The Super Bowl By The Numbers

Super Bowl week is upon us and football fans are counting the days until kickoff. If you've never been around the game, I can tell you it truly is an event like no other.

Back in January of 2007 I spent the week in South Florida, covering the Bears and Colts in Super Bowl XLI. And it really is a week's worth of stuff. There's media day on the field, there's the Hall of Fame announcement, there's trips to the hotels for each team, there's a media welcoming party, there's radio row,and there is, of course, the game itself.

The only part I didn't attend that year was the game itself. Hey, tickets are expensive! But the Bears lost and it rained most of the night so I can't say I regret the decision all that much.

Now, eight years later, the games and festivities only have gotten bigger and better. WalletHub.com has compiled some of the most interesting info about the Big Game, including:

• 1.25 billion chicken wings will be consumed during the game, and 7.5 million households will buy new TVs.
• Fans are expected to gamble $115 million on the game.
• Companies are expected to spend $359 million on ad time for this year’s Super Bowl. Each 30-second advertisement costs about $4.5 million.

Here's more info than you probably want to know about Super Bowl XLIX: