I’m as romantic as the next guy, not with the next guy mind you, but compared to other guys. I love my wonderful wife and adore my two incredible daughters. I’m a compassionate brother to my three extremely high maintenance sisters and I adore my nieces to pieces. At the same time, I love football. I played football, I watch football, I’ve even been know to wager on football (only in the states that have legalized gambling, of course). I’m also a firm believer that two things can be equally true. I can love the women in my life and I can love football. That’s why I’m having trouble coming to terms with the fact that both the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day are both scheduled in the month of February this year. For die-hard football fans like me, the Super Bowl is our Valentine’s Day. It’s the day we don’t have to be embarrassed to express our amorous infatuation with the sport that impacts our lives so profoundly. I’m concerned knowing that I couldn’t possibly give my best effort to both days simply because there’s only so much love to go around on a per month basis.
In years past, the Super Bowl has taken place at the end of January, two weeks following the conclusion of the AFC and NFC Championship Games. Valentine’s Day occurs somewhere in mid-February. I think it’s one of those floating dates like Thanksgiving—the second Tuesday of the month, or something like that? Each sacred day has an entire month devoted to itself without any celestial distractions, and that’s the way it should be. The supreme calendar gods who work for Hallmark or Day Timer didn’t schedule Halloween and the 4th of July in the same month did they? No! Easter and St. Patrick’s Day don’t both fall in March, do they? Granted, Christmas and New Year’s Day are only a week apart, but they have their own separate months, right? So why all of a sudden do two significant events of such monumental importance have to crowd each other during a month of the year that already has “day envy” carrying around a mere 28 days (29 in a leap year) when the other months routinely have a robust 30-31 days?
Being the romantic guy I am, I look forward to devoting my heart and soul to a designated day of passion, lust and amour, but I like Valentine’s Day too. Now that the NFL has moved the Pro Bowl to the week between the league championship games and the Super Bowl, this is the climax of a season that goes by way too quickly. Once that game is over, the American public is forced to endure six weeks of college and professional basketball before baseball’s spring training games begin. I’m sure we can all agree that March Madness is an addictive rush but, other than that, a good segment of the country’s population (men) go through clinical depression until the Opening Day of Major League Baseball. Thank God for Madden Football on PS3.
Below is a spreadsheet analysis of Valentine’s Day versus the Super Bowl, emphasizing the amount of preparation and emotional effort that goes into two distinctly different days of equal status.
| Valentine’s Day | Super Bowl | |
| Time: | All day. From a good Morning to a “good” night | All day; pre-game, game, post-game |
| Celebration: | Flowers/gift/card and the appropriate level of amore | Betting pools, shots and a lot of high fives and chest bumps |
| Theme: | Red and White | Team Colors |
| Food: | Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate or White Chocolate | Chips and dip, pizza, ribs, nachos, peanuts, popcorn |
| Alcohol: | Expensive wine or inexpensive champagne | Beer, Tequila and Jager |
| Venue: | Home or fancy restaurant | Raging neighborhood party or wicked fun sports bar |
| Advertising: | Romantic commercials featuring greeting cards and mall jewelry stores. Pass the tissues. | E*TRADE commercials featuring baby making on-line stock trades. One word, Hilarious! |
| Wagering: | It’s a safe wager that most guys will screw-up some element of the pressure-filled holiday, but I bet most of us are still hoping to get lucky | I won $350 last year with the numbers 5 and 8 and my neighbor is still bringing in my garbage cans thanks to moi taking the Cardinals +6 |
There’s no need to place blame anywhere specific, but I would like to know who is responsible for the scheduling mishap, this programming snafu, this “exhibition of love” calendar confliction? Although the history of Saint Valentine’s Day is shrouded in mystery, its origin dates back to 496 A.D. (www.history.content.valentine.com). Knowing that this in only the forty-forth anniversary of the Super Bowl (XLIV), V Day obviously has tenure. It looks like Roger Goodell, the Commissioner of the National Football League, needs to spend a little more time with his team of consultants evaluating his scheduling options for next year’s Super Bowl. The first of my many suggestions to the NFL online suggestion box will be the elimination of that worthless bye week.
I believe there should be an annual day to commemorate love, compassion and appreciation for both the special people in our lives and an event of the Super Bowl’s magnitude, just not in the same month. Imagine how many men could potentially need time off from work due to emotional exhaustion. Take it from a guy with a lot of love in his heart, there’s no reason two prominent day’s of worship and devotion need to fight it out in the month of February. The Super Bowl is meant to be played the last weekend of January and that’s all there is to it. You’re welcome, Mr. Cupid.