No one is going to believe you if you call in sick on Monday

Superbowl.
(Image credit: ANGELA WEISS / Getty Images)

If you're anticipating being "sick" on the Monday after the Super Bowl, you're not alone. More than 15 percent of people who watch the game this year could come down with a vague and mysterious illness after the Los Angeles Rams play the New England Patriots in Atlanta, The Washington Post reports.

With some 17 million people planning to call in sick on Monday, as found in a survey commissioned by The Workforce Institute, the so-called "Super Bowl Fever" or "Budweiser Flu" has even sparked pushes to make the day after the NFL championship a national holiday. Approximately 100 million people are expected to watch the Super Bowl in 2019, and a potential $4 billion could be lost in productivity from viewers either calling in sick the next day, or chatting about the game at work.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.