Super Bowl should be played on Saturday (in non-COVID years)

[tower912]

It has turned into an unofficial holiday.    So have it on Saturday.    Lean into the party. 
1.   You don't have to get up on Sunday.   (unless you are a firefighter)    Sleep in.   Carry on with the party after the game is over.
2.   Travel home.     For those fortunate enough to get tickets, they could fly home on Sunday.
3.  Kids can stay up later and watch more, as they don't have to get up for school.   
4.   One day less hype, build up, talking heads, pregame drama.   

Yeah, I get the whole 'tradition' thing.    But college bowl games are no longer done on January 1.   The NCAA tourney keeps expanding.    The Masters was played in November.    Make the Saturday the holiday and the party.    So that Sunday can be a day for recovery and travel.   

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Move it to Presidents Day weekend so at least some people have Monday off.  Isn't this what will probably happen when they start playing the 17 game season?

[HutchwasClutch]

It has turned into an unofficial holiday.    So have it on Saturday.    Lean into the party. 
1.   You don't have to get up on Sunday.   (unless you are a firefighter)    Sleep in.   Carry on with the party after the game is over.
2.   Travel home.     For those fortunate enough to get tickets, they could fly home on Sunday.
3.  Kids can stay up later and watch more, as they don't have to get up for school.   
4.   One day less hype, build up, talking heads, pregame drama.   

Yeah, I get the whole 'tradition' thing.    But college bowl games are no longer done on January 1.   The NCAA tourney keeps expanding.    The Masters was played in November.    Make the Saturday the holiday and the party.    So that Sunday can be a day for recovery and travel.

Agree with everything wholeheartedly 👍

[Skatastrophy]

The super bowl should be orchestrated like the Olympics.

First thing in the morning: Opening Ceremonies
* An Artistic Opening, harkening back to Super Bows of olde
* then the Traditional Opening showing off the culture of the state the game is played in. A kabuki representation of sausage making if we're in Wisconsin
* followed by the Parade of States - At least an hour of marching and waving, instead of athletes make this all fans. Maybe some hover-rounds to get the Bears fans to their holding pen.
* The symbolic "Lighting of the Grill" lets the world know that the Super Bowl has begun

Game Starts at 2pm, because that's when any reasonable person wants to be drinking.

Closing ceremonies
* Presentation of the trophies
* Speeches from the sponsors
* Turkucken eating competition

In bed by 8pm. The perfect day.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

The TV crowd is bigger Sunday than it would be Saturday.

[tower912]

The TV crowd would follow the game.

[GooooMarquette]

I have always thought the Final Four should be Thursday-Saturday. It would follow the basic schedule of the first two weekends...and those do just fine in terms of ratings. A Saturday night final would follow that (presumably lucrative) early-round schedule, and allow for a similar 'recovery' afterwards.

[MU82]

It has turned into an unofficial holiday.    So have it on Saturday.    Lean into the party. 
1.   You don't have to get up on Sunday.   (unless you are a firefighter)    Sleep in.   Carry on with the party after the game is over.
2.   Travel home.     For those fortunate enough to get tickets, they could fly home on Sunday.
3.  Kids can stay up later and watch more, as they don't have to get up for school.   
4.   One day less hype, build up, talking heads, pregame drama.   

Yeah, I get the whole 'tradition' thing.    But college bowl games are no longer done on January 1.   The NCAA tourney keeps expanding.    The Masters was played in November.    Make the Saturday the holiday and the party.    So that Sunday can be a day for recovery and travel.

Sure, this would be fine.

But it's fine on Sunday ... just like National Marquette Day. <ducks>

[StillAWarrior]

When I lived in Guam it was Monday morning. I went to an all boys school, so they gave us the day off. It was great. It started relatively early, so there was no day-long pregame.

It was pretty much the only live tv we had. Pretty much everything else was canned and seven days behind the mainland (so everything was on the correct day but delayed one week).

[Dr. Blackheart]

Sure, this would be fine.

But it's fine on Sunday ... just like National Marquette Day. <ducks>

And the Super Bowl should start at 10am CST too!

[Warriors4ever]

I don’t particularly like football. I hate that it controls our lives.
I don’t care if it gets moved or not, but it certainly doesn’t need to be a bigger deal than it already is.

[DegenerateDish]

It will never move to a Saturday. Ever.

[tower912]

Probably.   But that doesn't mean I am wrong.   

[wadesworld]

I don't know for sure, but there is probably a reason that no championship games in major sports are played on Fridays or Saturdays.  Not the NCAA Tournament, not the CFP Championship, not the Super Bowl.  I don't really think they make game 7 of any championship series on a Friday or Saturday.  Indians Cubs was a Wednesday, Heat Spurs was a Thursday, Warriors Cavs was a Sunday, Lakers Celtics was a Wednesday.  These people aren't complete idiots.  If Friday or Saturday gave them more viewers, every championship would be set up to be  played on those days.  The fact that they seem to intentionally avoid playing those games on those days makes me think viewership would be down.

[PGsHeroes32]

I don't know for sure, but there is probably a reason that no championship games in major sports are played on Fridays or Saturdays.  Not the NCAA Tournament, not the CFP Championship, not the Super Bowl.  I don't really think they make game 7 of any championship series on a Friday or Saturday.  Indians Cubs was a Wednesday, Heat Spurs was a Thursday, Warriors Cavs was a Sunday, Lakers Celtics was a Wednesday.  These people aren't complete idiots.  If Friday or Saturday gave them more viewers, every championship would be set up to be  played on those days.  The fact that they seem to intentionally avoid playing those games on those days makes me think viewership would be down.

They don't.

Baseball is always a Wednesday I believe.

[DegenerateDish]

The amount of sponsorship money that goes into events through Saturday night, the programming the NFL gets out of the entire Super Bowl week, and their television partners would not pay more in future contracts for a Saturday Super Bowl.

The easy fix is to add a bye week and play it President’s Day weekend. NASCAR will have to move Daytona, but oh well.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Probably.   But that doesn't mean I am wrong.

No, it does.

[MU82]

Once upon a time, Saturday was a huge TV watching night.

CBS once had this lineup: All In The Family ... MASH ... Mary Tyler Moore ... Bob Newhart ... Carol Burnett. The best lineup in the history of network TV.

But now, it's a dead night for TV. I don't know how things shifted, but ratings are all about Sunday-Thursday nights now, and especially so during "sweeps" period.

I would not look for the Super Bowl ever to go to Saturday night.

I have always thought the Final Four should be Thursday-Saturday.

Also will not happen. Heck, I'm surprised they don't run it on Sunday and Tuesday nights, rather than having the national semis on a Saturday.

[GooooMarquette]

Once upon a time, Saturday was a huge TV watching night.

CBS once had this lineup: All In The Family ... MASH ... Mary Tyler Moore ... Bob Newhart ... Carol Burnett. The best lineup in the history of network TV.

But now, it's a dead night for TV. I don't know how things shifted, but ratings are all about Sunday-Thursday nights now, and especially so during "sweeps" period.

You assume that the shows follow the ratings. But perhaps the ratings follow the shows.

[Warriors4ever]

I was at Marquette at the same time as that Saturday night lineup, living in Cobeen. We would stay in to watch at least part, if not all, of it, then head to the Gym afterwards. I distinctly remember being crammed into someone’s room laughing so hard at Carol Burnett sketches. Saturday night is a pretty dead night now, it’s true.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

I was at Marquette at the same time as that Saturday night lineup, living in Cobeen. We would stay in to watch at least part, if not all, of it, then head to the Gym afterwards. I distinctly remember being crammed into someone’s room laughing so hard at Carol Burnett sketches. Saturday night is a pretty dead night now, it’s true.

Of course TV was a very different thing back then too. Can you imagine college staying in on Saturday to watch a non sporting event on network television?  We wouldn’t have done that in 1986.

[4everwarriors]

I was at Marquette at the same time as that Saturday night lineup, living in Cobeen. We would stay in to watch at least part, if not all, of it, then head to the Gym afterwards. I distinctly remember being crammed into someone’s room laughing so hard at Carol Burnett sketches. Saturday night is a pretty dead night now, it’s true.

Did ya put a sock on da room's door handle, hey?

[ATL MU Warrior]

You assume that the shows follow the ratings. But perhaps the ratings follow the shows.

The ratings are dependent on when the most homes/people are using TV. That is called HUT/PUT level and is one component of the rating. The other is Share or the % of home tuned to each network. Share * HUT/PUT = rating.

HUT/PUT levels are highest on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays. That is why the highest rated programs tend to be on those nights.

[GooooMarquette]

The ratings are dependent on when the most homes/people are using TV. That is called HUT/PUT level and is one component of the rating. The other is Share or the % of home tuned to each network. Share * HUT/PUT = rating.

HUT/PUT levels are highest on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays. That is why the highest rated programs tend to be on those nights.

Again though, you assume people wouldn't change their behavior to stay home and use the TV on Saturday if the Super Bowl was moved. I think they would.

It's kinda like the once-a-year shift in behavior and viewing habits that occurs on the first Thursday and Friday of the Dance. Tons of people change their habits by scheduling days off (or hiding in their offices doing 'paperwork') just to watch first round games.

And remember when MNF first aired, many expected it to be a flop because 'nobody would watch football on a Monday night.' The major networks were reluctant to try it, so Pete Rozelle even threatened to go to Howard Hughes' sports network. Only then did ABC ( a distant third in the ratings game back then) reluctantly agree to play ball. Needless to say, we learned that the assumption was wrong and Rozelle was right, because a scheduling change drove a huge (and unexpected) change in behavior.

Multiply these effects severalfold for the most popular TV show on earth, and you would see the same shift on Saturdays. Heck - it's even an easier change in habits, since it doesn't involve workday scheduling for most people.

Anyway, I get that many here disagree. But we'll never know for sure unless they try it.

[HutchwasClutch]

Again though, you assume people wouldn't change their behavior to stay home and use the TV on Saturday if the Super Bowl was moved. I think they would.

It's kinda like the once-a-year shift in behavior and viewing habits that occurs on the first Thursday and Friday of the Dance. Tons of people change their habits by scheduling days off (or hiding in their offices doing 'paperwork') just to watch first round games.

And remember when MNF first aired, many expected it to be a flop because 'nobody would watch football on a Monday night.' The major networks were reluctant to try it, so Pete Rozelle even threatened to go to Howard Hughes' sports network. Only then did ABC ( a distant third in the ratings game back then) reluctantly agree to play ball. Needless to say, we learned that the assumption was wrong and Rozelle was right, because a scheduling change drove a huge (and unexpected) change in behavior.

Multiply these effects severalfold for the most popular TV show on earth, and you would see the same shift on Saturdays. Heck - it's even an easier change in habits, since it doesn't involve workday scheduling for most people.

Anyway, I get that many here disagree. But we'll never know for sure unless they try it.

Agree with your takes completely.

[MU82]

Again though, you assume people wouldn't change their behavior to stay home and use the TV on Saturday if the Super Bowl was moved. I think they would.

It's kinda like the once-a-year shift in behavior and viewing habits that occurs on the first Thursday and Friday of the Dance. Tons of people change their habits by scheduling days off (or hiding in their offices doing 'paperwork') just to watch first round games.

And remember when MNF first aired, many expected it to be a flop because 'nobody would watch football on a Monday night.' The major networks were reluctant to try it, so Pete Rozelle even threatened to go to Howard Hughes' sports network. Only then did ABC ( a distant third in the ratings game back then) reluctantly agree to play ball. Needless to say, we learned that the assumption was wrong and Rozelle was right, because a scheduling change drove a huge (and unexpected) change in behavior.

Multiply these effects severalfold for the most popular TV show on earth, and you would see the same shift on Saturdays. Heck - it's even an easier change in habits, since it doesn't involve workday scheduling for most people.

Anyway, I get that many here disagree. But we'll never know for sure unless they try it.

I don’t disagree that people would happily watch a Saturday night Super Bowl.

But until there is a major shift in the importance of TV rating on Sunday nights (vs Saturdays), why would the league and its TV partners be motivated to change it?

“Oh sure, it’s the highest rated TV show every year. But trust me, it will be rated even higher on Saturday. And that’s really what the networks would prefer anyway; they just don’t know it.”

Sounds like a pretty tough sell, not to mention a solution in search of a problem that doesn’t exist.

[wadesworld]

Not only are there never any major sporting events set for Friday or Saturday, but prime time television shows are all Sunday-Thursday. Heck, hardly any quality college basketball is played on Friday nights. I’m guessing there have been plenty of studies out there done on this. There’s big money in TV rights.

[MU82]

The NBA used to have its Finals on a Wed-Fri-Sun schedule but changed to Tue-Thu-Sun to get games off of Fridays and onto Thursdays instead.

It wasn’t an accident.

As I said, I’m kind of surprised the Final Four isn’t a Sun-Tue event.

[GooooMarquette]

The NBA used to have its Finals on a Wed-Fri-Sun schedule but changed to Tue-Thu-Sun to get games off of Fridays and onto Thursdays instead.

It wasn’t an accident.

As I said, I’m kind of surprised the Final Four isn’t a Sun-Tue event.

Yes, but the NBA does not have the power to change TV viewing habits like the NFL does. The Monday night football experiment was a great case in point. Nobody thought people would watch football on a Monday night, but the NFL pushed it and the fans followed.

[ATL MU Warrior]

Yes, but the NBA does not have the power to change TV viewing habits like the NFL does. The Monday night football experiment was a great case in point. Nobody thought people would watch football on a Monday night, but the NFL pushed it and the fans followed.

Yes and maybe enough people would watch on a Saturday night to keep ratings stable. But maybe not. The NFL and the networks are not going to make that change just to find out.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Yes and maybe enough people would watch on a Saturday night to keep ratings stable. But maybe not. The NFL and the networks are not going to make that change just to find out.

Right. Especially with the reason being so people can party it up more. The NFL doesn’t care about that.

[warriorchick]

And the Super Bowl should start at 10am CST too!

I am old enough to remember when people served brunch at their Super Bowl parties.

[Galway Eagle]

I am old enough to remember when people served brunch at their Super Bowl parties.

Was that a southern thing? I've actually never heard this before

[tower912]

Talk about making the Monday after the Super Bowl a holiday.    For exactly the reasons I think the game should be played on Saturday.

https://fansided.com/2021/02/07/super-bowl-national-holiday-2021/

And yes, one more game or bye week gets the game to next weekend and having the game on the day before President's day.   

[GooooMarquette]

Was that a southern thing? I've actually never heard this before

I grew up in Milwaukee, and my family did this back in the 70s....

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

In the 70s, Super Bowls kicked off in the early afternoon.  Around 2:00 or 3:00 if memory recalls.

[GooooMarquette]

In the 70s, Super Bowls kicked off in the early afternoon.  Around 2:00 or 3:00 if memory recalls.

Yep. Sometimes as early as 1:00 in the Central time zone. Digging through box scores....

1970 (SB IV): 2:40 Central
1971 (SB V): 1:00 Central
1972 (SB VI): 1:35 Central
1973 (SB VII): 2:49 Central
1974 (SB VIII): 2:30 Central
1975 (SB IX): 2:00 Central
1976 (SB X): 1:14 Central
1977 (SB XI): 2:47 Central
1978 (SB XII): 5:17 Central
1979 (SB XIII): 3:15 Central

Several of these were late morning games on the West coast.

[warriorchick]

Was that a southern thing? I've actually never heard this before

It was because the Super Bowl was aired much earlier in the day.

[Herman Cain]

The NFL essentially is holding its annual convention for corporate partners during Super Bowl weekend. That is what the vast majority of the people in attendance are there for.

There are two full days of corporate outings and schmoozing. Then on Sunday morning the various advertising partners have meetings with their customers where they present some of their strategic thinking, new products, promotional items etc. This Sunday morning meeting enables these entities to declare a business purpose for the whole event.   The Sponsors get maximum attendance from the captive audience at the meetings, because they mandate that you need to be at the meeting to receive the ticket to the game.  The attendees then get in corporate buses and go to the super bowl party for more entertaining . Then there is an after game party at the hotel. Everyone packs up all their gifts and leaves on  Monday morning.

I have been to 7 Super Bowls as guests of  various different major corporations and that format has not deviated for at least 30 years. The Missus went to another ten or so where her employer was a sponsor.

I actually agree with the opening post that it would be better for the general public if the game was on a Saturday night, or even earlier in the day on Sunday. However, the entertainment and business logistics of game at the actual event site mandate is what mandates the current schedule.