The Superbowl or a Swiss watch?

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The Superbowl or a Swiss watch? - Editorial
2 minutes read
An exorbitantly priced sporting event shows that Swiss watches aren’t that expensive after all, relatively speaking.

I wouldn’t normally be interested in an event like the Superbowl. I have only recently got interested in the game of rugby, with its complex rules and funny-shaped ball, after becoming disillusioned with football. But the huge padding and helmets of American footballers, and the incomprehensible language (please could someone explain what a “first down and ten” is?) have never interested me. That is until I stumbled across an article on “the price of fun” , where I discovered that the average price paid for a ticket to the season’s most important NFL game is a staggering 5,694 US dollars!

This price is partly inflated by the fact that the NFL’s official sales agent, NFL On Location, offers its Superbowl tickets as part of “experiences”, something that Officine Panerai has just started experimenting with (albeit at a much more exclusive level) for its watches. But still, over 5,000 dollars for a one-night sporting event? Take the family along and that’s a hefty chunk out of your disposable income. 

The huge ticket prices for the Superbowl didn’t stop around 70,000 fans flocking to the Mercedes-Benz stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, however, to watch the New England Patriots embarrass the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 earlier this month. Even the usually extravagant halftime show did little to ease the pain for the fans who had made the trip from the West Coast, as Maroon 5’s performance was widely considered to be lacklustre.

The Superbowl may well be an exception, since few other entertainment activities or experiences seem to come close to it in terms of price, as the aforementioned article illustrates. But it does act as a handy defence for those who consider Swiss watches to be expensive. Surely anyone who is happy to pay in excess of 5,000 US dollars for a one-off chance to watch some heavily protected athletes bang their heads together and a bare-chested singer fill in the gap at half time will see the Panerai Radiomir Base Logo (PAM 753) with its fantastic backstory and in-house movement as excellent value for money at just 4,000 dollars (excluding sales tax).

I chose Panerai deliberately, because I had the impression that they had slowly been increasing their average prices over the past few years. Yet, on closer inspection, I discovered that such timeless models as the entry-level Luminor and Radiomir models are still plodding along nicely at a great price. 

Fly across the Atlantic to Liverpool and the prices for sport may, at first glance, seem more reasonable. The £685 annual season ticket for Liverpool FC, however, represents 10% of the average disposable income in the region, and the cost of merchandise and trips to away matches can push this up to 30%. But the club’s Anfield Road stadium is nevertheless regularly sold out. Their average attendance for the 2017/18 season was 52,958 for a stadium capacity of 54,074. For much less, you can buy an iconic watch. I am the proud owner of the Seiko Turtle “Save the Ocean” special edition, which retails for €450 and sold out as easily as any top-flight football match.

It all boils down to where your loyalties lie, of course. If you’re a big enough fan of something, whether it be watches or sport, then you will be willing to pay what it takes to get what you want. But if you’re happy to pay over $5,000 for a football ticket, please don’t argue that Swiss watches are expensive!

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