Super Bowl 53: Another Paint-by-Numbers Big Event

The moment knocked me over. I could not remember where last year’s Super Bowl was played.

On Saturday morning, the NFL Network was re-running the broadcast of the Eagles/Patriots Super Bowl from a year prior and, for the life of me, I could not remember where the game had been played. It was driving me crazy!

If you’ve ever read my blog or met me in person, you know I am obsessed with sports. My friends mock me for how much I know about sports. Yet here I was less than a year after the country’s biggest sporting event, one of the best games in Super Bowl history, and I couldn’t tell you what stadium the game was being played at.

Of course, it’s not all my fault. The stadium and field had the exact same look as the Patriots/Falcons Super Bowl had the year prior, and would look very similar to what the dreadful Patriots/Rams Super Bowl would look like the following the day.

The same “new” dome feel. It could’ve been a half-dozen places. Finally, I gave in and Googled. It was Minneapolis. I would never have guessed that in a million years.

Everything Looks the Same

Earlier in the week, the latest Super Bowl logo became a target since it’s essentially the same logo the NFL has had for years now. There’s a big “L” for the Roman numeral for 50 and then there’s a Lombardi Trophy and some “I’s” in the logo. And that’s that. There’s no indication of where the game is being played or any special significance.

It’s startling to me as someone in range of turning 40 because every Super Bowl used to have its own distinct look and feel. Every logo was made specifically to call to mind the emotion or location – think back to Super Bowl 30’s desert-theme logo for its first trip to Arizona or the first Rams/Patriots Super Bowl having an American flag logo due to 9/11.

Even the stadiums have changed. When I think back to old Super Bowls, the stadiums are as present in my memories and the replays as the action on the field. When I see Scott Norwood’s kick sailing right, I know it’s from Tampa Stadium because no other stadium looked like that. When the Cowboys dynasty restarted in the 1990s, I know it happened in the Rose Bowl because no other stadium looked like that.

Today, every stadium kinda, sorta looks the same. The last 3 Super Bowls have been played in new era domes with almost the exact same field. Where is the uniqueness? Where is the specialness?

It’s not just the NFL either. The NCAA Tournament, especially since the move to 68 teams and a joint Turner/CBS broadcasting agreement, has pushed aside unique courts for the exact same design on every floor, with only the name of the city changing.

WrestleMania is another casualty - as WWE has gone to great pains to make every revival of its biggest annual show look and feel very similar. A ridiculous set. A big dome. A lot of lights. Not much customization.

Where Does the Nostalgia Go?

I bring all of this up not to complain, but to warn. Today’s big events are so focused on brand awareness and consistency, that they have forgotten to focus on the most important aspect - developing and producing the next generation of fans.

The Super Bowl in 2019 does not bring a lot of nostalgia with it. The halftime shows are dull. The pregame shows are dull. Last night, the football was dull. If you’re a kid and trying to figure out which sports and events you’re going to follow for the rest of your life, was there anything last night that will capture your attention 30 years from now?

Before the football game started last night, my wife and I were reminiscing about the Bud Bowl, and I instantly fired that bad boy up in YouTube. I remember those ads like they aired yesterday, coming during the 49ers/Broncos Super Bowl in Jan.1989 that could politely be described as an ass-kicking.

Despite one of the most lopsided football games of all time, my 6 year old self loved that Super Bowl because of the Bud Bowl. The commercials with beer bottles wearing helmets ended up being a cultural touchstone. As last night’s game dragged on and on, all I really wanted to watch was more of the Bud Bowl.

There’s a crippling desire to monetize and commodify everything possible in the moment. There’s no denying the NFL – along with the NCAA, WWE and others running dull big events – are making money hand over fist.

But there’s no denying that being dull isn’t a good way to attract or develop new fans. When today’s kids are in their 30s, will they have the same emotional attachment to these events that i still do?

I doubt it.

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