This is the real State of the Union: An estimated 85 million Americans voted in November's midterm elections; next week's annual National Football Lollapalooza is expected to draw a U.S. viewing audience almost double that, roughly 140 million. In North Carolina, four men are collecting signatures for a petition that would seek national holiday status for the Super Bowl.

That official day off would be observed on a Monday, in the grand American tradition of the three-day weekend - and in recognition of the debilitating Sunday excess of unhealthy food, strong beverage, televised sporting violence, relentless commercialism and not a small amount of gambling. No need to call in sick if the office is closed.

By Friday, 7,401 “yes” votes had been cast at the SuperBowlMonday.com Web site in favor of a day-after Super Bowl holiday observation. (There were 268 “no” votes.) This self-proclaimed “grass-roots political campaign,” begun shortly before the 2006