This time a kid from New York tried to change the Super Bowl
You may remember Frank Ruggeri? Frank had a bold dream about the Super Bowl. He wanted to move America’s favorite sporting event to a Saturday night instead of the traditional Sunday. In 2022, Frank, now an 18-year-old high school student, is still there. But he first made national headlines in early 2020, when he launched an online petition to move the Super Bowl to Saturday. Some scoffed at the idea. According to WPTV, Frank and his family now live in West Palm Beach, Florida, but when this story first broke he was 16 and living in Monroe County, New York.
The story
Some have long proposed making the Monday after the Super Bowl a holiday. How many Americans typically call in sick that day anyway? Well, a kid from New York State has a different idea; push back the Super Bowl by an entire day. Super Bowl Saturday? The NY Post reports that Frankie Ruggeri feels the Super Bowl on a Sunday is inconvenient for fans, or even the NFL. In fact, the Monroe County teenager is so convinced that he started an online petition on Change.org.
A 2019 study indicates that more than 17 million Americans planned to call in from work the next day. Looks good to me. Of course, there is all that with the Sports Broadcasting Act. This 1961 law helped set the National Football League’s broadcast schedule for Sundays. The NFL has also claimed for many years that viewership is much higher on Sundays.
It will bring in more money. and attract more visitors to the game. The NFL will get more TV ratings. The reason is that most government jobs and schools have a Sunday off.
The result
Well, the Super Bowl always seems to be played on Sundays. However, Ruggeri’s cause gained much exposure. Recently, he appeared on News Nation’s “Morning in America” to state his case. While the original story breaks just a month before the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the country, it’s debatable whether that figure of “17 million Americans who show up for work sick the next day” didn’t does that increase? So far, the National Football League has not granted his request.
Super Bowl LVI will take place on Sunday, February 13 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Kickoff will be at 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time.