Joe Sharkey has an enlightening article in the New York Times breaking down the insanity that ensues when the Super Bowl comes to town. Joe was at his house in Phoenix, preparing to get out before the madness began. But before he left, he assessed the situation, noting that some folks are spending $10,000 a week to rent homes, while others are shelling out $600+ a night to stay in old broken down motels…click “more” for the crazy details!   UPDATE: Say you’ve got the money for the Super Bowl but you decide not to go; what else you can you do with that cash? How about 2-weeks in Tahiti, a brand-new Lexus, or…acting like Jack Nicholson. These ideas and more, right here.

While accommodations are, to put it mildly, a bit overpriced, airfare to Phoenix for the Super Bowl is MUCH worse.

I had discussed the fact that good old supply and demand was going to drive up the cost of tickets (Joe was nice enough to quote me), and that’s exactly what we’re seeing.

Patriots and Giants fans flying out of the New York and Boston areas are seeing round-trip coach airfares soar upwards of $2,000 and $3,000. These are flights that would normally be four or five times less than that at this time of year.

As soon as the teams were set, the airlines knew what was coming; legions of rabid fans from the East Coast. By reducing the number of low airfares available, they’re able to sell more of the out-of-control airfares we’re seeing. It’s easy to shake your head and call the airlines various bad names, but they know people are willing to spend that kind of money, so of course, they’re going to capitalize.

So, those of us who can’t justify spending thousands of dollars to go to Phoenix can watch the game from the comfort of our own homes, and as I said in an earlier post, start planning our trips to Super Bowl XLIII. Who knows, maybe my Dallas Cowboys will get it together next year and be there to play in Tampa.

Yes, now’s the time to talk Tampa, site of 2009’s contest. And use My Trips to get a running start: we’ve got all kinds of options that allow you to quickly and easily design a trip to your precise specifications. Or, just use our simple, free Email Alerts.

Meanwhile, there are lots of places that’ll reserve seats for next year’s Superbowl (here’s one — is that $7,500 for a single ticket? Ouch.)

Liked this story? Check out “Air Travel to the China Olympics–It’s Going to be a Wild Ride”