Combine a high-stakes sporting event with a day off and plenty of free-flowing alcohol. It either sounds like a lot of fun, or a recipe for a lot of violent incidents.
Laura Noel is executive director of Domestic Abuse Intervention Services in Madison and says she's heard the same rumor for years.
"The myth about the Super Bowl is that on that weekend where there's so much focus on masculinity and drinking, that that weekend is particularly unsafe for women who are being abused."
The reality is, there are no more calls for domestic abuse help on Super bowl Sunday than any other day.
Even police say it's on the road, not in the house that they're focusing on.
"But I would think that our major concern Sunday night is that people are driving home after a party and they're impaired and something real bad can happen like a very tragic severe accident or crash," says Lt. Pat Malloy with Madison police.
Each year, about 150-thousand calls are made to a domestic abuse crisis line in Wisconsin.
And while there's no link to Super Bowl Sunday, Noel says a high number of those calls happen this time of year.
"People who have tried to hold on through the holidays, women who are seeing if they can keep the family together and make it work, the reality of not being able to do that hits in January."
And Noel says Super bowl Sunday can serve as a reminder of how many women live in fear.
When you watch the game, remember that 65,000 people are there at Ford Field.
"So think about 15 super bowl stadiums and that's how many women get assaulted each year in intimate partner relationships."
The Wisconsin coalition against domestic violence has a 24-hour hotline for women affected by domestic violence.
That number is 608-255-0539.