The Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day fall just 8 days apart this year, and while you may think that no two days have less in common, you’d be wrong.

Although the Super Bowl is not a national holiday – nor is Valentine’s Day, some would argue – sports enthusiasts wait for the big game all year, much as romantics do for the holiday of love. People of both genders get all worked up over one single day of the year. It has to go exactly right, or forget about the other 364 days.

On the surface, both are consumer-driven holidays. Along with the lovebirds of the world, Hallmark and Godiva wait all year for Valentine’s Day – a seemingly pointless holiday that is vital to their sales goals.

However, the same can be said of the advertisements during the Super Bowl. Three million dollars for a 30-second spot? I mean, please.

And yet there’s no stopping it. Hallmark’s cards will get increasingly cornier with each passing year, and beer commercials will get increasingly tasteless.

Looking into the souls of these holidays though, there are other congruencies. For Valentine’s Day, it’s about the perfect dress and eating at the perfect restaurant. Yet the smallest tear or spill can set the whole day off. While for the Super Bowl, the event is all about the right play and the right call. Again, the smallest thing can set the whole game off.

Both girls and guys put so much pressure and preparation into each day. Between finding the right guy and finding the right fantasy league team, it is surprising that anyone makes it through.

Additionally, both days come with very specific menu items typically provided by the opposite gender. For both the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day, we make lists and subtly drop hints for our digestive expectations. Though the range is quite extreme, from Budweiser to Greg Norman, to onion dip to steak tips with the soup du jour, we jump through hoops to make sure the other never goes hungry. It is a tradition.

As males and females coexisting in such an intimate six-block square of campus, it is important for us to take the time to understand the value of each day to the opposite sex. We need to realize that people on both ends make sacrifices to make these days the best they can be. Women go an entire day without attention while men stare at a football screen and high-five each other with every touchdown. Men have to wear uncomfortable dress shoes while women gush over their flowers and candy.

So ladies, don’t complain about the Super Bowl, because chances are he will get you those roses and wear the itchy wool sweater you got him for Christmas. And guys, stop fretting over Valentine’s Day, and remember how good her guacamole was for the game, and that she literally wore a shirt made out of mesh with a number on the back for you.

Of all days of the year, these two, without question, are the only ones where such sacrifices are made voluntarily. While we may not understand why the Super Bowl or Valentine’s Day is so important, we still happily oblige one another for one day of the year. If such respectful understanding existed every day, it is my belief that there would be no relationship trouble. But really, who are we kidding?

-The writer, a sophomore majoring in journalism, is a Hatchet columnist.