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As the story goes, in 1966 to promote the newly-created championship game between the venerable NFL and upstart AFL, Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt coined the phrase "Super Bowl" -- remembering his children playing with a Super Ball toy. Yeah, those things from Wham-O that drove our parents nuts when bounced inside the house. And were impossible to catch up to while watching them boink and boink about 10 feet high each hop when they got away from us. Some bouncing all the way down the street, never to be seen again. Who really knows? Some might still be bouncing.
Anyhow, the name Super Bowl stuck. It is the biggest single sporting event of the year. By far.
The Super Bowl will be played Sunday. It is America's biggest unofficial holiday. It's time for wings, pizza and, for so many, booze. There are some -- which we find pretty amusing -- who even want the Monday following the Super Bowl to be declared a legal national holiday. Yeah, go ahead and chuckle. Maybe that will come after, oh say, Congress declares a national holiday for Jack and Bobby Kennedy or FDR. For starters.
There are over 332 million and counting residents of the United States. Last year, just under 97 million people watched Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay humiliate Kansas City. Do the math. Yes, that figures out to about one of every three men, women and children in our country. According to studies, 76 percent of our adult population will be watching the game. The Super Bowl is not for everyone. Thank goodness for that. But it apparently is for tens of millions. Researchers say 49 percent of all TV sets will be turned on to the game -- many viewers more interested in the commercials and halftime show (possible wardrobe malfunctions and all) than the game itself. There is not a clear, exact study detailing how many people will be drinking alcohol. More specifically how many people will be drinking alcohol to excess. And then getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. Most will get away with it. Some won't,
People do not want to read or hear sermons regarding the evils of drink and drive. We will leave any preaching to the pulpit, But anyone with even a few functioning brain cells knows what can happen. Still, we read and hear about it every single day. About all of the tragedies and hardships that are caused. But people keep doing it. Especially on a day like Super -- not Stupor, mind you -- Bowl Sunday. It doesn't help that Super Bowl Sunday is a daylong event. By the time the game actually kicks off around 6:30 p.m., there has been an ocean of alcohol consumed across our country. A really deep ocean with a lot of drunks already bobbing in it among the empty cans, bottles and kegs.
And, yeah, some of those sloshing a bit too much around our parts will be long-suffering Cleveland fans. Think about it. If someone had told you prior to the season that an Ohio-based team with a former first pick in the draft at quarterback would be in the Super Bowl, most folks would have figured the Browns. But they should've know better, ay?
Regardless --if you are drinking to excess --how hard is it to get a designated driver, call a taxi or just plain sleep it off wherever you happen to be? What about those hosting a Super Bowl party? As reported by the Ohio Insurance Institute, 39 states have enacted laws or have case laws that permit social hosts who serve liquor to guests subsequently involved in crashes to be held liable for injury or death. Ohio law regarding social hosting pertains to underage guests. Of course that doesn't mean you should overlook the dangers of allowing any intoxicated guest back behind the wheel.
There is a reason so many vigilant cops are out and about on Super Bowl Sunday. They know where to hide too. Don't forget if you are hosting a Super Bowl party and minors get their hands on the refreshments, big trouble, legal and otherwise, will follow. Plan in advance just in case someone does get drunk at your home. Got a guest bedroom or even a couch, sleeping bags and extra blankets? Good. Make use of them.
Sunday should be a fun and not sad day. At least for nearly 100 million Americans looking to exhale and relax while emerging from the COVID darkness.
Don't screw it up by being super stupid on Super Bowl Sunday. There is just too much to lose. Starting with precious lives. Around here, we call them grave consequences.