Road to The Big Game

America’s democracy will be on full display on Super Tuesday, the quadrennial kick-off to the Presidential primaries’ where voters select the finalists for the Political Super Bowl later in November.  Two days earlier, on Super Sunday, the NFL will feature several promotions that call on this same nationwide unalienable rights to vote and influence change.

During the Super Bowl, the NFL will announce (via a commercial spot) the winner of the season-long “Meet the Men Under the Helmet”  contest, where players across the league were filmed telling their stories in front of a camera with nothing but a black backdrop behind them.   The resulting videos were cut into 30 second clips and were posted on NFL.com where fans voted for months in a bracket style tournament to determine which would air on February 3^rd.

It’s ironic because as I wrote in my previous post, the NFL business model is steeped in Socialist tenets of revenue sharing and parity.  But when it comes to fan engagement and media, the NFL has learned from the wildly popular voting shows like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars, and has tailored their content accordingly.

What has always made America great is that we all have a voice, and the power to influence change.  The NFL is taking this ball and running with it to allow fans to be a part of the game and also humanize these modern-day gladiators to show the softer side of the gridiron.

by Tom Ziangas, Nielsen Sports