Gametime in the NFL: Super Bowl or Recession Bowl?

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20090201/D96310601.html

By BEN WALKER

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Lena Chamra leaned in for a closer look at the gray pullover jacket with the sharp Super Bowl logo. It was exactly what she wanted, and she stared for a full minute, then walked away.

No sale.

"I liked it a lot, but not at $145," she said inside the lobby at the NFL's headquarters hotel. Back home in Raleigh, N.C., that's her electric bill.


Visitors take pictures of the Vince Lombardi trophy at the NFL Experience in Tampa, Fla. Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals will play in Super Bowl XLIII on Sunday in Tampa. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)



"My husband lost his job two months ago, so I'm watching everything," she said. "I will freeze before I pay $145. We don't have that money right now."

She's not alone, prompting many fans to wonder: Super Bowl or Recession Bowl?

Sunday's matchup between rough-and-tumble Pittsburgh and surprising Arizona was certainly intriguing - Dynasty vs. Doormat, with the Steelers trying to capture their record sixth Super Bowl title and the Cardinals their first.

But with the nation slogging through its worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, there was buzz America's No. 1 sporting event could be played to empty seats.

FULL story at link.