Super Bowl

I agree that the Super Bowl re-affirms "who we are" because for Americans it's a tradition and more than just a football game. Not everyone who watches the Superbowl is watching for the game. People watch to see the commercials, the half time show, who will be singing the National Anthem, and for various other reasons. It's also a tradition because Americans enjoy getting together with friends and family to eat, hang out, catch up, and also to have a reason to drink. Many of the commercials are about different brands of beer and trying to see who had the funniest, most clever or most catchy out of them all.
New commercials have become such a big deal during the Superbowl that to have a 30 second ad cost $3 million, a mark that has never been the starting price for a commercial during the Super Bowl. There are websites that are dedicated to commercials seen during the Super Bowl and most, if not all of them, can be easily found on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WZLvHYHvt0
The half time show is also a big deal and millions of people tune in just to see it. The controversy from several half time shows made it even more interesting to watch. Because of those incidents the Super Bowl half time show included older bands/artists but it seems to be more appealing to different audiences lately especially this year with Bruce Springsteen.