Super Bowl Thoughts

We all should have known that the Super Bowl would eventually become something much different when the NFL powers to be began to use Roman Numerals to keep track of each season's game. The World Series is just that - the World Series. But there is something haughty and intimidating about Super Bowl XLII.

The NFL has its roots deep in the soil of the midwest. A game of brutality (mixed with moments of poetry and grace) was played on cool autumn days that gave way to frozen tundras as the playoffs and championships were contested. Loyal fans, buried behind long johns, sweaters, overcoats, scarfs, gloves, and woolen hats braved the freezing elements to witness their heroes battle for victory.

But as the NFL and the upstart AFL merged in the late sixties, the idea took root to treat the championship more like a college bowl game. A neutral site, first in warm Los Angeles, then later in places like Florida, New Orleans, and Arizona was thought to be the best way to portray the game and ensure that attending fans would not have to sit through the cold to enjoy the growing spectacle.

From somewhat humble beginnings (the first game did not sell out and featured actual college bands playing at halftime), the Super Bowl began to become a sporting event different than others. In fact, as time went on, the actual game became secondary to the circus that surrounded it.

The hardcore fan can remember many of the champions, mvps, and great plays that took place. But as the game increased in popularity, via television, it was the outside events that most think of. Apple computers iconic Macintosh commercial, the annual Bud Bowls, and the glimpse of a singer's nipple are the moments that capture the fancy of those who viewed the contests.

With much of the nation socked in with snow and with no place to really go, the NFL and the TV networks and advertising agencies have used the game to peddle glitz, schlock, and incredibly high ratings. All that have an invested interest in the game are raking in millions while the common folk spend an almost entire Sunday watching some football but lots of entertainment and loads of commercials.

If you could ask the true football follower which games hold his or her's fancy, the answer would be the league playoffs that precede the Super Bowl. Those games are not played in neutral, sanitized spots. Hometown fans still have an opportunity to root in person for their beloved teams. The games are still subject to the elements that were once an essential component of the gridiron contest. And blessedly, the playoff games are devoid of most of the mainstream musical acts and the hype that surrounds the ultimate championship.

So yes, most of use will watch the Giants and the Patriots battle in University Of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. We will see the aging Tom Petty at halftime. We will watch much of the tear jerking personal stories on the pregame FOX broadcast. And we will ogle at the shots of celebrities sitting in comfortable suites, sipping wine, and taking our place at the game that was once meant to be played in places like Green Bay, Chicago, and Cleveland in the last throes of a cooling autumn in front of thousands of steelworkers, bus drivers, school teachers, and just common folk that had a personal bond with their team and their bloody but not broken warriors.