From snacks to tickets: 6 fun facts you need to know for your Super Bowl trip

Happy, Swiftie - oh wait, sorry, we meant Happy Super Bowl Weekend! After a Super Bowl media week in which star tight end Travis Kelce has to answer three times as many questions about his girlfriend and concert trips as he does about Patrick Mahomes or how he plans to shake off double coverage on the field, it's easy for me to have silly thoughts... 

That being said, Taylor Swift is now very much a part of Chiefs Kingdom, adding to the glitz and spectacle of a Super Bowl trip to New Orleans - whether you have a ticket or not. After all, this is a day that isn’t technically a federal holiday, but Americans treat it like one. So, let’s dive into some fun facts about the biggest single-day sporting event in the world.

1) The ultimate snack fest

Whether you're watching from your couch, at a packed sports bar, or at a special Super Bowl watch party in a theater, one thing’s for sure—America goes all in on food. Super Bowl Sunday ranks as the second-biggest food consumption day of the year, trailing only Thanksgiving. In numbers? A whopping $50 million spent on food, with around 1.45 billion chicken wings devoured.

To keep up with demand, Pizza Hut hires 11,000 additional workers just for Super Bowl weekend. Meanwhile, concerns over potential price hikes on avocados imported from Mexico (around 40,000 tons worth) due to new tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump could mean pricier guacamole. And that’s a problem when you’re making dip for roughly 14,500 tons of tortilla chips.

2) Super Bowl Ticket Prices

A dreamy night in the French Quarter followed by watching Chiefs vs. Eagles live at the Superdome (discover the New Orleans travel guide)? For most fans, that sounds like a fantasy—unless they hit the jackpot. On the resale market, the average Super Bowl ticket is selling for around $9,583, and that’s before factoring in hotel and parking costs.

Parking near the stadium can set you back several hundred dollars. The cheapest Super Bowl LIX ticket hovers around $4,000. For future Super Bowl trips (Santa Clara, Los Angeles, Atlanta), we can arrange customized travel packages, including game tickets and hotel accommodations.

3) Super Bowl commercials

Even casual viewers tune in for the legendary commercials, where brands drop insane amounts of money—not just on A-list athletes and celebrities, but also on airtime. A 30-second ad costs up to $8 million, breaking down to a staggering $266,000 per second.

Last year, soccer legend Lionel Messi, NFL Hall of Famer Dan Marino, and "Ted Lasso" star Jason Sudeikis teamed up for a major beer brand’s ad. This year, expect to see big names like Matthew McConaughey, Post Malone, and an unexpected duo—Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady—in a campaign promoting unity and standing against hate.

4) From casual fans to Swifties: 800 million viewers worldwide

The NFL regular season, including NFL International Games, already dominates TV ratings in the U.S. But when the playoffs roll around, viewership skyrockets, peaking at the Super Bowl.

On average, 800 million people worldwide tune in for the big game—numbers that even a FIFA World Cup Final struggles to match. In fact, nine of the top ten most-watched broadcasts in U.S. television history are Super Bowls, despite surveys showing that 30 to 40 percent of viewers aren’t even die hard football fans.

5) Betting madness

Placing bets on the game’s outcome? That’s just the beginning. Millions of dollars are wagered on everything from how long five-time Grammy winner Jon Batiste will take to sing the national anthem to whether Travis Kelce will walk away with both his fourth Super Bowl ring and an engagement ring for Taylor Swift.

In Las Vegas alone, the American Gaming Association estimates a record $1.39 million will be bet on this year’s Super Bowl.

6) Beware of "Super Bowl-itis"

Back to our first point—what happens after all that snacking? Americans will consume roughly 27 billion calories, washed down with 120 million liters of beer. The result? A 20 percent spike in painkiller and antacid sales the next day.

Then there’s the infamous "Super Bowl-itis." About 10 million Americans are expected to call in sick on the Monday after the game. Whether your boss is cool with it is another story.

With that in mind, enjoy the game—and try not to catch Super Bowl-itis!