Big Game Myths:

There are a lot of myths out there about the Big Game. Like it leads to heart attacks! It leads to domestic violence! It leads to people gorging on avocados? Well here are some of the myths you may...or may not have heard of.

1. Everyone flushing the toilet at halftime does not cause sewer problems. It's been at least a century since sewage systems could be overwhelmed by something like a halftime bathroom rush. We're in the clear.

2. Domestic violence does not increase. This is an old myth that says the combination of drunkenness and disappointment leads to an increase in men attacking their wives. No statistics have ever backed this up.

3. We don't eat half of the country's avocado supply on Big Game Sunday. There's a popular rumor that Americans eat half of the avocados consumed in a year as part of their game meal. It's not that high, but it is a 3% of the total.

4. Tens of millions of viewers will watch the Big Game, but is it the world’s most-watched TV event? The NFL describes it as the “most-anticipated annual event in the world,” but the key word is “annual.” The NFL reports audiences around 150 million in the U.S. But according to the Nielsen Company, 4.7 billion people tuned in to the 2008 Games in Beijing, including 214 million Americans.

5. It would seem to make sense to visit Disney World while millions of Americans are glued to the tube. But is it true that Disneyland is deserted on game day? Not according to Mike Hyland, director of public relations for Disneyland Resort. The park is still busy on Big Game Sunday, and has plenty of big-screen TVs to show the game.

6.The outcome of the Big Game predicts the stock market’s performance for the coming year. The Big Game Indicator says that if a team from the old American Football League wins, stock markets drop; if one from the old National Football League wins, the markets rise. Things get tricky when expansion teams or teams that have relocated make it to the big game, but many still have links to former AFL or NFL teams or cities.

7. It might cause heart attacks. There's a new study that just came out that hasn't been debunked yet that states the Big Game might lead to more heart attacks. The study analyzed heart attacks in L.A. from Big Game Sunday 1980, when the L.A. Rams lost and from 1984, when the L.A. Raiders won. After the loss, there was a significant increase in heart attacks after the win, there wasn't.
You can read more about the study here.