Hey Samo, football fans deserve representation too

By Jeremy Platt, Staff Writer

There is a really big problem when it comes to lack of national representation. Our country fails to represent football fans who look at the Super Bowl as a sacred day; a day to commemorate the two best teams in the National Football League  (NFL) squaring off head-to-head and fighting for the Lombardi trophy. For casual football fans, this day starts off at around 2:30 PM (PST), an hour before the big game. Fans may be at a party with their friends, family or fantasy football league. (Pre-COVID-19, of course!) These fans are here for a good time—a time to watch America’s game and forget about their real world problems.

The day after the Super Bowl is not a holiday for the “watch a few games a year" fans.  For these casual fans, this would be like Christmas to a Jewish person. You appreciate the break from your daily duties, but you’re not actually going to church and recognizing the birth of Jesus Christ. This holiday is for the die hards. This holiday is for the people who kick off their personal football season in the beginning of March at the start of free agency. The people who spend over 10 months preparing for this day. The aspiring NFL athletes and general managers who spend more time scouting NFL draft prospects than doing their homework. For some people, football is their religion, and these people deserve representation both at Samo and nationally.

If you are looking for a student who displays such qualities, look no further than me.  A die hard 49ers fan who will be an NFL general manager in the near future. Last year, the day after the Super Bowl was a day of mourning. In case you do not remember, the 49ers lost the Super Bowl. It hurts for me even to think of what could have been. I am getting emotional just writing this article. I did not go to school the day after their loss; I was too busy eating day-old Chinese Food and taking my rightful 24 hours to mourn.  Anybody who knows me would say that I am a joyful person. I was voted “Most Optimistic” by Samo students this year, but let me set the record straight. Last year, the day after the Super Bowl, there was no optimism, no joy, no nothing coming out of this 5’11” Jewish boy. This was a day of sorrow and misery. I was in no capacity to think about derivatives, rhetorical strategies or any type of school work. You cannot expect emotional beings, such as myself, to go to school the day following the Super Bowl.

Now let’s look at the other side of the game. The winners. The day after the Super Bowl is a day of celebration, a day of hurrahs and a day of glory. Not a day of calculus, literature or education of any sort. Sending a winner to school the following day is setting them up for failure. There is no way that students are capable of doing any studying, homework or anything revolving around school. These students are a little more cocky than usual; they walk around with their chests puffed out and a big smile filled with arrogance. These students are just looking for ways to bring up their victory in any conversation and rub it in the losers’ faces. This is a feeling that I wish to attain one day as both a fan and NFL general manager. However, this pride and arrogance would not create a successful learning environment for anyone. It would disrupt the natural flow of class and make for a day filled with emotion that takes us away from the main point of school: to learn.

While there are 30 other teams in the NFL that don’t play in the Super Bowl, these fans deserve representation too. The day off could be looked at as a participation award. Look at the Detroit Lions fans as an example. The Lions have been through some pretty tough times. They haven’t won a playoff game since 1991, but their fans have stayed loyal. These fans are committed and deserve some type of compensation. As I mentioned earlier, the “die-hards'' have been preparing for the Super Bowl since the start of NFL free agency through the draft, training camp, pre-season and other time-consuming activities over a period of 10 months just to prepare for this single day. Shouldn’t they at least get a day off to commemorate their loyalty? Otherwise, that is education without representation.

In 2020, over 99.9 million people in America watched the Super Bowl. According to my research, that is about 99.9 million more people than the number of people who celebrated Flag Day, Fruitcake Toss Day or National Ex-Spouse day, which are in fact American holidays. Even though we don’t have the day off for these holidays, they at least get some sort of acknowledgement. The day after the Super Bowl has none. Furthermore, if Samo students get the day off after Winter Break and Thanksgiving, why can’t they get Super Bowl Monday off? So once again I am going to ask you, if ex-spouses can have a day for appreciation, why can’t football fans have a day too?

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