SUPER SUNDAY by John MacIntyre

A TRADITION BEGINS

Although the Super Bowl seems like it is as ancient an American tradition as Thanksgiving turkey (it is, after all, the second-largest U.S. food consumption day, following Thanksgiving), the first Super Bowl wasn't played until 1967.

ALL IN A NAME

NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle wanted to call the game "The Big One," but AFL founder and Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt had jokingly referred to the proposed interleague championship as the "Super Bowl," a thought he had after seeing his kids playing with a toy called a Super Ball. That ball is now on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

TICKETS

Number of tickets that went unsold at the first Super Bowl: 30,000

Number of Super Bowls since that time that have not sold out: 0

Average face value ticket price for Super Bowl I: $6 to $12

Average face value ticket price for the Super Bowl in 2008: $600 to $700

Amount one ticket broker was offering for six seats in Shaquille O'neal's suite at the Super Bowl in Miami last year: $112,500

PRESIDENT WHO?

Number of people who voted in the last U.S. election: 121 million

Number who voted for the current president: 61 million

Number of Americans who watched the last Super Bowl: 144 million

Number of people worldwide who watched the last Super Bowl: 800 million

THEY SAID IT

"The Super Bowl is Americana at its most kitsch and fun." -- Sting

MEDIA FRENZY

Number of accredited news organizations covering the Super Bowl: 130

Number of languages in which the Super Bowl will be broadcast: 32

Number of accredited media members covering the first Super Bowl: 338

Number of accredited media credentials expected to be issued for this year's Super Bowl: 4,000

TAKE FIVE

Five Championships Won:

San Francisco 49ers: 1982, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1995

Dallas Cowboys: 1972, 1978, 1993, 1994, 1996

Pittsburgh Steelers: 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980, 2006

THEY SAID IT

"I predict one of these two teams will win the Super Bowl." -- Gilbert Gottfried

DID YOU KNOW ...

Only six teams have yet to appear in the Super Bowl: Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints. The Dallas Cowboys, on the other hand, have had eight Super Bowl appearances.

30 SECONDS

Cost of a 30-second televison spot on Super Bowl I in 1967: $42,500

Cost in 1987: $600,000

Cost in 2008: $2.7 million

1984

"1984" the television commercial (not the George Orwell novel) was launched in the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII by Apple Inc. Directed by Ridley Scott, fresh from the making of "Blade Runner," the commercial was played only once. The commercial shows the heroine running through an Orwellian world to throw a sledgehammer at a TV image of Big Brother -- an implied representation of IBM.

THE DRAW

Percentage of consumers who say the game itself is still the biggest draw, according to Big Research: 34

Percentage who say commercials are the most important part of the Super Bowl: 15

THEY SAID IT

"The Super Bowl is like a movie, and the quarterback is the leading man." -- Leigh Steinberg

WASN'T THAT A PARTY

Number of Super Bowl watchers who watch with at least one other person, according to Hallmark: 95

Average number of people attending a Super Bowl party: 18

Rank of New Year's Eve and the Super Bowl as the most popular party dates throughout the year: 1, 2

'TIL DEATH DO US PART

Percentage of men who say they would have to be on their deathbed or in a coma to miss the Super Bowl, according to a survey by eBay: 14

Percentage of men surveyed who say they would skip the birth of their firstborn child in order to watch the Super Bowl: 66

Percentage who say nothing would make them miss the Super Bowl: 10

A HOLIDAY

Amount that American employers lost during the week leading up to last year's Super Bowl because workers are distracted by the big game's hype, according to data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.: $780 million

Amount that employers lost in unproductive wages on the Monday following the Super Bowl as workers discussed the game, the commercials and the half-time show: $156 million

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

Yearly cost of unnecessary work interruptions to the U.S. economy, according to a study conducted by Basex: $650 billion

Source: Basex Inc.

When asked how much money it takes to be rich, percentage of affluent households who said $5 million, according to the research by Millionaire Corner, a newly launched Web site powered by Spectrem Group: 45

Percentage who said $25 million: 25

Percentage who said $1 million is enough to be rich: 22

Source: Spectrem Group.

Percentage of employed Americans who said they will look for a new job in 2008, according to a survey, commissioned by SnagAJob.com: 26

Percentage of hourly workers who said they plan on job hunting: 31

Percentage of Americans ages 18 to 34 who say they will be looking for a new job: 40

Source: SnagAJob.com.

Ranks of empathy and trustworthiness among the best predictors of overall effective leadership, according to a study of 1,405 leaders in 47 organizations conducted by BlessingWhite: 1, 2

Ranks of business aptitude, responsibility and clarity among the attributes successful business leaders were most likely to have: 1, 2, 3

Source: BlessingWhite.

Percentage of executives who said they turn first to spouses or significant others for advice when evaluating a potential job change, according to a poll developed by Accountemps: 46

Percentage who said they would consult their mentor first: 41

Source: Accountemps.

Ranks of North Carolina, Alabama, South Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee on the list of top Southern destinations for migrating Americans, according to the findings of United Van Lines' 31st annual "migration" study: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Wyoming and Arizona on the list of top Western destinations for migrating Americans: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Rank of Michigan as the top outbound state: 1

Source: United Van Lines.

Population of the U.S. on Jan. 1, 2008, according to a study conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau: 303,146,284

Number of seconds between each new birth: 8

Number of seconds between each death: 11

Number of seconds between each new migrant: 30

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Ranks of "Wicked" (the Broadway musical and theatrical tour), Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: "Best of Both Worlds Tour," The Police, Kenny Chesney and the New England Patriots on the list of top "most requested events" in 2007, according to Ticketmaster: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Ranks of the New England Patriots, the Chicago Bears, WWE World Wrestling Entertainment and the New York Yankees on the list of the most requested sporting events: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Ticketmaster.

Rank of the U.S. among 19 industrialized countries in terms of its effectiveness in the prevention of preventable deaths, according to a study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund: 19

Percentage decline in preventable deaths in all countries except the U.S. between 1997 and 2003: 16

Percentage decline in the U.S. in that same period: 4

Source: The Commonwealth Fund.

Due to convenience and a clearer understanding of usage terms, expected percentage increase in sales of gift cards by 2012, according to a report from market-research publisher Packaged Facts: 5

Estimated amount of money this represents: $14 billion

Estimated percentage of consumers purchasing gift cards in the last 12 months who anticipate spending more on gift cards during the next 12 months: 35

Source: Market Research.

Idle Thought

"A politician is a man who thinks of the next election; while the statesman thinks of the next generation." -- James Freeman Clarke, preacher and author

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

Percentage of people who achieve half or fewer of their resolutions, according to a poll conducted by DecideBetter: 76

Percentage of respondents who make at least some of the same resolutions every year: 86

Percentage of the respondents who stated that they expect to achieve all of their resolutions this year: 50

Source: DecideBetter.

Percentage of women who report that they control the home thermostat, according to a survey conducted by OpinionZone for MARC USA: 70

Percentage of men who say they are in charge: 56

Percentage of respondents who say they and their spouse/partner differ on a comfortable home temperature: 67

Source: MARC USA.

Estimated annual economic burden of smoking in excess medical expenses per smoking employee, according to a report from the National Business Group on Health: $1,623

Estimated additional cost in health-related productivity losses per smoking employee: $1,760

Percentage of survey respondents who said that they believe providing employees with smoking cessation benefits can help improve employee health: 75

Source: National Business Group on Health.

Percentage of employers who reported an increase in the past six months in the turnover of front-line employees -- workers who are usually a customer's first contact with a business, such as salespersons, customer service representatives, and other sales and support staff, according to a study conducted by ClearRock: 37

Percentage of employers who reported an increase in the past six months in the turnover of high-potential employees -- workers whom employers have identified as future leaders based on their background, testing and performance: 31

Percentage of employers who say they have implemented new or revised retention programs for high-potential employees: 56

Source: ClearRock.

Rank of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) among U.S. citizens' least-liked federal agencies, according to a poll conducted by the Associated Press and Ipsos: 1

Ranks of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA): 2 (tied)

Source: Ipsos Poll/Associated Press.

Percentage of couples with higher household income ($75,000 or above) who are in agreement about retirement savings, according to a study conducted by Harris Interactive for The Wall Street Journal Online: 67

Percentage of couples with incomes of less than $35,000 who are in agreement about retirement savings: 30

Source: Harris Interactive.

Year that Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. -- the first women's college in the U.S. -- was established by Mary Lyon, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1837

Weekly salary that Mary Lyon earned as a teacher: 75 cents

Average weekly salary earned by men at that time: $2 to $3

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Rank of flight delays and cancellations among the biggest irritants to business travelers, according to a survey conducted by TripAdvisor: 1

Percentage of business travelers who say they are members of a hotel points program: 78

Percentage who say they "often" stay at the same hotel chain: 59

Ranks of New York, Chicago, London, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., among the top destinations preferred by business travelers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: TripAdvisor.

Rank of "working with a boss they respect and can learn from" as the most important consideration in selecting an employer by baby boomers and Generation Y (those born between 1979 and 1999) -- ahead of having a nice office space, a short commute and working for a socially responsible company, according to a study from Robert Half International and Yahoo!: 1

Percentage of Generation-Y members who want to hear from their managers at least once a day: 60

Source: Robert Half International.

Percentage increase in the number of portable and standby generators in household use from 2002 to 2006, according to a report from market research publisher SBI: 30

Estimated rise in sales over the next five years due to advances in design, marketing and availability of portable generators: 5 million

Source: Market Research.

Idle Thought

"The ingenuities we practice in order to appear admirable to ourselves would suffice to invent the telephone twice over on a rainy summer morning." -- Brendan Gill

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600