It's almost time for Super Bowl XLII OMG! I thought it was on last Sunday (the store I was in had a TV the size of a small wall and the gridiron 'warriors' were hugging each other) but turns out it was a different game, more like flag football than anything else. By the time the fourteen-day pregame show finally expires over on NBC later and it's time for some football, how many of us will really care?
I've been on earth for ALL of these things and I still don't get the roman numerals that are used to count them (except for "50" and I don't get that, either). The first one was in the LA Coliseum and wasn't a sell-out (GASP!). Of course, it also didn't have Pink singing the National Anthem or Justin Timberlake performing at half-time. But from small acorns, such mighty oaks grow.
Professional sports in the USA at one time were at least a little bit, about sports. Now we're in love with the bread and circuses and yet we can't forget it's supposed to be high drama. That's why every announcer has an analyst and every analyst has a counterpart who's also her/his counterpoint.
We may not be able to understand what motivates religious zealots of every stripe to wreak hate-filled havoc on the rest of us or how to pacify the restless masses, but if you need somebody to explain the weak side button-hook on a 3rd and short within the context of the Children's Crusade, we have folks in the booth, on the sidelines, and in the truck to explain that right after this Doritos commercial and a word from your local station.
There are three things we seem to make in the USA these days, professional athletes, prime-time reality shows, and Roman numerals. And still, we fear that the rest of the world doesn't take us seriously. Thank goodness for something.
-bill kenny
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