Super Bowl
More than any other sporting event in America, the Super Bowl has truly become a cultural phenomenon. According to 1999 National Football League figures, more than 138 million people in the United States alone watched the Super Bowl, with over 750 million total Super Bowl viewers in 187 countries. The Super Bowl has become, according to writer Michael Real (as quoted in Dona Schwartz's Contesting the Super Bowl), a "mythic spectacle," that "in the classical manner of mythical beliefs and ritual activities… is a communal celebration of and indoctrination into specific socially dominant emotions, life-styles, and values." The Super Bowl brings together several institutions: sports, television, advertising, and the American corporate culture. The Super Bowl serves as an end-of-the-season celebration, glorifying revenues accumulated by team owners, advertisers, media outlets, and many other businesses that share in the tremendous profits generated by professional football.
The Super Bowl itself stems from a fierce rivalry between two football leagues. In 1960, the upstart American Football League (AFL) challenged the popular and well-established National Football League (NFL). The AFL was well funded and soon began to contest the NFL in a bidding war for college players. In 1965, the AFL scored its first major coup when the New York Jets signed University of Alabama star quarterback Joe Namath.
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