The 2020 Super Bowl kicks off on Sunday, February 2nd this year, with FOX broadcasting kickoff at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers will square off in what could be one of the more entertaining games in recent memory. If both teams play up to their potential, we should get a close game with a good deal of scoring.
The Super Bowl has always been a Sunday affair, and more recently it has regularly been the first Sunday in February. However, as the years progress, the drum beat grows from fans who don’t like the idea of working the day after the big game. The game starts at 6:30 ET, and while even a four hour game ends at 10:30, people have been, shall we say, having a good time throughout the game and don’t feel overly jazzed about having to go into work the next day.
A recent national survey reported that 43 percent of football fans would be willing to work a national holiday elsewhere on the calendar if it meant getting the Monday after the Super Bowl off from work.
I imagine plenty of people would like having the day after the Super Bowl off, but what about moving it to Saturday? There’s already a bye week, so there is no concern about players having to play on a short week. It would then give everybody a chance to recover on Sunday.
I suspect there might be a concern about tv ratings if the game were moved to Saturday. Although most people likely would still watch the Super Bowl, the casual fan or non-fan who watches just that game each year might be inclined to have other plans. For many people, Sunday early evening is already a time when you likely do not have any extensive plans, so it’s easy to enjoy the game then. I suspect a move to Saturday would include discussion about how it might impact ratings.
And so if that’s the case, maybe it’s time to offer Monday as a holiday for football fans!