In professional American football, the Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League (NFL). The game and its ancillary festivities constitute Super Bowl Sunday. Over the years it has become the most-watched U.S. television broadcast of the year, and has become likened to a de facto U.S. national holiday.[1] In addition, many popular singers and musicians have performed during the Super Bowl's pre-game and halftime ceremonies. Super Bowl Sunday is the second-largest U.S. food consumption day, following Thanksgiving.[2]
Television broadcast rights of the Super Bowl are held exclusively each year by only one major network (currently, NBC) in the United States, and the annual broadcast is famous for having the most expensive commercial airtime space of year. As a result, commercial watching during the Super Bowl has also proceeded to become one of the sub-cultures of the annual event.
The current Super Bowl, XLIII is being played on Sunday, February 1st, 2009 at 6:30 PM Eastern Standard Time. The matchup is between the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.