Last year over 172 million Americans tuned in, making retailers smile as the economy sees a sharp spike in the black every year. Football fans drop hundreds of millions of dollars on food and drink, décor, and team apparel for this one hallowed day in early February.
You wanna see some staggering numbers? Let’s start with the liquids… It is estimated that this Sunday, $1.2 billion will be spent on Beer (over 50 million cases – enough beer to fill over 500 Olympic sized swimming pools), $594 million on Wine, $503 million on Hard Liquor, while $2.37 million on Sodas and other Soft Drinks.
Onto the food… Chicken Wings, ah, the staple of football epicurean goodness. Over 1.35 billion wings will be devoured (that’s over 8 million pounds) which is enough to circle the earth 3 times. Chips, including those used for nachos: 50 million pounds @ $500 mil. Popcorn: 4 million pounds @ $90 mil. Burgers: 14 billion will be served. Pizza: It’s the NUMBER 1 takeout food for the day with over 4 million being ordered, enough to stack as high as 910 Leaning towers of Pisa. Meat Snacks: $100 mil. Deli Salads: $80 mil. Cheese Snacks: $71 mil. Deli Sandwiches: $60 mil. Dips: 42 mil. Deli Platters: $23 mil. Veggie Trays: $13 mil. Nuts: 2.5 million pounds.
A couple of other interesting final factoids… the sale of antacids jump 20% for the day, and it’s estimated that 16.5 million employees will not show up for work on Monday morning.
So enjoy the game, lavish in the libations, gorge on the food, and pray for your box pool numbers. And don’t worry, I promise not to rat you out to your boss on Monday.
