Move the Super Bowl to Saturday

We, the undersigned, ask that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the Super Bowl Committee move the Super Bowl to Saturdays.

Many NFL fans and non-fans gather to celebrate the NFL championship. These gatherings happen in homes, restaurants and bars worldwide. The Super Bowl being scheduled late on Sunday requires that most parties end early. Many do not resulting in missed work and school days.

A poll of Society for Human Resource Management professionals found 8 percent saying they had increases in the number of employees calling in sick the day after a major televised event.

Eleven percent said they had more employees showing up late to work on the day after such big events.

With student absentees doubling at many campuses the day after the Saints' historic victory in the National Football Conference championship game, school officials across the New Orleans region pondered whether to cancel classes on the day after the Super Bowl.

"We feel that it is not in the best interest of our students to be required to attend school on a day when a significant number of absences or tardiness will be the reality, and when learning will not be optimal," said spokeswoman Lisa Sibal at St. Martin's Episcopal School in Metairie.

We, the undersigned, believe this policy to play the Super Bowl on Sunday, although traditionally the day for Professional Football, takes away from the celebratory nature of the event. It also is detrimental to attendance at workplaces and schools around the world.