Many football analysts have been wetting themselves with glee about this year's Super Bowl matchup because it consists of two teams that "do things the right way" and are full of history and tradition and a zillion other things that matter mostly to those who observe the game instead of actually caring about it.
That's not to say that this isn't a fine matchup. Both teams deserve to be here, both of them have rosters filled with fun players to watch and there isn't much reason to believe it won't be a close, competitive game. Best of all, both teams have tremendous fan support that is translating to a hope that there will be something less than the usual anitseptic corporate feel of the typical Super Bowl.
NFL.com released some figures about ticket sales for the game on Thursday and they reveal that the two home states of the participants are both moving a fair amount of tickets. Wisconsin accounts for 7.4 percent of the total sales thus far, with Pennsylvania just behind them with 7.2 percent of the pie. That's good for second and third place behind Texas. Over at secondary retailer StubHub, the two states account for 14 percent of sales with a 1:1 ratio. Wisconsinites are spending $128 more per ticket, which means Pittsburgh's got some work to do if they want to get closer to the field.
The size of the fan bases of each team also means that a good number of the sales from other states likely represent diehards looking to see their team instead of title insurance salesmen looking to pay back mortgage providers who funnel business in their direction. That's a good thing because if you're going to watch a bloated, overproduced spectacle masquerading as a football game, you might as well get a feeling that the people in the stands care about the outcome. The fact that the sales are so close is even better since it will provide a sense of balance we don't get to see all that often at the professional level.
While we wouldn't dare go as far as assuming that these sales figures mean that we're going to be treated to something like the Texas-Oklahoma game, it should make for a better-than-expected atmosphere at JerryWorld for a non-Cowboys Super Bowl.
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