Clint Hale

Some decry the NFL's two-week break between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl as an outrage, while others feel that a game of such magnitude deserves an extra week of buildup. That football-free weekend is upon us, so while you're busy looking for something else to do or watch, here are a few reasons that each side of the “one week vs. two weeks” Super Bowl debate has a valid argument.
 

THOSE FOR THE TWO-WEEK BREAK

REASON NO. 1: An event like the Super Bowl deserves an extra week of hype.
THE 210 TAKE: It's the most-watched event of the year, so doesn't it deserve an extra week of buildup and water-cooler conversation? For God's sake, even the advertisements are a hot topic of conversation come Super Bowl time.

REASON NO. 2: The extra week gives players an extra week to rest up, heal injuries and prepare for the Super Bowl.
THE 210 TAKE: Assuming you have a rooting interest in the big game, wouldn't you want your team as injury-free and prepared as possible?

REASON NO. 3: It makes the NFL season last one more week.
THE 210 TAKE: Which option would you prefer: An extra week of Super Bowl buildup, or a one-week break between the conference title games and the Super Bowl, followed by the lame-as-hell Pro Bowl, then a long, boring offseason full of NBA regular-season basketball and the NHL? At least the former keeps football on our collective mindset for an extra week.

THOSE AGAINST THE TWO-WEEK BREAK

REASON NO. 1:The players are already in a week-to-week game routine, so why change things now?
THE 210 TAKE: If given the opportunity, most NFL players would probably just bypass the extra week of buildup, interviews and hype in favor of a simple seven-day break between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. Athletes are creatures of habit, and the traditional seven-day break between football games is as routine as things can get.

REASON NO. 2: The extra time off just gives players more opportunity to find trouble.
THE 210 TAKE: Considering the Super Bowl is often held in party-friendly cities like Miami and New Orleans, where groupies, booze and drugs are so available that even kickers can get into trouble, is it really the best move to give the teams an extra week to live it up? After all, it was only nine years ago when Atlanta defensive back Eugene Robinson got rung up the night before Super Bowl XXXIII for soliciting oral sex from an undercover police officer.

REASON NO. 3: An extra week of Super Bowl buildup means an extra week of analytical talking heads.
THE 210 TAKE: Just what we need, an extra week for Sean Salisbury, Mark Schlereth and all the other former jocks-turned-analysts to spout opinions on the Super Bowl. Honestly, it's just one game – couldn't you break it down in about an hour?