Super Bowl Sunday: Kitsch, Big Bucks, Chicken Wings, Diversion and Denial

There is nothing in the United States that so harkens us back to ancient Rome like American football. Oh, there are those among us who on occasion descend into wild and decadent orgies and many of the uber wealthy own slaves, although they playfully call them employees in order to avoid bad press. However, those things are reserved for the select few and simply can't match the fervor and sheer hysteria that American football brings to the masses. We routinely fill huge coliseums and plead loudly with the gods for victory and blood. Many will arrive brutishly drunk, looking for confrontations with those who cheer for the opposition. In some instances wearing one set of colors can be tantamount to challenging people clad in another combination to a duel, or at least an awkward and silly attempt at fisticuffs.

All this madness comes to its mind shattering conclusion on Sunday evening. That is when the NFL will be staging Super Bowl XLVII. (What did I tell you about Rome?) The Baltimore Ravens, named after Poe's poem, will meet the San Francisco 49er's, named after a whole bunch of people looking to strike it rich quick during the 1849 California gold rush. It is the end of a campaign that began for both teams in August when their training camps opened in earnest.

In our adolescent arrogance many of us in this country will refer to it as the greatest event in sports. We will be naively ignoring several hundreds of millions of people who consider the World Cup Final a far more meaningful moment and this as just another bizarre example of American kitsch taken to the extreme.

Indeed, pregame and half time entertainment in the stadium will be concentrated versions of Las Vegas revues performed by entertainers dressed in costumes designed by people apparently deep in the throes of an acid binge. It will be the Circus Maximus gone all glitter and high tech.

Make no mistake about it though, despite all the ultra gaudy nonsense this whole display is huge business. The Columbia Broadcasting System will be begin the pregame shows at 10am Central American Time. The opening kickoff isn't scheduled until 5:30 pm. An estimated 100 million people are set to watch it. Thirty second advertising spots during the game are selling for a breathtaking $3.7 to $4.0 million dollars. After the game the rate immediately drops to $800,000 for the same amount of time.

Yes, we may be many things, but we do know how to make a buck and throw a party. This Sunday evening in homes all across this great land millions of chicken wings, train loads of bratwursts and incalculable numbers of pizzas will be consumed. For a few moments we'll escape from the real world. We'll ignore the embassy bombing in Turkey. We'll stop thinking about that five year old kid being held hostage in an Alabama bunker by another loon with another firearm. We won't ponder the dreadful fact that since December 14, 2012, the day of the Newtown, Connecticut massacre, Slate Magazine and @gundeaths say that at least 1,475 Americans have been killed by guns.

Some times diversion is good, Some times it is just denial suited up in a football uniform. Many times no one can, or wants to see the difference.

Take the Ravens and the points. Trust me.


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