Super Bowl ‘Smunday’? Heinz Pushes For Monday After Super Bowl Sunday To Be National Holiday

Super Bowl 51 is less than two weeks away, and while millions of people from coast to coast prepare for their Super Bowl parties and get ready to cheer for either the New England Patriots or the Atlanta Falcons, employers will brace for the astronomical number of sick calls or planned vacation days the day after the game.

Which brings up a question that has been asked for nearly a decade now; should the day after the Super Bowl be declared a national holiday?

While some people find that suggestion to be absolutely preposterous, others absolutely agree that the Monday after the Super Bowl should be a national holiday here in the US and have taken to social media regarding the subject.

According to a FOX News report, the Kraft Heinz Co. is giving its U.S. employees the day off following the Super Bowl and pushing for the rest of America to declare the day a national holiday. In fact, Heinz believes in this idea so much that they are taking it all the way to the White House.

In a petition circulated online through Change.Org, NFL fans, or any folks who love the Super Bowl but dread heading to work the next day, can sign the petition that could make this change a reality.

“We can all agree that going to work the Monday after the ‘Big Game’ on Sunday is awful. So as far as we’re concerned at Heinz, we as a nation should stop settling for it being the worst workday of the year,” the petition says.

The points for making it a holiday are well taken.

First of all, football is the most popular sport of the four major sports in America, hands down.

Second, unlike the other three sports, (MLB, NBA, and NHL) the NFL championship is decided in one game, the Super Bowl, while the others are a best-of-seven series. Sure, the other sports are dramatic, but nothing is more climatic than a one game winner take all championship.

Finally, and most importantly, football is an American game.

With an estimated 70-80 million viewers every year (and that is sometimes on the low side) watching the big game, why not have a day off to recoup, recover, and rejoice a great American tradition? Last year’s game between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers saw an estimated 111.9 million viewers tune in, the third highest in NFL history.

But if that isn’t enough, statistics prove that work production the day after the Super Bowl drops off in a big way. As you can see in the video below released by Heinz, the country really does move in slow motion on Super Bowl Monday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br5cPUC_BsU

Millions of people will more than likely call in sick, use a vacation day (if you are lucky enough to have that option), or will most likely not show up for work the day after the most-watched football game of the year. With that being a well-known fact, Heinz’ suggestion of making Monday, or “Smunday” a holiday for all Americans shouldn’t be scoffed at too quickly!

“We wanted to get behind an initiative that we know people feel strongly about,” Nicole Kulwicki, a marketing executive at the company, told Bloomberg News.

We honor our country on its birth every year on the Fourth of July, Presidents Day, major holidays like Christmas, and New Year’s Eve, and we also acknowledge great American patrons, trailblazers, and activists. All things we should do to celebrate our great country.

So why not have one day off for a sport that brings people together and helps us forget about the everyday ups and downs of life, while we celebrate a popular game created in America?

This year’s Super Bowl will be held on Sunday, February 5, from Houston, Texas as the Atlanta Falcons take on the New England Patriots to decide the 2016 NFL champion.

[Featured Image by Nick Laham/Getty Images]