The Super Bowl (and even better the Puppy Bowl) for all intents and purposes is an American holiday. It’s a day where Americans pig out on wings, nachos, drink beer and watch football. If you’re one of the 140 million people attending or hosting a Super Bowl party this year chances are you’re going to encounter some "characters."
Some usual suspects in this dubious category include:
“That guy” who is all about the super sexist Carl’s Jr. ads. (Stay tuned to find out what to say to him this weekend).
Then there’s the know it-alls. The person who knows everything about every team, player, and their mom.
And there’s the person who just seems to have all the random facts, let’s call the “random fact person”.
And the person who constantly complains about how bad football is, that the violence, food waste, amount of money spent on this one event could be put toward so many better causes.
Well if you want to be part of this illustrious group, here is the way you can be both “random fact” person AND the fun crushing “this money could be used for something else” person. (Although please refrain from being the super sexist “that guy,” as he is the absolute worst).
Maybe you’ll even get someone to care that human trafficking instances increase in Super Bowl cities during game day, or that billions of dollars are illegally bet. Or maybe you’ll just be random fact person. Seriously, everyone secretly appreciates that person since they have to be so smart to have those random bits of information.
Here are some staggering Super Bowl facts to help you out.
1) Only 47 percent of viewers actually care about watching the game, 12 percent care about the halftime show (more this year with Coldplay headlining and Beyoncé joining them). And 25 percent only care about the best week of commercials on TV all year, and the rest are there to hang out with friends and family.
2) Americans consume 2,400 calories on average, only second to Thanksgiving, during Super Bowl Sunday. What are they consuming? 325 million gallons beer and 1.23 billion chicken wings!
3) More avocados are eaten on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day in the US. 158 million avocados are harvested for the most guacamole ever. For comparison, only 81 million are eaten on Cinco de Mayo.
4) Illegal betting can add up to about $3.8 billion USD, and legal betting is estimated at $100 million dollars. That’s a whopping 38 times more better under the table! And yes that’s some easy math to impress your friends.
5) The average party-goer spends $78 USD on snacks, beer, and team merchandise for the big day.
6) The cheapest ticket to the actual game this year is $3,450.
7) San Francisco paid $50 million to host the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl, but will profit about $500 million from economic activity related to the event.
8) Last year, the Seahawks spent $69,241,725on payroll for NFL players on the team.
9) 30 seconds of commercial airtime costs$4.5 million dollars.
10) Total spending last year was $14.8 billion dollars.
These stats are outrageous and even somewhat rage inducing. If you’re outraged by the staggering amount of money that goes into one day in the US, below are some facts you can bring up to help bring about some change.
Now to be Random Fact Person Global Citizen Style
If you want to take these ridiculous sums and stats further, spread awareness on inequality, and truly be random fact person extraordinaire at the party, here are some other stats you can throw out to make everyone look at the chicken wings they’re eating (or throwing out) a bit differently.
10) For the amount of money spent on ONE Super Bowl, you could end polio and have about $10 billion USD leftover.
11) While 11 million more pizzas are ordered than usual on Sunday, 795 million people are currently hungry in the world.
12) Cheerleaders on teams like the NY Jets make about $3.77 an hour, with the average NFL player makes $1.9 million USD and the average NFL coach makes $5 million USD.
13) Bathroom use in New York increased 13 percent during the Super Bowl, but 2.4 billion people lack access to toilets around the world.
14) 39 percent of the Denver Broncos’ $150 million dollar payroll goes to five players. Inequality is rampant! But really…there can be up to 53 players on one team.
15) Positive fact: 73 percent of extra food from Super Bowl related events in last year’s host city Phoenix was donated and it fed 70,000 people.
16) Girls are too smart to play a sport that gives you brain disease. Fact.
So tell all your friends, and be that annoying friend. Because getting people to care and join the movement to make the world better is almost as fun as watching sports and eating pounds of nachos. Almost.