On top of all of this, several all-day planning sessions take place in the host city during the year, starting just weeks after the last whistle blows and we march forward anew, building upon the lessons learned and sharing this knowledge with a new city and colleagues. These planning meetings ramp up as the game approaches. Daily Super Bowl leadership team meetings start about three weeks prior to the game, and our group moves into the host city about two weeks out. All of this planning and preparation undergirds the ability to manage the complexity of the Super Bowl and problem-solve as issues arise or situations change.

Emergency medicine expertise plays a strong role that crosses numerous significant aspects of planning and producing a successful event. In my experience, it is the local emergency physicians who have always been reliable go-to people and the ones with the broadest connections. Both of these are reflective of the important roles that emergency physicians often play in their communities and of the key skills that make emergency medicine a unique specialty that enables Super Bowl planning to become reality.

Dr. Martinez is assistant professor of emergency medicine at Emory School of Medicine in Atlanta.