The "Big" Stage

Ravens' Quarterback Joe Flacco

49ers Quarterback Colin Kapernick 

49ers 

Vs.

Ravens

Football's Biggest Stage

February might mean the hope of spring for some people, or basketball season beginning in full swing, but for people like me, it means the Super Bowl and all the hype that comes with it. As a true football fanatic, everything about the sport's biggest game excites me. The ads, the players, teams, coaches and fans. The game has evolved into a part of America's culture. The Super Bowl is where dreams are captured or lost, it's where football players compete for sport's immortality. I love everything about it. This weekend on Feb 3rd, the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens will get the chance to play on football's biggest stage and become a part of one of the biggest media events of our culture. It truly has become more than a game. It's a time for ordinary men to chase greatness, and for dreams to come true. It's also when media is shown at its finest through commercials, sports commentaries, coverage and advertising. It's greatness.

The Commercials & Hype

The Super Bowl is by far more than just a game. Not only do sports teams get to compete for glory but media takes on a whole new competitive edge. The hype is unmatched. The commercials themselves are their own form of a "super bowl" it's like the media is competing in its own game to win the public's attention. It's gotten increasingly more and more expensive (almost outrageously in my opinion, but of course that's what keeps the industry in business) as the years have gone by. According to a website called "Business Insider" in the sports page section, 1995 was the first year the a 30 second super bowl commercial slot cost $1 million! Since then it's increased to $3 million last year! This picture breaks down the costs from year to year for a 30 second slot.

Super Bowl Ad costs throughout the years.

Okay, so now that there's this breakdown chart of what the Super Bowl ads cost. Here lies the question. Why? What's the point? Well, the Huffington Post states that last year's game was one of the highest rated with 111.3 million tuning in for the major sporting event. The four quarters of football clearly have become one of the best advertising outlets for media today. With that many viewers how can media not get their message across? It's really a perfect sales pitch if you ask me. Personally, I am WAY more likely to pay attention to commercials when it's during my favorite game of the year cheering on some men in football uniforms!

Media's Big Stage    

The Super Bowl is immortal. It idolizes the players who play the game, the coaches who teach it and the commercials that help make the game complete. Media doesn't only use their ads as a way to capture the game but the coverage and commentators. I think in a lot of ways the Super Bowl demands attention and the audiences are way more likely to pay attention during those ads then any other day. It's the biggest stage for football, sports and media. It's immortalizes those involved. One of our biggest days in America. I mean every Super Bowl Sunday, my phone is turned off and I am locked in for the duration of that game. It's like time stops. Maybe that makes me  a crazy sports fan or maybe I'm just one of the millions who get caught up in all the "hype." 

I don't think any Super Bowl blog post would be complete without some commercials. Without further ado here is the top ten Super Bowl commercials from 2011 on superbowlcommercials.com. I have to say endless entertainment! It's not all about football on Super Bowl day! http://www.superbowl-commercials.org/2873.html

Through the Years

    Media is a crucial part of our culture, especially social media. It's become our way of communicating and truthfully it's become one of the most persuasive and influential aspects of our society. We thrive off of staying "in the know" and having information at a moment's notice.

   Media and our culture wasn't always this way, we used to be elated over talking on the telephone or listening to a radio broadcast. A textbook called Strategic Media Decisions explains major changes that media has experienced through the years. It's changed, it is more accessible and it's a social outlet as well as an information source. We survive off of media. Through the years it's evolved from creating the printing press to Facebook, and Twitter taking over. In a lot of ways, media has become more and more influential.

   I will be the first to admit I love media and social media specifically. I love having access to information in the blink of an eye and I love the "popularity" social media gives you. However, I do think that media has more of an influence now than it ever did years ago. Today, advertisements, daily news, and television have become major ways of influencing homes and decisions. A yahoo article called "media influence in our society," talks about how our culture is so accustomed to technology, and media and the way it is a major aspect of our society. It's ironic how something like the printing press opened the door for mass media becoming en-grained in our everyday lives. We can't even turn on the tv or listen to the radio without media having some impact on thought or action.

  I love media. I love that it impacts our culture, however sometimes it's interesting to take a look back through the years and see how media has developed into a major aspect of our culture.

This youtube video really captures where media started and what it has evolved to throughout the years and paints a picture of how much of an influence it has over our society. We thrive off of media and our culture has been built around it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm5Zgkwnp_g