Super Bowl 2012: Why Game Is Most Overhyped Event in Sports

The suffocating hype of the Super Bowl has vastly outgrown the reality of the game. While it is the greatest event on the sports calendar, it is also the most overhyped. 

This game is two full weeks of hype. Storylines are exhausted. By the time the game rolls around, we know what kind of cereal the players like, their zodiac signs, their childhood celebrity crushes and how many times a day they Tebow (help us all if he ever makes the Super Bowl).

This event is so huge that they don't have press conferences, they have an entire media day. During this media day, reporters from all over the world flock to ask questions of players and coaches. 

In fact, in and of itself, this has become a hyped event. For the first time ever, tickets were sold to the public for $25 to attend media day. The tickets were in such demand that people were scalping them.

That's right, fans were buying tickets to watch players answer mostly absurd questions.

Here is a little sampling of the craziness. 

And that is just the events leading up to the game! On game day, there are countless bands performing on pregame shows from a site close to the game, while the halftime show is a full blown concert.

It is shorter than a concert, but the stage and production is the real deal. Check out last year's horrible Black Eyed Peas show. 

This has all got more than a little out of control. We are, after all, talking about a single game that lasts for roughly three hours. 

That game, if we are lucky, will be an entertaining and close contest. More often than not, it is not. Indeed, 28 of the 44 Super Bowls have ended with a double-digit margin of victory. 

At some point, all of this craziness detracts from the game. It is easy to forget that this is about football, and not just an event. Can't we just play the game and call it good?