Each January, North Americans devote an entire Sunday to pay homage to the one day of the year which has been culturally dedicated to doing nothing more than watch TV. As an unofficial national holiday, "Super Sunday" (as it is effectively known) is an event specifically centered around the Super Bowl, the National Football League's (NFL) championship game.For many, the interesting part about this phenomenon is that viewing of the event is not solely reserved for the game's many die-hard fanatics, but also includes many other people who have little or no regard for the game at all. This tremendous interest from both fans and "non-fans" alike can be attributed to the fact that "if ever an event tries to be all things to all people, it is the Super Bowl" (Menon, 2003, p.A1). Simply put, the Super Bowl no longer falls within the category of an average sports broadcast. Instead, since it has grown to become so big, many would regard the event as a television genre on its own

This investigation of the Super Bowl will show how the evolution of the event, from a simple game into an entertainment spectacle, has been greatly shaped and influenced by the power of television. By looking back at the history of both television and the Super Bowl, one could see how the two have essentially grown up into prominence together from the time in which they were both in their infancy. From that point, it is also important to look at the numerous facets of television which have assisted in transforming the presentation of Super Bowl broadcasting. For one, TV technology has played a significant role in taking the game of football at its basics and presenting it in a way that is far more exciting and visually appealing. In turn, this allowed for a greater amount of in-game entertainment, which is portrayed as a method of creating and holding the viewer's attention when the game is not on. Coincidentally, this same line of thinking was adopted for the Super Bowl advertisements, as TV commercials (which were completely separate from the event) began to take on a life of their own which rivaled that of the game itself. Though each of these facets seemingly make tremendous contributions to the improvement of the Super Bowl broadcast, it also became apparent that they created a number of effects which have arguably rendered the game on the field meaningless. In essence, with the game no longer the center of attention (a theory supported by a number of references), it should be apparent that the Super Bowl is unlike any other type of sports broadcast and, therefore, should be considered in a genre and class on its own.