The Schupper Bowl

As I’m sure everyone is aware, Super Bowl is a registered trademark of the NFL, as is Super Sunday. So unless companies want to buck up and pay for the rights to say Super Bowl in their ads, they have to call it something else … I’m not even sure I’m allowed to write it.

Most advertisers go with The Big Game: as in, “Great Deals for the Big Game” or “Tackle Your Big Game Spread!” It’s a good demonstration of ambush marketing and really, really much cheaper than saying Super you-know-what. And while this treatment is generally accepted and even overused, a couple of years ago the NFL actually tried to copyright the Big Game. Luckily they were unable, as the annual California-Stanford football game has been called the Big Game since around 1900. Nice try, NFL.

But, should the organizers of the Cal-Stanford game ever decide to go copyright crazy, what would we cheap and lowly advertisers be left with? Here are some alternatives:

The Big One
That’s what then NFL commish Pete Rozelle originally wanted to call The Big Game. If it sounds like a cheesy TV-movie about a devastating earthquake, that’s because it is.

The Super Big Game
Why not? It’s the biggest, big-game out there.

El Juego Gigante
Like the multiculturalism? Don’t like the Telemundo name.

The World Bowl
Nope. Turns out that was the championship game of the NFL Europe. What, you didn’t watch?

The Big Bowl
Isn’t that the dish your wife makes you get out of the cabinet and empty a bag of potato chips into?

Yearly Pigskin Battle
Probably too generic. It could refer to any game involving a prolate spheroid made out of pigskin.

Oh, what to call this glorious day of boozing on the Lord’s Day? It’s basically a nationwide … hell, it’s worldwide … Sunday Funday. Wait a minute. Is it that simple? Can we replace a clichéd term with one that is quickly on its way there??? Don’t see why not.

So, I hope you found a “Great Deal for Ultimate Sunday Funday®” or were able to “Tackle Your Ultimate Sunday Funday® Spread.” And if you’ve got any other good suggestions, I’d like to hear them. Then I will take and trademark or copyright them.

* Ultimate Sunday Funday is a registered trademark of Dru Jacobs, Inc.