In what I can only describe as one of the most hypocritical decisions I've heard in a long time, the NFL will not allow the city of Las Vegas to advertise during the Super Bowl. This from Sporting News.com:
[quote]The National Football League has refused to accept a Super Bowl commercial from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Monday that the commercial was rejected last month after league officials reviewed it, though he did not specify why the league turned down the ad.
"The league office decided that the commercial was not in our best interest," McCarthy said. "The NFL has a long-standing policy that prohibits the acceptance of any message that makes reference to or mention of sports betting."
McCarthy said the NFL has a contract with ABC that gives the league the right to reject any advertisement related to sports betting.
People familiar with the commercial -- a montage of images from around the city -- say there is no reference to gambling and don't understand why it was rejected.
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman could not immediately be reached for comment. The convention and visitors authority said it would issue a statement Tuesday.
The New York Daily News reported Monday that ABC has sold 90 percent of its 61 30-second spots. Each spot sold for the same record $2.1 million fee collected in 2000.
Other companies fielding Super Bowl ads include Anheuser-Busch, FedEx, Visa, General Motors, AT&T Wireless, Yahoo!, Gatorade, Sony and Levi Strauss.
I understand the NFL trying to keep a safe distance from sports betting, but lets be real. The NFL owes a good deal of its popularity to gambling. The Super Bowl is the biggest gambling day of the year. And each and every week on the pregame shows, we have Hammerin' Hank's picks or Chris Berman's lame assed Swami forecasts going all the way back to Jimmy the Greek!
For what other reason than to assist gamblers does the league make its injury reports so detailed and public? It certainly isn't so the opposition knows who is and is not playing! People play in fantasy leagues for money. Almost every bar with a TV will do a Super Bowl pool. And while gambling is the obvious connection when you think of Vegas, there are other things to do. (What, football fans can't like Sigfried and Roy or Wayne Newton? )
And what of the other advertisers? I'm betting (ooh, hope the NFL doesn't object to my wagering!) there will be any number of sexist or homophobic or in any-other-way objectionable ads airing Super Bowl Sunday.