I refuse to believe that out there there does not exist at least one other person for whom Super Bowl Sunday does not raise enthusiasm, euphoria and just plain fanaticism. I admit freely: I just don't get it. We are talking about a ballgame here. We are talking about professional athletes who are paid salaries so far out of the range of what "normal" human beings, even the well-paid ones, earn. Just what is it that they really do to earn those salaries?
And yes, we are talking about men who will strut out on the field wearing shoulder pads, tight pants and helmets--a fashion statement that, if worn on the street, would raise more than a few eyebrows. We are talking about grown men chasing a small pigskin ball around a field for a few hours. We are talking about grown men who will be given kudos if they can block, bash and blow to smithereens anyone from the opposite team, behavior that would get them thrown in jail if it happened off the field. Yup, we are talking about licenced mayhem.
We are talking about a party time that eclipses anything seen on New Years Eve. We are talking about massive consumption of liquor. We are talking about massive consumption of food of every stripe, but particularly those foods that start with "fried" or "fatty."
And then there is the money involved. Bookies across America have been smiling for weeks. Football pools are seeing more money invested than the stock market is seeing. People who otherwise debate the pennies before buying a needed item are dipping freely to bet on the outcome of the Super Bowl.
I'm not anti-sports. I actually enjoy being a spectator at certain sports. But Super Bowl Sunday I just don't get, particularly now. At a time where municipalities across the country are cutting down and cutting out vital services, are we really spending in the multi-millions for a football game? We seem to have anointed the Super Bowl game as "the sport of Kings," and today everyone considers themselves as monarchs. Frankly, the "princely" sums being wagered make me sick. Common sense seems to have flown out the window.
I'm sorry if someone is offended, but no, I just don't see what all the hoopla is about and surely don't approve of a lot of the peripheral activities. Want an excuse for excess of all kinds? Just say you're celebrating Super Bowl Sunday and all is forgiven. Just how did we come to this point?
17 comments:
Football pools are seeing more money invested than the stock market is seeing.
Given the state of the markets, this may not be as troubling a sign as it would normally be.
It also isn't true; at least as far as I can tell.
In 1997, the American public wagered a total of around $500 billion dollars. That's the last year I can find numbers for. That includes all the lotteries, all the casinos, everything. This number, incidentally, is from an anti-Gambling site; my presumption is that if there is any bias it is in inflating the number.
Friday alone, ~2.2 billion dollars in Amazon shares were traded. One stock, one day. Monday, money will still keep going into the markets. But anyone betting on the 2009 Superbowl on Monday deserves what they get.
"I refuse to believe that out there there does not exist at least one other person for whom Super Bowl Sunday does not raise enthusiasm, euphoria and just plain fanaticism. "
Don't worry, they're out there. It occurred to me that this weekend was Super Bowl Weekend only when I noticed that my newspaper this past Friday had an inordinate amount of football coverage. I didn't even know which teams were playing. As for today, Super Bowl Sunday, I'm at work, using my few moments of free time to read J-blogs instead of checking on the game (I don't even know if the game has started yet, or if it's already over, or what).
Im not going to watch, even if I cared, there is something a little off putting about an event of little importance that has this much sway over that SO many people.
Nope not for me.
I totally agree with you, but my 15 year old son informs me that both you and I are wrong, wrong, wrong. He says that watching football (and other sports) is fun and harmless, and that "if women can spend lots of time and money on fashion, then men should be able to watch sports without women giving them a hard time about it".
I apologize in advance to my future daughter-in-law. I tried, I really did, but testosterone will triumph every time.
Oh, was today Superbowl Sunday? Didn't we have one last year already?
One little addendum to this post. I had to go to the supermarket today--what a disaster. The market is on one end of the shopping plaza and I was really lucky to find parking on the other end. I figured it must be because of the snow predicted for tomorrow night. Silly me! Normally there are way more women than men in the market; today the men outnumbered the women about 10 to 1. The snack aisle was almost stripped bare. They couldn't keep the soda aisle stocked fast enough. Beer was flying out of the store. The deli department had a line twice around the store. About the only aisle that was fully stocked was the cleaning supply aisle--that figures. At 1:30 the store looked like the lemmings had overrun it. Note to myself for next year: do not go food shopping on Super Bowl Sunday.
Here's one other. Any more?
(I also have nothing against sports, though I think playing is much more fun than watching. But I don't get all the hoopla either, and I do wonder why there is enough money for this stuff when there somehow isn't enough for things like food stamps, healthcare, and education)
BAS MELECH
"I think playing is much more fun than watching."
you play football?
PROFK:
another one here. (my satmar boss knew more about the superbowl today than i did)
@ LOZ: Well, not yet at least. I meant sports in general... Frankly, I've never seen the appeal of (American) football at all. Soccer, basketball, hockey I get; baseball's not bad either... but football just doesn't look like fun on any level.
But I don't get all the hoopla either, and I do wonder why there is enough money for this stuff when there somehow isn't enough for things like food stamps, healthcare, and education
Well, for one thing, the hoopla is why there is money for this stuff.
People watch (and buy tickets, and buy Jersies, etc) because they like it. Which means that television networks buy the rights, so that they can sell advertising. And the advertisers pay ($206 million for airtime for commercials for the Superbowl this year), because people watch. And because the money is there, the people with the skills to play at the top level make a lot of money.
That being said, the amount we actually spend on food stamps, health care, and education dwarfs the amount spent on professional athletics by a very large margin.
Still, I'm fairly sure if you can convince the American public to watch educational debates, you'd be able to sell advertising that would enable the debators to rake in the cash.
I don't condon the drinking or gambling, but it's a nice social occasion and good entertaining (even for those watching commercials only).
I'd rather have people cheering for sports teams than cheering for war sides.
I think, Dave, that you may be misreading the posting a little. It's not the money that the government spends that the Prof was referring to but the amount of money that individuals spend, and yes maybe the advertisers too. I heard yesterday on the news that about 1.3 billion dollars was wagered on the game, and that is only what they can actually know about. Would those people who are so quick to drop a few hundred dollars in betting on the game be so quick to give that same amount to a more worthwhile cause? Probably not, because there is nothing exciting to these people about charity. It's pulling teeth to get people to come to a shul dinner and then you see people putting down $1500+ on one ticket to a ball game? I like football. I just don't like all the shtuss that comes along with it.
Down that road lies some interesting speedbumps.
Their money, their definition of "more worthwhile causes". Assuming they aren't shnorring off of others to meet their needs (whether they are poor, or merely Wall Street bankers), I really don't care.
I am willing to guarantee that everyone reading this spends money on things that someone else reading this considers a waste, or at best a less than optimal use of their money.
If you don't want to watch the Superbowl, don't watch. The commercials will be online anyway.
If you don't want to bet on the Superbowl, by all means, don't bet. Most of the people watching aren't betting, and of those that are, some very large number are making small bets with friends or co-workers.
But you know what? If someone thinks that going to the Superbowl is a better use of their money than a Shul dinner, that's their choice.
I actually enjoy being a spectator at certain sports.
Why?
G,
The why is tied up with the what. I enjoy watching sports in which the focus is on the individual, sports like tennis or swimming or gymnastics or ice skating. It is far easier to see and admire the skill needed to do well. The camera, when an event is televised, comes in close on the solo performer or on the few people competing against each other. There's a more intimate feel to the viewing of the sport. In one sense these are "cleaner" sports--the object is not to ram into someone physically or to block them physically; it's to use your skill to do better than someone else. I also enjoy track and field events much for the same reason. It's possible to see clearly the individual effort of those competing. I guess you could say that I'm pretty much an "Olympics" type of sports person. The why? I can admire the physical training and mental concentration needed in pushing the body just that one step more than you think you can go, to admire an individual who pits him/her self against a goal and achieves it.
I spent almost all of yesterday recording a CD with my a cappella group. I hadn't even remembered it was the Super Bowl until a few days before that. Sometimes I like to watch the Super Bowl for the commercials and halftime, but I wasn't disappointed that I missed it this year. Though senior year of college I was working on a section of my Jewish studies paper while watching the Super Bowl, and I sent it to my paper advisor, who actually thought it was well-written. So perhaps I should write all of my papers during the Super Bowl...
The why? I can admire the physical training and mental concentration needed in pushing the body just that one step more than you think you can go, to admire an individual who pits him/her self against a goal and achieves it.
That is true of any sport being engaged in at a high level
In one sense these are "cleaner" sports--the object is not to ram into someone physically or to block them physically; it's to use your skill to do better than someone else.
"Cleaner" sports...you just made that up. Just bec you can't see it doesn't mean that it's not there. You may watch a football game and see nothing more than violence and chaos. Others watch the same game and see a chess match being played by some of the most gifted athletes on the planet.
I'm not saying everyone has to love it, just saying...
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