As the NFL’s owners prepare to formally adopt a 17-game regular season, Mark Maske of the Washington Post has a tidbit that will make many football fans very happy.
According to Maske, the expanded season will result in Super Bowls being played on President’s Day weekend. Here’s the specific quote from Maske: “Next year’s Super Bowl would fall one week before Presidents’ Day weekend. But in other years, the Super Bowl would fall on the Sunday right before Presidents’ Day.”
It was believed by many (me included) that it would take a 19-week season to consistently align the Super Bowl with President’s Day weekend. It’s unclear whether the Super Bowl and Presidents’ Day weekend will coincide on a consistent basis.
Fans have clamored for a President’s Day weekend Super Bowl for years, since it will allow many to enjoy the game without worrying about going to school or work the next day. And it will allow plenty of persons of legal age to consume responsibly without having to answer an alarm bell.
The league in the past has had concerns that this could result in increased travel for the weekend, resulting in (for example) a family not watching the game at home but instead watching it with another family, in their home. With advanced techniques for measuring total audience (techniques I won’t even try to understand), those concerns apparently have been alleviated.
UPDATE 12:19 p.m. ET: MDS apparently has cracked the code. Presidents’ Day lands on the third Monday in February, and the Super Bowl will land on the second Sunday in February. Thus, the Super Bowl and Presidents’ Day will line up when Super Bowl lands on February 14, Valentine’s Day. Which is exactly what would have happened in 2021. That happens again in 2027, 2038, 2044, 2049, 2055. Thus, when the league adds an 18th game, those will be the years when Presidents’ Day weekend happens a week before the Super Bowl.