Super Bowl Saturday? Teen starts petition to change game day for 'bigger party'

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Frank Ruggeri, 16, loves Super Bowl Sunday — except for the Sunday part.

The New York teenager thinks the big game should be moved to Saturday so fans can have bigger parties and a full day to recover before they return to work. Or, in his case, school.

The National Football League has historically scheduled games on Sundays because of the Sports Broadcasting Act, which Congress passed in 1961. The act helped avoid overlap between college football games and NFL games.

But the teen football fan thinks that law is due for an update. So he started an online petition asking NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to move the championship game to Saturday. He's already gathered more than 58,000 signatures and counting. 

As It Happens host Carol Off spoke to Frank Ruggeri about his idea and the support he has found so far. Here is part of their conversation.

As you know, the Super Bowl always happens on Sunday. What's wrong with that?

Because people don't get the right sleep or they eat too much and they don't feel good for Monday. Why not make it Saturday? They can recover more.

OK. So you think that they need another 24 hours to recover from the Super Bowl?

Yeah.

So from your point of view, what's wrong with it? 

My problem is 17 million people are calling [in] sick in the U.S.

[Editor's Note: This is according to a January 2019 poll conducted by the Harris Poll for the Workforce Institute at Kronos, in which 17.2 million American said they might skip work the day after the 2019 Super Bowl.]

And what about kids going to school?

They're very grumpy. They want to go to sleep, just like me. I want to go to sleep after a late night game like that, or even if it goes overtime ... I can't wake up. I want to just go to bed and stay home, type thing. 

But Monday morning isn't usually a bad morning for you going to school?

No. Not really. I don't really stay up that late. On the Super Bowl Sunday, I stay up late because I go to a party.

Now where did you get the idea to do this? 

Conversing over dinner and my dad was talking about why not put it on Saturday. My dad had talked about playoffs. I said, "Why not Saturday?"

I said it, "Why not Saturday for the Super Bowl?" And I started that petition.

And what did your dad say when you came up with this idea?

"Go for it."

Is it possible the NFL would actually listen to you — just a 16-year-old?

You and everyone. I think that they would. And everyone will be for it.

If you could get it changed to Saturday, what would that be like for you and your party?

It would be a bigger party.

What's your favourite part about the Super Bowl party? 

Eating a lot of food ... the dips and stuff, and the chips, and the hors d'oeuvres.

Buffalo wings? 

Oh yeah. It's turning my stomach all right.

But people also drink a lot of beer on a Super Bowl. So is that also a problem for people going to work the next day?

Intoxication, yeah. I was going to mention that. Alcohol sales are up because of Sunday. People getting drunk and they drive. They can't sleep and get sobered up.

So who's your team? Is your team in the Super Bowl this year?

No. The Los Angeles Rams and the Buffalo Bills.

OK. So you've got the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs this year. Right? 

Uh huh.

So who are you going to be rooting for? 

I think the Chiefs.

Is [your dad] backing any of these teams in the Super Bowl? 

He's with the Chiefs.

So you're both going for the Chiefs. We'll see how you do. And maybe if I see the Super Bowl change to Saturday, I will know where this started.

Uh huh.

Written by Chris Harbord and John McGill. Interview produced by Chris Harbord. Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.