Since the NFL’s inception, the league has played the majority of its games on Sunday, including the most important event of the year, the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl Sunday now feels like a national holiday. Even many non-football fans tune in for the game to watch the commercials and experience the halftime show. Plus, it’s one of the biggest sports betting events of the year, especially in New York.
One WFAN host recently proposed a radical idea: move the Super Bowl to Saturday.
Super Bowl Saturday reason No. 1: Ratings will still be there
Is it still the Super Bowl if the game doesn’t happen on a Sunday?
Many people might believe moving the Super Bowl to Saturday is sacrilegious. WFAN host Tommy Lugauer is not one of those fans.
During a recent show, Lugauer made his case for moving the Super Bowl to Saturday night. The first reason Lugauer mentions is the fact that the NFL dominates ratings, no matter what day.
“Here’s why I want the Super Bowl to be on a Saturday night,” Lugauer said. “Number one, it’s going to get massive ratings, so the NFL is going to be happy. It’s Saturday night. It’s prime time. It’s in the dead of winter. Everybody watches this game. It’s got an appeal for everybody. The game, the commercials, the halftime show, all the pomp and circumstances, the dog and pony show, people will be locked in.
“If you had it at 3:00 a.m. on a Tuesday night on a channel that you had to lay down 50 bucks to watch it, pay-per-view. I think people would pay to watch the Super Bowl, especially considering that its one person gets it and we have a Super Bowl party, so you split the bill or one person handles the $50 cover charge, whatever.”
31.1 million viewers tuned in for the Seahawks’ Saturday night win over the 49ers in the Divisional round. If the NFL is on, people will watch.
Super Bowl Saturday reason No. 2: No work the next day
The worst part about the Super Bowl is that many people must wake up and go to work the next day.
If the game ends around Sunday at 10 p.m. ET, there is not much time to wind down and prepare for bed.
If the game were played on Saturday night, many fans, including Lugauer, would not have to worry about heading into work on Sunday.
“The reason I want the Super Bowl on a Saturday night: Because you know you’d have to go to work the next day. It’s just that mental, ‘I’m watching this game, but I know I got to go to work the next day.’ I’m speaking for everybody. I love going to work. But for the people that, I got to deal with my boss tomorrow.
“Saturday night, it’s the vibes. You could even go out after the Super Bowl, and you could really just have it be this big all-out celebration, and you don’t have to worry about work the next day. Not that you can’t get to work the next day, but then you have that day, Sunday, to just relax, recover, enjoy.”
Imagine watching your favorite team win and then celebrating all night without having to worry about work the next day. When framed that way, moving the Super Bowl to Saturday isn’t so bad.
Would the Super Bowl ever move to Saturday?
The NFL is always looking to try to play games on every single day of the week.
Look at what the league has done by taking Christmas Day away from the NBA.
If the NFL could play a game for seven consecutive days, it would.
For now, the NFL has no plans to move the Super Bowl to Saturday. Don’t expect it to change anytime soon.
