This year’s Super Bowl is over but remains a topic of hot review and discussion.
If it weren’t for farmers and ranchers, millions of people wouldn’t have all their excitement about the “big game.”
How did agriculture impact the Super Bowl which crowned the Kansas City Chiefs?
Money changes hands, whether in the purchase of game tickets (average price $9,720), food, or the loss of a bet.
Did you know 75 percent of that dollar bill used to tip the pizza delivery guy is made of cotton?
According to the National Retail Federation, 192.9 million adults watched the big game, spending a total of $16.5 billion, or an average of $85.36 per person.
While some of those expenditures went to things like team apparel, decorations, new TVs, and furniture, a whopping 79 percent was spent on food and beverages, all of which come from farms.
In fact, Americans ate more food on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day of the year except for Thanksgiving.
Super Bowl Sunday is one of the biggest days for pizza sales in America. According to The American Pizza Community, a coalition of the nation’s largest pizza companies, 12.5 million pizzas were sold on the day of the big game this year.
What would pizza be without wheat, milk, meat, fruit, and vegetables, all grown or raised by farmers?
The National Chicken Council estimates 1.45 billion chicken wings were eaten during the Super Bowl. That’s enough wings to go around the Earth three times.
More people grilled on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day besides the Fourth of July.
There were an estimated 14 billion hamburgers served on game day, possibly topped with some of the 12 million pounds of bacon that were eaten.
Don’t forget the potato chips and dip, cheese and crackers, popcorn, meatballs, and other munchies gracing tables across the country.
The National Restaurant Association said 51.7 million cases of beer were sold during Super Bowl weekend.
One bushel of barley, grown mostly by farmers across the Northern Plains and Pacific Northwest, will make 565 12-ounce beers.
While at-home watchers spent plenty on beer, at least they didn’t have to pay $17.50 for a 25-ounce can of Bud Light like those attending the game and washing down their $12.75 hot dog.
Agriculture also affects the game itself. The turf in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is a hybrid drought-tolerant Bermuda grass. The grass is rolled outside when the grass needs sunlight or the stadium is being used for other events.
The Las Vegas Raiders use a grass surface, but the University of Nevada-Las Vegas prefers an artificial turf field when the Rebels play their home games.
The earliest football uniforms were made of wool, which is shorn from sheep, not grown in a field. The wool was durable and held up to physical play.
Helmets today are made with polycarbonate, but the first helmets worn by players were made of soft leather.
Leather is also used to make the ball. Even though it’s often called a pigskin, footballs are actually made of cowhide.
Wilson is the official supplier of footballs for the NFL: 120 of its footballs were used in this year’s game.
One cowhide will make 10 footballs. Not just any cowhide is used; it comes from cattle grown in Kansas, Iowa, or Nebraska.
Whether it’s the stadium, the field, the ball, or the food, one thing is clear: no farms, no Super Bowl.
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