PHOENIX – When it comes to the Super Bowl, the show will go on even if faced with a similar life-threatening on-field incident like the one that forced the postponement of a game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals in January, say industry experts.
The Bills’ Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest after making a tackle and needed to have his heart restarted on the field in front of a packed stadium and national television audience.
In the chaotic initial moments following the incident, there was confusion before the National Football League (NFL) ultimately determined the game could not be played.
But barring a terrorist attack or natural disaster the decision would likely be very different when it comes to Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, said Bob Dorfman, creative director and market analyst for Pinnacle Advertising.
“Being the Super Bowl it would change a lot, times a hundred,” he said.
“You are talking about advertisers that are spending several million dollars for a 30-second commercial.
“You’re talking about 100 million people watching at home, you’re talking millions in bets.
“It would be much more difficult for them to postpone the game.”
While the NFL has contingency plans in place for any number of scenarios, another event like the one involving Hamlin on the Super Bowl stage would leave the league in a nightmare predicament.
The pressure to get the game completed would be immense.
Networks pay billions for Super Bowl broadcast rights while commercials go for US$5 million (S$6.6 million) for a 30-second spot and millions more to create and produce.
A record 50.4 million American adults, or about 20 per cent of the population, are expected to bet US$16 billion on Sunday’s matchup, said the American Gaming Association, while tickets on resale site StubHub were averaging US$7,300 on Tuesday.
The NFL showed with Hamlin it can deal with a crisis and in the end was applauded for having an effective emergency plan and proper personnel in place.
The positive outcome may have boosted the public’s confidence that the NFL can make the right call in an emergency, said George Belch, marketing professor at San Diego State University, giving the league some cover if it were to have to play the Super Bowl around a potential catastrophe.
“I think people might be more willing to accept that OK, the game is going to go on,” Belch said. “I think Hamlin was a wakeup call in some respects.
“They (NFL) handled it really well, they saved his life and he is doing well and is a message to everyone that the NFL is on top of this.” REUTERS
