Things I Tell My Wife by Matt Knutson

“Whoever plans the Super Bowl must have a spectacular spouse,” I told my wife after the conclusion of my employer’s annual celebration event. The planning of the event fell largely on my shoulders, and I was more than relieved when the celebration concluded without any major hiccups. It then dawned on me how in just a few days, one of the largest sporting events in the world will be occurring and there is certainly many event planners waking up in the middle of the night finalizing logistics. I don’t envy them.

My event wasn’t quite on the scale of the Super Bowl, but it did take quite a bit of teamwork to pull together with co-workers, volunteers and the help of my wife. When we said “I do” a year and a half ago, I don’t think she imagined she’d become my unofficial work assistant when I’d be running behind and need an extra hand. While I did offer to buy her Chipotle, I don’t think that’s quite equal to her help. It’s wonderful being married to someone who interprets marriage as teamwork and sees my success as hers. This of course goes both ways.

Would she be as supportive if I were planning the Super Bowl? I’d like to think so, but the logistics of an event that large is overwhelming. A new venue every year, coordinating the travel of hundreds of NFL players and staff, working with media, security and planning a halftime show are just a portion of the planning. On top of the logistics, you know that pretty much everyone is watching and will be tweeting whenever they see something go wrong.

This event planner perspective will have me watching the game differently this Sunday. As we gather around my sister’s new big screen television, I’m certain most of the other viewers will be passionately shouting at the television as bad calls are made, plays are screwed up and a big touchdown is scored. In the back of my mind I will be wondering what’s going on in the event staff’s mind and how many backup scenarios they have planned if something goes wrong.

I’m reminded of Super Bowl XLVII in 2013 when the lights went out in the Superdome in New Orleans. In what must have felt like the longest 34 minutes in their lives, event planners were certainly making frantic phone calls, texts, and emails to get the lights back on while the country took to social media to express themselves. The Associated Press carried a story with “The Super Bowl turned into Blackout Sunday,” and Wired.com claimed Oreo was the real winner in the Super Bowl thanks to their fast-on-their-feet tweet reading, “You can still dunk in the dark.” Neither of these stories would have been expected the evening before the Super Bowl, and reading them had to have been difficult for the people who worked so hard in hopes that the event goes off without a hitch.

In reality, nothing ever goes off without a hitch. I think every event planner knows that at the end of the evening, they’ll have pages of notes about how to improve for the next year. When you’re evaluating the success of an event like the Super Bowl, I’m sure there will be several lengthy meetings reflecting on what could be done differently.

The first large, complex event I planned was my wedding. I shouldn’t say I, because it was certainly a we. In our four and a half months of engagement, Sera and I did nearly all of the planning together. Save the dates, venue shopping, meeting with the photographer and finalizing plans at the church. It was clear from that moment she was my teammate, and I was hers.

Last year’s game was seen by 111.5 million people. A quick search online revealed that the Super Bowl’s planning committee has budgeted anywhere between $12 million and $40 million for the cost of the game. These numbers are a little higher than what we worked with for our wedding or what I had to spend for my work event earlier this week, but all of these events had something unique that brought people together. I’ll likely never be planning an event like the Super Bowl, so Sera will likely never be forced to be my eternal supporter in that stressful of a situation. That being said, I’ll sleep well tonight knowing she would be there if I did need her and say a quick prayer for the event planners currently reviewing disaster scenarios for Super Bowl XLIX.

 

Rochester resident Matt Knutson is the communications and events director for United Way of Olmsted County.