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