It’s that time of year again. The temperatures are down, the groundhog has been interrogated, and the singles are bracing themselves for Valentine’s day. Despite all this there is one question on the mind of football fans everywhere. Eagles or Chiefs?

This game decides it all; it’s the finale to this great year of football. One game will separate the winners from the rest, and the stakes are as high as ever. 

However after the bout in Arizona has come to an end and the Champs have claimed their trophy. Many people are faced with a yearly annoyance: Super Bowl Monday. The night of Super Bowl Sunday is filled with watch parties and celebrations that leave the fans in cheers and tears depending on their affiliation. This fun is experienced all over the nation and is experienced by all types of people.  In fact about 2/3rds of the US population watched the last Super Bowl which is about 208 million people. While this may be a dream come true for advertisers, it can be a nightmare for anyone that has work or school the next day. 

It has been shown that about 10% of workers, or if you are 18-34, 20% of workers will skip work on Super Bowl Monday. They often even pretend to be sick leading to the tag #supersickmonday. It has even been shown that approximately 40% of Americans feel sleep deprived on the day after leading to more absences or worse work.  For students however it can be much harder to miss a day of school, and many don’t have the option to fake a sick day due to the involvement of guardians. Not only this but if they do miss school they would risk attaining a mountain of work that can be overwhelming. All these factors will just lead to a bunch of unhappy and poorly rested* students doing lackluster work.

With all of these reasons it is clear to see why some workplaces and schools give the day off and it’s time for NACS to follow suit. In past years we have been ‘coincidentally’ given the day off but it was never a certainty. Much like Dr. Martin Luther King jr. day Super Bowl Monday should be a guaranteed off day. On top of the reasons already given, it could also break up the ‘death stretch’ of the school year that stretches from winter break to spring break with only 2 days off in between. Students (fans or otherwise) would really appreciate another day off to break up the stretch, especially because snow days have essentially been eliminated.

Even if we would have to add another day to the school year no one would notice. If anything it would just give people an extra day to prepare for their final. We should absolutely get this day off and give people the day of rest they desire. Fans can either go through the stages of grief ,or hone their jabs at fans of the losers. Even non-fans can get a 3 day weekend. Sounds like a win-win to me. 

* yes, more than usual

Work cited