The Billion Dollar Game: Behind-The-Scenes of the Greatest Day in American Sport - Super Bowl Sunday

St. John makes the case (and who could argue?) that the Super Bowl is one of, if not the, biggest day in American culture, judged purely by how many people watch the same event at the same time. The World Series takes place over a number of games, March Madness is even more prolonged, and in any non-Obama year the game way outshines any presidential inauguration or campaign speech. So what he does, very, very well is go into the business deals, the careers, the planning that goes on off-stage. The Super Bowl turns out to be a year-round industry that's almost separate from the rest of the NFL season. Don't buy this for insights into the action on the field...that's not the subject. But for insights into how Fox producers pull off the show, how the architects design about a new stadium, how the parties and the hype come together, this is the book. And it's a good read. Strongly recommend it.

The Billion Dollar Game has more to do with the soup-to nuts of getting the rights and putting on a show as opposed to the actual SHOW. Allen St. John explores in detail every aspect of what is required once a city gets the rights to host. Th minute details are exhausting in their volume, but so interesting in their application. The focus surrounds last year's NE-NYG game beginning with Glendale's "victory" in being named the host city. Years of planning ensue, with the building of the stadium, naming rights, planned party sites and cities including Scottsdale. What needs to be built, what structures are presently usable. The book is a blueprint of the why's and where's and how's and how much's for a one day extravaganza. You don't need to be a sports fan to understand the impact to the game, but I will say St. John helped me understand and appreciate all that ghoes in to what I watch. Bravo!

What a great book for anyone wanting to know what it feels like to be behind the scenes at the Super Bowl! This book should be required reading for any college student in business or special events. Allen St. John as a unique talent for writing that makes you feel that he is just having a conversation with you and his chapter on the man in charge of the Super Bowl for the NFL is right on, makes me feel like I know this man personally. I highly recommend this book! Al Mercuro

A well-written behind-the-scenes look at a one-game industry that's as big as the economy of North Korea. St. John managed to get incredible access to several aspects of the preparation for the game, including the Fox Sports crew, the Anheuser-Busch ad team and the people setting up the legendary Playboy magazine Super Bowl party. The style is reminiscent of 1980s Sports Illustrated, back when they had more in-depth pieces. Like Moneyball, St. John's fascinating account is interesting enough to be enjoyed even by people who don't like sports. For the fans, it's trite, but you'll never watch the big game the same way again.

Okay, I normally don't pick the behind-the-scenes kind of sports books. I'm a sappy sucker for the cliche sports stories like Notre Dame football's RUDY, CINDERELLA STORY, THE NATRURAL or really anything that leaves me with the kind of goosebumps one feels after seeing ROCKY for the first time. So for me to pick this book up, buy it, read it and enjoy it, that's really saying something. Typically, when we think SUPER BOWL, we think of the big game, commercials, betting pools, halftime show, and parties, certainly plenty to warrant the most presitigious event in sports title. However, what I mentioned is only a fraction of all that SUPER BOWL SUNDAY is all about. If you read this book, you will watch the game in a whole new light. Visit the watercooler to play Monday morning quarterback and you will fnd yourself talking about more than just your favorite commericials and new movie trailers. Much of the aura of the SUPER BOWL can be contributed to the hype. Well, I feel compelled to hype this book because it gives us some insight into the manufactured--and I don't mean that in a negative way--cultural elements that make American sports so unique.