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Super Bowl Sunday has evolved over the years into an unofficial national holiday for football fans. The day is usually filled with feasting, festivities, and pageantries that transcend beyond the stadium and host cities to every place where football fans and their families and friends get together to have fun. It is the annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL) and has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966. In 2004, the date of the game was moved permanently to the first Sunday in February and has been held on that day since then. The team that wins the game is awarded the Vince Lombardi Trophy, named after the coach who won the first two Super Bowl games.

Before the game kicks off in the early evening, football fans get to watch hours of programming showing the glories of past Super Bowl games, interviews of present and past NFL superstars, and detailed pre-game analysis. Towards the kick-off and at intervals during the game, fans at the stadium and viewers at home enjoy performances by some of the most well-known musical artists. They are also treated to the best of creative television advertisements. The Super Bowl game came to life as a merger agreement between the National Football League (NFL) and the rival association American Football League (AFL) to have the best teams in each of them compete for an overall championship trophy.

At its inception, it was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game until 1969, when the moniker “Super Bowl” was adopted at the third game. Between 1967 and 1970, the four Super Bowl games were played before the merger, and AFL won two while NFL won the remaining two. In 1970, three NFL teams and ten AFL teams formed the American Football Conference (AFC), while 13 teams from the NFL formed the National Football Conference (NFC). Since Super Bowl V in 1971, all Super Bowl games have been played by the two best teams from each conference, and so far, the NFC has won 26 while the AFC has won 25.

The teams with the most Super Bowl titles are Pittsburg Steelers and New England Patriots, with six wins. The Denver Broncos and the Patriots have the most defeats, with five losses each. At the same time, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFC and Baltimore Ravens of the AFC are the only undefeated franchises in multiple Super Bowls with two wins each. The Super Bowl has an interesting history behind it as it has maintained its status as the most-watched sporting event in the world after the UEFA Champions League. Brands have also recognized the importance of the Super Bowl Sunday over the years and have always created their most expensive advertisements for the Super Bowl broadcast. Commercial airtime is the most expensive of the year; so, companies always put their best foot forward with their adverts. After Thanksgiving Day, the Super Bowl is the second-largest day for food consumption in the United States.

References

1. https://www.britannica.com/story/super-bowl-sunday-an-unofficial-holiday
2. https://www.insider.com/facts-about-the-super-bowl-2018-2

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In the 1980s, nearly every family in America had the luxury of owning a television with cable. Flipping through the channels, one of the most common programs that people encountered was professional wrestling. It was during the 80s that wrestling reached new heights. When Vincent K. McMahon took over his father’s company, he saw the commercial potential it had, leading to the development of the phenomenon known today as Wrestlemania.

The first Wrestlemania event took place in Madison Square Garden on March 31st, 1985. As professional wrestling started attracting more viewers, Wrestlemania was responsible for drawing in bigger crowds thanks to superstars like Roddy Piper, Mr. Wonderful, celebrity Mr. T., and the iconic Hulk Hogan. With a colorful roster, Wrestlemania generated over a million views, making it the largest pay-per-view in history at the time. Since the first show, McMahon has spawned over thirty-seven editions of Wrestlemania, transforming professional wrestling into today’s entertainment titan.

Over the past decades, the “showcase of the immortals,” as fans like to call it, has boosted an incredible number of attendees, reaching as far as a hundred thousand in attendance. Forbes has cited Wrestlemania as one of the world’s most valuable sports events. With its profitability, cities make large bids for the chance to host Wrestlemania.

The show has been touted as one of the grandest stages in professional wrestling, where storylines and rivalries are settled. The main event typically revolves around championships, namely the top prize WWE Championship. Matches for the championship have also helped cement superstars as top talents. Shawn Michaels, one of the most beloved performers to grace the squared circle, has been known for his ability to deliver high-quality matches. Even when he is on the losing side, the Heart Break Kid’s performance is unmatched as he made a name for himself as “Mr. Wrestlemania.”

In its thirty-seven-year run, Wrestlemania has delivered some of the most entertaining matches and rivalries. One of the most prominent examples is the eternal battle between Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, who have met in the ring three times. Their most celebrated match came in the biggest stage of them all, Wrestlemania X-Seven. Wrestling fanatics often dubbed it as the greatest Wrestlemania of them all. X-Seven was the pinnacle of wrestling in the 90s as the fanfare slowly died down in the years that followed.

Despite the departure of old fans, new ones arrived quickly to watch the next generation of superstars like Rey Mysterio, Batista, Randy Orton, and John Cena. While the rivalries were no longer as heated as Austin and the Rock’s, Wrestlemania could thrive with new stipulations like the ladder marches, fatal fourways, and more. However, one of the highlights of Wrestlemania for the past years was the legendary undefeated streak of the legendary Undertaker, a professional wrestler and one of the most iconic personalities to ever step in the squared circle. For more than two decades, no one had ever broken the streak until the mid-2010s when Brock Lesnar came back and managed to do the impossible. While the world was shocked to see one of the longest records in wrestling history shattered, the show went on.

Even as the pandemic rolled in last year, Vince McMahon and the WWE were able to innovate and turn the typically one-night event into a two-night taping, yielding to the new guidelines to avoid spreading the virus among the crowd. The format proved to be successful. Earlier this year, there were plans to invite fans to attend Wrestlemania in California, but the event was relocated to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, instead where the regulations were not as strict. 

Although the content of professional wrestling has drastically changed over the decades, the number of fans that continue to support WWE proves that Wrestlemania is one event that is here to stay for good.

References:

1. https://home.adelphi.edu/~tr22075/history.html
2. https://www.essentiallysports.com/wwe-news-details-on-real-wrestlemania-37-attendance-number-for-night-1-and-2/
3. https://everything-everywhere.com/the-history-of-wrestlemania/ 

Source: tvline.com

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Source: espn.com

While the world regards the FIFA World Cup as the grandest stage of football where countries can compete for glory and showcase their dominance, there are plenty of other tournaments where national teams can compete to come out on top. The Copa America is a tournament that allows the countries of South America to showcase their superiority in the sport.

Copa America has long been regarded as the oldest international soccer competition in the world. In 1910, trials were held before holding the first official tournament in 1916 to commemorate Argentina’s independence. Originally called Campeonato Sudamericano de Football, Argentina was joined by Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil, making up the first participants of the tournament. The event lasted between July 2 to 17, culminating in Uruguay’s victory after being held on a tie. 

The tournament’s success resulted in the establishment of CONMEBOL, South America’s governing body responsible for major international tournaments. They held another tournament a year later, with Uruguay once again defeating Argentina to retain the title. While there were plans to have a third tournament, Rio de Janeiro, the designated venue, was forced to cancel the tournament following a flu outbreak. However, they continued the next year, with Brazil finally overthrowing Uruguay to earn its first championship.

More South American countries started to join the tournament throughout the years, but a dispute arose that would cancel the tournament for a couple of years. Following the World Cup final in 1930, hostilities grew between Argentina and Uruguay, as the latter came out victorious in the competition. The event later returned and, for several years, entered into a limbo state where championships were held irregularly, and many many matches deemed unofficial. Throughout the years, the tournament was held every one to four years. 

By 1975, Campeonato Sudamericano de Football officially changed its name to Copa America. The name was not the only change. The tournament replaced its point-by-point system to follow the FIFA World Cup format, including a qualifying phase, distribution of group selections, and qualifying rounds. In the following years, Copa America would invite national teams outside South America to participate with the United States and Mexico as the pioneering nations. Since the 90s, teams from Asia have also been invited to participate. Although none of the invited teams have been able to break through as victors, Mexico has been the only team to deliver the best results, coming in as runner-up in 1993 and 2001 and third place in 1997, 1999, and 2007.

Since changing its system to follow the World Cup format, Copa America has been held on a quadrennial basis. The tournament was last held in 2016 and 2019, with Chile and Brazil as their respective victors. While there were plans to host another tournament in 2020, the pandemic was forced to push Copa America to a later schedule. 

Colombia was initially set to co-host this year’s tournament, but following security concerns was dethroned following riots. There have been plans to hold the events in the United States in June, marking the second time the country has hosted the Copa America after 2016.

References:

1. https://www.footballhistory.org/tournament/copa-america.html
2. https://copaamerica.com/en/history/
3. https://www.britannica.com/sports/Copa-America
4. https://web.archive.org/web/20140221011523/http://www.conmebol.com/en/content/oldest-continental-tournament-world
5. https://web.archive.org/web/20140221011523/http://www.conmebol.com/en/content/oldest-continental-tournament-world