So yet another NFL Superbowl (the 40th, in case you're keeping track) has come and gone. As was the case with this particular championship game, I'm often more than mildly amused by certain elitist individuals, mostly within the sports media who, when the big game turns out not to feature teams from one of a handful of what they might consider "major metropolitan areas" (or feature THEIR favorite team in particular) will boldly pronounce the game to be "boring" well before it's played. They will then drone on and tell all who will listen that "nobody will care" and television ratings will dip and advertisers will lose money and OH SHIT, THE SKY IS FALLING! I JUST GOT HIT WITH A PIECE OF THE SKY! HOLY JESUS, WHY WON'T YOU LISTEN TO ME!?

Anyhow...

Despite what whichever handful-of-jackass-sportswriters-who's-team-didn't-make-it would like you to believe, there will ALWAYS be "interest" in the Superbowl. Newsflash, kids: the NFL, in case you've been stuck in a coma for the past 40 years, is "big business" and large numbers of people ("scads," even) will still spend the equivalent of my annual salary just to get tickets to the game, advertisers, despite doom-and-gloom reports to the contrary, will still fork out unGodly sums of cold hard cash simply to be seen for a few precious seconds between plays, some lame-ass record executive somewhere will always kiss enough ass that they will be able to thrust whichever broke down act they paid way too much money for in front of the audience at half time in a vain attempt to cut their losses and the officiating crew, despite being touted as the "best of the best," will still make mistakes, some of them egregious and unconscionable, because that, my friends, is what happens on Superbowl Sunday...

Oh yeah...There's a football game tucked somewhere in all of that crap as well...

Speaking of the game, once we got past the creepy Harrison Ford reading of Dr. Seuss and the singing and the half-hour of Al Michaels yammering about abso-fucking-lutely NOTHING, I did find the action to be on the side of "boring." Granted, I'm not emotionally invested in either team (beyond my abject hatred for that fucking towel that the Steelers fans - who seem to be EVERYWHERE - feel the need to wave around like so many flags at a pride parade) so I wasn't "on the edge of my seat" or "sweating bullets" or (insert metaphor for being nervous here). Yeah, it was a close game, yeah, both defenses played good tough football in the first half , yeah, had the Broncos been in the game instead of the Steelers, I would've been going absolutely insane but they weren't so I wasn't. To tell you the truth, I was watching the game "because it was on." That, plus the fact that I didn't want to have to ask someone today at work "so who won that game yesterday?" Additionally, because I work (on the fringes) of the advertising industry, I watched the stupid game for the (stupid) commercials...

And I liked maybe three of those damn things...

Don't get me wrong, I love football but I hate being subjected to a 4-and-a-half-hour game wherein 2 hours of actual football is played. I can certainly do without the "hype" but, since that's where the money is, it will continue to get bigger while the game stays the same...In the end, as I alluded to earlier, Yesterday's game was just another Superbowl come and gone. The Steelers fans will have an entire year to wallow in the pride and glory that accompanies victory, the Seahawks fans will have that same span to contemplate "what could've been" and the coaches and general managers all of those other NFL teams who, in one way or another, fell short of that big game will vow to "return to the drawing board" and "get there next time." Indeed, there was more than enough "interest" to go around: it's no secret that the NFL is big business and, because of that, the Superbowl is the largest stage of the year of all North American sports leagues. What's more, despite what overly jaded sportscasters would want you to believe, despite certain advertisers balking at the cost of a commercial and NO MATTER which two teams end up PLAYING in the damn game, nothing's gonna change...Money will be made...Advertsing will be shown...Merchandise will be sold...

And people WILL come...

Labels: misguided rantings, sports