By Francisco Gonzalez, JMI Development Director
Every year, hundreds of millions of people in this country come together for a truly American holiday: Super Bowl Sunday. This year, a reported 100 million viewers watched the game live on television. Tens of thousands of others traveled from around the world to South Florida to attend the game itself. The Super Bowl added another $153 million to South Florida’s economy this year, even in these tough economic times. (In 2007, when the Colts played the Bears in Miami, the game’s impact was $195 million). Although the true long-term impact may be better: as millions of Americans in the northeast were snowed in, they tuned in to see the beautiful weather in Miami.While there are surely government subsidies for football stadiums, for the most part, the game was a private sector boost to the economy. Flights, hotels, and tourists on South Beach, all add to the boost in the South Florida economy, creating more jobs than any government stimulus program could hope for.More than the game itself, many viewers at home tune in for the commercials – laughing at the great marketing campaigns corporate America has created to sell their products. It always surprises me how excited we get about watching these Super Bowl ads each year. Super Bowl Sunday reminds us that capitalism is still alive and kicking, is still the greatest benefit to our economy, and that at the end of the day, most of us still enjoy it.
2010
