Indy, New Orleans Schools Debate Super Bowl Closings
If you need any evidence that the Super Bowl is a just a leetle overhyped, get this: Schools in Indianapolis will be on a two hour delay on Monday morning, the day after the Indianapolis Colts play the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl.
School officials cited the fact that the game can go past 11 pm, and bus drivers have to report for work at 5:30. Since just about everybody will likely be watching the game or at a party celebrating it, they don’t want sleep deprived drivers shuttling kids or students showing up late. Even better? The Indianapolis Archdoicese, which covers Catholic schools in Indianapolis and its suburbs, has already canceled classes outright on Monday for all their schools.
In New Orleans, where the Saints are playing their first ever Super Bowl, a smattering of schools are closing for the day. Many schools said they had much higher than normal rates of kids who were absent or tardy when the Saints won the NFC Championship two weeks ago, so they opted to not even try having school the day after the Super Bowl, when no one’s mind is going to be on academics anyway.
As silly as this sounds, I’ve seen the atmosphere in a city surrounding a big sporting event, and the next day is always a letdown whether your team wins or loses. And the Super Bowl takes the hype to a new level — when my city hosted it we talked of little else for a month and it simply dominated the week before. What do you think? Is it worth delaying or closing school for a day?
Photo: David Grunfeld, New Orleans Times-Picayune
This is just wrong. It’s sports, people. Entertainment. Bah.
Eeh, if they have days built into their calender to do so they might as well.
I agree it is just sports, but as someone who works in the schools, A LOT of the staff is taking off. I forsee a day of cross word puzzles for those who do attend. Myself, I am saving my day for Friday, Mardi Gras Friday!
Where I grew up, we automatically got the first day of hunting (deer) season off – so I can’t say much. But the two hour delay doesn’t bug me. The whole day off? That’s seeeeerious overkill.
I went to High School in Germany. The Monday after Super Bowl was always a “teacher work day”. But in Germany, the game being played live meant it didn’t even start until I think 3 Monday morning. So many people watch it, nobody would bother showing up on Monday anyway, if it was a school day.