The Super Bowl proves to me something I have long since suspected; people see what they want to see.
Was Super Bowl 46 a good game or a bad game? Was it exciting or boring? It’s amazing to hear every answer on the spectrum of options to these questions, depending on the responder. We are all talking about the same game, but we all have very different opinions about it.
SUPER BOWL TEASERS
In recent years, Super Bowl commercials have become almost as big as the game. We anticipate them leading up to the game, and we instantly judge them as they occur. We discuss them afterwards via popularity polls, surveys and articles and everyone picks their own winner of the “who won the commercial bowl.’ It reminds me quite a bit of political debates; more spin after the fact than concrete and new information during the event. Which commercial stirred a laugh, or provided goose bumps moments depends upon who you ask.
CLINT INSPIRES SOME, ANNOYS OTHERS
The Clint Eastwood ad for Chrysler; message needed and message received? Is the bit old? Is Clint too old? I have heard and read everything from inspiring to annoying in response to the ad. It’s amazing to hear and see such widely varying emotional responses to the same two minute spot. Since the Eastwood ad hits home for me and so many in the area I live, this topic deserves its own blog (and it will receive one).
HALFTIME SCHMAFTIME
Nothing in relation to the Super Bowl is more debated and oddly hyped than the Halftime show. No matter the entertainer selected to perform there is a large and vocal group that opposes the selection. And in the rare times that a selection is widely applauded, reviews of the halftime show range from irritating to down-right ridiculous. I often wonder if people realize this is a HALFTIME SHOW….and yes, I’m yelling that. It’s a HALFTIME SHOW; a few minutes between halves of a FOOTBALL GAME. Madonna is fine. Her show was fine. Most of the performances during the halftime shows in recent years have been fine. I mean, get over it already. This is ridiculous. It’s a few minute FREE show during the middle of a sporting event. It’s never going to please everyone, there will always be complaints, and there will always be ridiculous conversation over something that is just pointless and meaningless. Let me make sure you know this: You don’t have to watch. My word! Nothing irritates me more than irrational irritation over this stupid freaking halftime show. MOVE ON!
DOES THE BEST TEAM WIN?
This is something that most sports fans talk about in great depth, in most big games. Very often a team with a lesser record, or potentially less obvious talent, beats the “better” team. I never really like the idea of who “deserves” the win more; are we talking about a divine and karmic deserving? Does effort equate to deserving? Does talent equate to deserving? It’s a hollow and an odd spin to make following a game, and one that certainly depends solely on the view of the observer.
BUILD A WINNER
I have long held the belief that when it comes to building a team the focus should be solely on simply making the playoffs. I said that before the Detroit Tigers started last season. And I say it time and time again as I watch all sports. If a team overly focuses on putting together the most talent to win a championship it seems that push nudges a team too far. Talent wins championships. So does effort. So does luck. You need an odd mix of ingredients to win it all, and in my honest opinion, you can’t actually define all of the ingredients. More than not, there is a weird magic to a winning season that usually includes getting hot at the right time, and having the ball “bounce your way” a time or two. We have seen it recently with the New York Giants, with the Green Bay Packers last year, with the San Francisco Giants a couple years ago, or with the St. Louis Cardinals last year. None of these winners were picked to win championships. And few of them were favored going into their championship game or series. They were teams that hung around long enough, got hot at the right time, and had a few key things go their way. Those truths don’t take away from their championship; just the opposite, they help to define them. It is what it is.
But the better team? The move deserving team? The more exciting team? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And for every opinion on one side of an argument, there is an equally loud and grating argument on the other side.
ARE THE LIONS LITTLE GIANTS?
The bigger part of the discussion for me is “what does this mean for my Detroit Lions?” Again, it depends on the view point of the answer. In one breath the Giants victory gives me hope that the Lions aren’t far away from making a Super Bowl and like the Giants they can “get hot at the right time, and ride the arm of a good QB.” It seems more probable that the Lions can win without a strong running game, or potentially a strong secondary. It all seems possible.
On the flip side, it seems the NFC has taken back some mojo from the previously dominating AFC. It was just a few years ago that all of the top teams in the NFL resided in that conference. But now, there are the Giants, the Packers, the 49ers, the Saints, and the Falcons. And that list doesn’t even account for teams like the Cowboys and the Bears that could easily bump themselves into the discussion. The NFC is a strong conference with many great QBs. The Lions have the unfortunate luck of finally improving within a division that houses Aaron Rodgers and the very potent Green Bay Packers. The Lions have the unfortunate luck of finally improving within a conference that is finally rising from the ashes. It’s all about timing, and right now it seems that timing isn’t favoring my Leos. But again, it’s all about perspective and all about who you ask.
HOW IS THE VIEW FROM OVER THERE?
People see what they want to see. Foul or no foul? The answer likely depends on the rooting interest of the viewer. Was it a good game or a bad game, were the commercials up to par, did Madonna bring it? It depends on who you ask, and I guarantee if you ask 10 people, you will receive 10 very unique responses. The Super Bowl is about football. The Super Bowl is about snacks. The Super Bowl is about a massive cultural event that transcends the event itself. It is the ultimate summation of our society, and a reflection of “who we are”, warts and all. The Super Bowl is grand. It has ego and involves heroes. It has winners and losers. It’s about capitalism and social media. It’s about hype and over analysis. It’s America being America. We watch it together. We all see it, differently, together. It is more dressing than it is meat, but the flavors are unique to each of our own taste buds. It’s the most super of all sporting events because we have made it so. It is just more proof, as Clint Eastwood said, that we want the world to hear our engines roar.
