The Olympics and the Super Bowl on the same day? Sports fans and non-sports fans unite

Note: As a bonus to our readers who have followed us into Year 2, the East Idaho Sports staff will post a special story on Sundays – Could be a column, opinion, feature, or just something fun and goofy. Hope you enjoy and thanks again for coming along on this journey.

THE WORLD – Welcome to the perfect day for sports fans and non-sports fans alike.

The Olympics and the Super Bowl collide in a frenzied day where chicken wings, chili dip, and maybe some delicious air fryer jalapeno poppers, share the spotlight with football prop bets (Sam Darnold for Super Bowl MVP + Patriots lead at the half!).

Today, everyone becomes an expert on curling strategy, while oohing and aahing as ski jumpers float through the air and some dude from Germany hits 90 miles-per-hour on the luge track.

Today, we’re all united, sitting in front of the TV, yelling at figure skating judges and wondering what those crazy snowboarders have been smoking before going for “Big Air.”

For the die-hard sports fans, football always gets top billing and nothing beats the Super Bowl.

Unfortunately, 99% of fans that have breathlessly followed their favorite teams since early September, don’t really care who wins today.

Except for fans in Seattle and the northeast, the Super Bowl outcome is essentially meaningless.

For the other 99%?

Did we mention prop bets and jalapeno poppers?

Also, you can’t go wrong with some tacos.

Super Bowl commercials are always fun, so there’s that.

For anyone questioning the impact of the Olympics and the Super Bowl, here are some numbers.

More than 90 countries and an estimated 3,000 athletes are competing in the Winter Olympics.

For most, reaching the Olympics required a lifetime of training and dreaming of one day being on the world stage.

The drama and human interest-type stories that come out of the Olympics are heartwarming and emotional, and really overshadow wins and losses and country medal counts.

Do you know what that Finnish biathlete overcame to reach the podium?

We have the story (probably).

The Olympics really are an amazing spectacle and people do want to watch.

According to Variety, last week’s Opening Ceremony was watched by 21.1 million viewers.

The only sporting event with comparable buzz is the Super Bowl.

Last year’s Super Bowl set a viewing record with an average audience of 127.7 million viewers.

Advertisers paid $8 million for a 30-second spot in this year’s Super Bowl broadcast.

If you’re still not fired up for today, here’s a list of the five best Olympic and football movies to set the mood.

-Remember the Titans
Based on a true story and one of Denzel Washington’s best performances.

-Brian’s Song
Classic football buddy story. And yes, it will make you cry.

-The Waterboy
If you need a good laugh, this is the ticket.

-Miracle
Making a movie about (arguably) the biggest upset in sports history without it being too cheesy couldn’t have been easy. But they nailed it.

-Cool Runnings
Another fun movie based on a true story about the Jamaican bobsled team, and who doesn’t love John Candy?

So, for all the sports and non-sports fans out there, at least for one day, don’t let politics spoil the fun.

Also of note, spring training starts this week, so pace yourself.