10 GROUNDCOVER NEWS ENTERTAINMENT The battle between love and glory THE CONFUSED CLOUD Groundcover vendor No. 710 I grew up with National Football League games being broadcast every Thanksgiving. Both the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys have hosted Thanksgiving Day games longer than I’ve been alive. In 2006, the NFL added a third game Thanksgiving evening. NFL games on Christmas were first attempted in 1971 but players and fans complained. NFL games on Christmas happened occasionally from 1989 to 2019. This was usually if Christmas fell on a Saturday, Sunday or Monday. Then from 2020 to the present the NFL purposely scheduled games on Christmas Day. While New Year’s Day is primarily for college football, depending on which day of the week it falls on, there might be an NFL game that day. Having NFL games on TV on these holidays makes sense to me. Many families get together in someone’s home to have a big dinner and visit. In the case of Christmas families often exchange gifts. Having a football game on gives families a chance to visit and catch up and bond. Some families may sit around and watch the games, some may prefer the games in the background, and some families may have a combination of game viewers and people visiting in the distance. Ratings for Thanksgiving and Christmas NFL games are huge. Many people don’t go out on these days. Buses don’t run and most stores and restaurants are closed. Football is good for people at home alone. Each of these three holidays are national holidays. Then there’s Super Bowl Sunday which has become an unofficial holiday. The Super Bowl is usually the most watched television event of the year. However on this day stores and restaurants stay open. Many people gather together in bars to watch the game. Super Bowl parties are also popular on this day. People drink alcohol and eat junk food like pizza and chicken wings. The tradition of Superbowl Sunday being an unofficial holiday started in the 1980s as the game and its commercials became more popular. It’s frequently suggested because of the late nights, parties and probably hangovers that the day after the Superbowl become a national holiday. For the first time this year they will “sort of” get their wish because Presidents’ Day is the day after the Superbowl. Valentine’s Day is also a very popular holiday but, like Super Bowl Sunday, it’s also an unofficial (not federal) holiday. However it does show up on my calendar, (which Super Bowl Sunday doesn’t). Stores and restaurants are open, and fine dining restaurants are extremely busy. If Valentine’s Day is on a weekday, schools and government offices are open. I’ve always thought of Valentine’s Day as a day for romance and couples. In the United States there are about 220,000 marriage proposals on Valentine’s Day and around six million worldwide. (Only Christmas Eve and Christmas Day have more.) So when I found out that Super Bowl Sunday and Valentine’s Day, each a very popular but unofficial holiday, are on the same day next year at the end of the current NFL season, I was baffled. They seem like very different holidays to me and this challenged a lot of my stereotypes. I pictured arguments and ultimatums between couples where men would have to choose between the game and their relationships. I remember when I was growing up, my stepmom (who is really my second mom) would watch her shows in an upstairs living room while my dad would watch football in the basement. I didn't know many female football fans. Shows on TV reinforced my stereotype of the football widow. There’s an entire episode of the classic 1980s show 227, which starred Marla Gibbs, titled “Football Widow.” Also Saturday Night Live had three skits starring Vanessa Bayer and a group of “hungry guys” including her (pretend) husbands. This skit poked fun at the football widow stereotype. They were pretend ads for Totino’s Pizza Rolls which aired the Saturday night before the 2015, 2016 and 2017 Superbowls. Vanessa’s husbands were played by JK Simmons, Larry David, and Beck Bennett respectively. Actress Kristen Stewart makes a steamy appearance in the ad set in 2017. I found the 227 episode on the “Valerian HD” channel on YouTube and the three SNL skits are on SNL’s YouTube channel. Just search “Every Totino’s Ever.” My girlfriend is a big Detroit Lion’s fan. She used to watch the Lion’s games with her dad on Sundays. But I thought she was an anomaly. I’ve since learned while researching for this article that 47% — almost half — of NFL fans are women. Also there are a greater number of single people and fewer couples in the world today than in the past. At first, combining these holidays seemed bad for the restaurant business, but I learned that while each holiday is busy for restaurants, Valentine’s Day is busy for fine dining restaurants, while Super Bowl Sunday is busy for bars, especially sports bars. Still, there might be some overlap. Having these two holidays on the same day seems a little strange for me. Maybe that’s part of why I’m “confused.” Couples going out to dinner, basking in their love and relationship, planning their future, possibly proposing marriage; while at the bar and on the streets people are cheering and getting drunk; this seems like oil and water. It doesn’t mix. But there are ways around this conflict. It’s really up to each couple. They can record the game, go out to an early dinner, or celebrate Valentine’s Day a day early. Still, I can see this leading to conflict. Really it depends on what people care about. Some couples think Valentine’s Day is a “Hallmark” holiday, just for card, flower and chocolate companies plus restaurants to make money. Other people could care less about the NFL and who this year's champion is. They can note the score the next day. In the case of singles, I think having Valentine’s Day combined with Super Bowl Sunday is perfect. A popular and growing trend is for singles to have anti-Valentine’s Day parties where singles meet and celebrate instead of sitting at home sad. These parties have drinking and celebrating, just like Superbowl parties. I wonder if places will have Super Bowl themed anti-Valentine’s Day parties on February 14th, 2027. I think it would be a great way for singles to meet. Maybe relationships will begin on this night. So what will win on February 14 next year, glory or love? On February 11, 2024 the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII (58). It was rumored that Travis Kelce, a star for the Chiefs, would propose to his girlfriend Taylor Swift. Instead Travis proposed to Taylor on August 10, 2025 in a custom secret garden in his backyard filled with over two thousand flowers including roses, hydrangeas, peonies and lilies. This proposal surprised Taylor. They were married last July in Madison Square Garden in New York City by Adam Sandler (which seems weird to me). It was a huge wedding with many celebrities. Travis Kelce has played in five Superbowls, three of which his team won. Many people consider Taylor Swift the most famous solo singer in the world now. So in this case I would argue Taylor and Travis have both glory and love. So maybe on February 14 of next year nobody will need to sacrifice either one for the other. Anything is possible. OCTOBER 16, 2026 -
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