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Super Bowl entertains, sells and fills screens this week
It’s nearly time for the only pro sports championship with the word “super” in its name, a fitting superlative for the NFL’s oversize season finale. Next Sunday’s Chicago Bears-Indianapolis Colts game is at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, though the playing field seems to cover the country. Newspaper coverage spills beyond sports pages; virtually every TV channel has game-related reports this week; supermarkets feature Super Bowl party snacks; non-fans will tune in to see memorably clever commercials and Prince at halftime. The live TV broadcast of the Super Bowl still is the year’s most-viewed media event, even in this era of cable, the Internet other competition for traditional TV networks. More than 90 million viewers tuned in last year. Advertisers are paying up to $2.6 million – yes, more than two million bucks – for a half-minute spot during the CBS telecast. Super Bowl XLI has the added element of a racial landmark –- the first NFL championship game in 41 years with two African American head coaches -- Tony Dungy of the Colts and Lovie Smith of the Bears. "I know a lot of great coaches who came before me that didn't get this opportunity," Smith says. Dungy recalls that there were no African American head coaches in the NFL when he joined the league in 1981 as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Front Page Talking Points is written by
Felix Grabowski and Alan Stamm for NIEonline.com, Copyright 2013
We welcome comments or suggestions for future topics: Click here to Comment Front Page Talking Points Archive►Fresh population figures show the changing face of America ►U.S. scrutiny of online communication and calls stirs debate over snooping vs. security ►Facebook draws the line: Hateful, nasty posts about women are out of bounds ►Summer brings movie lineup of superheroes, zombies, sci-fi and comedies ►Federal safety board urges tougher drinking-and-driving cutoff limit to match other nations ►Northeast braces for noisy invasion: Flying cicada bugs return after hiding for 17 years ►U.S. military prison at Guantanamo, Cuba, remains a tricky problem for President Obama ►Doctors warn about serious health risks from 'The Cinnamon Challenge' video craze ►Earth Day on April 22 focuses attention on how we can protect the natural environment ►Thousands of past players take on the National Football League over brain injuries |
Super Bowl articles can be read without picking up or clicking onto the sports section. Invite class members to find at least one game-related report in the main news section or in the lifestyle, entertainment or business pages. 
Readers have many opportunities to interact with the newspaper and each other, and the Super Bowl is an ideal chance to share expertise, opinions, predictions and other comments. Send students on a mission to join the buzz at an online forum, to submit an editorial page letter, to e-mail an article to a friend or to message the writer of a piece they like -- or dislike. 
Not everyone "gets" football or appreciates Super Bowl hoopla. Start a discussion of whether the local paper's coverage seems excessive, about right or not heavy enough. Can students find any articles about people who won't watch or feel the game too much attention? 
Sponsors: Kevin Federline, estranged husband of Britney Spears, stars in a Nationwide Insurance spot. Anheuser-Busch has the biggest presence again with five minutes of Budweiser and Bud Light commercials. In addition to its usual stable of Clydesdale horses, the company will feature NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr., beer-stealing crabs and a scary hitchhiker.