By Michael LeCompte

As the Super Bowl nears it’s hard for most fans to think of a matchup between two teams they could possibly care less about. This fact became evident this week when the NFL announced that ticket prices were dropping to their lowest cost levels in years for the big game in Houston. Despite the less-than-marquee matchup, though, there is still plenty of ridiculous surrounding the game.

1. The NFL might like to advertise that ticket prices are lower this year, but the cheapest seat available at RNG Stadium on Sunday is still $2,700 and the average price is $4,744. What makes these figures ridiculous is that fans will still pay that price. What makes them even more ridiculous is the fact that the most expensive ticket for the first Super Bowl or (AFL-NFL Championship as it was originally called) was $12.
2. Of course maybe these ticket prices aren’t so ridiculous when one considers that player’s salaries must be paid. In 1967, the year of the first Super Bowl the average player salary was $25,000. In 2016 the league minimum was 450,000 and the average player earned $2.11 million.
3. Super Bowl LI. The roman numerals the NFL insists on sticking with for the Super Bowl are definitely ridiculous. It’s obvious the league’s product-the game of football-is here to stay, there’s no need to number the championship games anymore. MLB has the World Series every year-no numbers. The NBA has the Finals-no numbers. It’s time the NFL just held the Super Bowl every year, instead of a history and math lesson.
4. Super Bowl hype rises exponentially every year as the NFL tries to outdo itself. This year’s attempt is 360 degree replay with a virtual camera at any position on the field to broadcast “be the player” replays.
5. Johnny Football Takes Houston: perhaps the most ridiculous aspect of Super Bowl week was Johnny Manziel showing up to sign autographs and take selfies with fans-for a price. The former Texas A&M star was reportedly charging $50 per selfie-a claim he denied. A minor celebrity showing up to grab publicity in his home state wouldn’t be that ridiculous if Manziel weren’t attempting an NFL comeback. Perhaps posing with fans is how he is showing teams he’s serious about re-taking the field.