The Wretched Excess Of The Super Bowl
Robert Paul Reyes
January 31, 2006
The Super Bowl transcends sports, it is a celebration of American power. It's an "in your face" glorification of American supremacy.
The Super Bowl has finally reached a most appropriate Roman numeral, everything about the Super is XL (Extra Large).
Even people who don't know a third down from a ground round, are glued to the boob tube for this annual tribute to the American way of excess.
Anything that happens during the Super Bowl is magnified beyond comprehension, last year Janet Jackson's exposed nipple becomes a harbinger of Armageddon. God forbid, if a Britney Spears or an Ashley Simpson exposes her nether regions during the halftime extravaganza, folks would be straining their ears to hear the hoof beats of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
The winners of the Super Bowl are guaranteed a trip to Disney World, groupies, endorsements, fame and the eternal (at least while they continue winning) appreciation of their fans.
The Super Bowl is synonymous with excess, you need to take out a second mortgage to afford tickets to the game. More big-screen TV's are sold in the weeks leading up to the big game, than at any other time of the year. Millions and millions of dollars are bet on the outcome.
But not all Americans can afford a 52-inch plasma TV, tickets to the Super Bowl or even a ticket to a regular season game of their gridiron heroes.
A lot of Americans are mired in poverty, and this year the NFL will be wallowing in wretched excess in the poorest big city in the United States.
The NFL anointed Detroit as the host city for the Super Bowl, the decaying and dying city will temporarily brim with life -- it will be awash in Lear jets, limousines, caviar, lobsters and celebrities dancing the night away.
ABC's cameras will be trained on the celebrities, athletes and festivities of the Super Bowl. I doubt if any of the network's 36 cameras or 60 microphones will venture far beyond Ford Field, where the landscape is littered with burned-out buildings, liquor stores, soup kitches and cash advance outlets.
The NFL, the network that televises the Super Bowl, the corporations that spend gazillions on Super Bowl ads, and indeed all Americans bear a responsibility to the disenfranchised citizens of Detroit.
The NFL and ABC should donate some of their loot to poor Americans who live in big cities like Detroit, Oakland and Los Angeles.
And as for as the rest of us, when the Roman spectacle is over and we are finished gorging ourselves in our homes and bars, let's take some time to reflect how we can help the less fortunate.
The Super Bowl has finally reached a most appropriate Roman numeral, everything about the Super is XL (Extra Large).
Even people who don't know a third down from a ground round, are glued to the boob tube for this annual tribute to the American way of excess.
Anything that happens during the Super Bowl is magnified beyond comprehension, last year Janet Jackson's exposed nipple becomes a harbinger of Armageddon. God forbid, if a Britney Spears or an Ashley Simpson exposes her nether regions during the halftime extravaganza, folks would be straining their ears to hear the hoof beats of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
The winners of the Super Bowl are guaranteed a trip to Disney World, groupies, endorsements, fame and the eternal (at least while they continue winning) appreciation of their fans.
The Super Bowl is synonymous with excess, you need to take out a second mortgage to afford tickets to the game. More big-screen TV's are sold in the weeks leading up to the big game, than at any other time of the year. Millions and millions of dollars are bet on the outcome.
But not all Americans can afford a 52-inch plasma TV, tickets to the Super Bowl or even a ticket to a regular season game of their gridiron heroes.
A lot of Americans are mired in poverty, and this year the NFL will be wallowing in wretched excess in the poorest big city in the United States.
The NFL anointed Detroit as the host city for the Super Bowl, the decaying and dying city will temporarily brim with life -- it will be awash in Lear jets, limousines, caviar, lobsters and celebrities dancing the night away.
ABC's cameras will be trained on the celebrities, athletes and festivities of the Super Bowl. I doubt if any of the network's 36 cameras or 60 microphones will venture far beyond Ford Field, where the landscape is littered with burned-out buildings, liquor stores, soup kitches and cash advance outlets.
The NFL, the network that televises the Super Bowl, the corporations that spend gazillions on Super Bowl ads, and indeed all Americans bear a responsibility to the disenfranchised citizens of Detroit.
The NFL and ABC should donate some of their loot to poor Americans who live in big cities like Detroit, Oakland and Los Angeles.
And as for as the rest of us, when the Roman spectacle is over and we are finished gorging ourselves in our homes and bars, let's take some time to reflect how we can help the less fortunate.
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