I was listening to sports radio this morning. ESPN's Mike and Mike to be precise. Mike Greenberg was expressing his shock that despite being the most watched TV show in history he couldn't believe that more people didn't watch the Super Bowl last Sunday. Despite pulling a staggering 49 rating Greenberg could not fathom that over 2/3rds of Americans did not watch what he described as a piece of Americana. He implied that it was almost un-American NOT to watch the game.
At that moment I resolved to not watch next year's game.
Of course if the Kansas City Chiefs miraculously make the game I'll go back on that.
But I got caught in the great trap. I watched a game I cared nothing about. I had no rooting interest in the game. I even watched the commercials because I wanted to be able to talk about them the next day. I didn't want to be left out of the conversations the next day. I was glad that I watched the most ridiculous call in the history of football so I could skewer Pete Carroll along with everyone else in America.
I suspect that most of us watch the game because we don't want to be left out of a huge cultural event. So there's pressure to subject yourself to commercial marketing that glorifies materialism.There's pressure to watch a game that causes unbelievable harm to the participants. There were at least three major injuries in the Super Bowl and untold concussive effects on just about everyone on the field. We are peer pressured to support a league that sweeps murder (Ray Lewis), spousal abuse (Ray Rice) and child abuse (Adrian Peterson) under the rug. Those are just three examples.
I'm conflicted. I'm a football fan. I was entertained on Sunday. I keep up with the news of my favorite team. But when I stop and think and look at things from a distance I question why I support such a corrupt system. Caught. We've all been caught in trap. I am a sheep.
