Comedian Whitney Cummings does a bit where she says, “I don’t ask you why you’re wearing a football jersey to watch the game. Last time I checked, you’re not on the bench, and ‘we’ didn’t lose. You don’t see me wearing scrubs when I’m watching ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ saying, ‘Wow, I’m really glad we saved that guy. That was really close.’” When I first heard her say that, something clicked for me. The Super Bowl and the Oscars are the same exact thing.

Sure, Julia Roberts will never throw the perfect spiral, and Peyton Manning won’t ever thank the Academy for best guest starring role in an Oreo commercial, but these two star-studded events are almost identical.

While the red carpet may not be rolled out for the Broncos or the Seahawks, fans adorning either side of the stadium still give a warm welcome to these men as they strut down the green carpet. Flash bulbs burst just to catch a glimpse of a true star as they emerge, in hopes that they won’t let them down. This is their year. This is your year, and victory is so close you can taste it.

Dressing for the Oscars has become a game in its own right, with stylists fighting down to the nail for the coveted title of best dressed. If the question “Who are you wearing?” isn’t asked, then as an actor or an actress you might as well not be walking down the red carpet at all. Each movie star is scrutinized for how they look, and if it’s not close to perfection, then why are they in the game?

Quippy one-liners and awkward announcement bits offer the same breaks in the program as funny commercials featuring Betty White during the Super Bowl. For the Oscars, the halftime show takes place at the beginning, only there it’s called an opening number. This year, Ellen Degeneres will be hosting, which means endless dancing and a night of plenty of laughs.

If you are still not convinced that the Oscars and the Super Bowl are the same thing, let me ask you this. Why do you watch the Super Bowl? Is it for the hilarious commercials? The halftime extravaganza? Or the chance to see men duke it out over this silly little game we call football?

We watch because we need to believe in something that is bigger than ourselves. Life can be hard, and the choices we make aren’t always the right ones. But with this game, there can only be one winner and one loser.

There can only be one best picture and one best director. None of it is in our control, but we still watch anyway. So, come February when the Super Bowl party invites start pouring in and my friends start asking me why I’m throwing an Oscar party a few weeks later, I’ll know exactly what to tell them: The Oscars and the Super Bowl are the same. We’re just rooting for different millionaires.