Sunday, February 01, 2009

Super Bowl Sunday

Here it is upon us once again: Super Bowl 2009, a recent American pasttime and another excuse for gluttony (yum!). It's the last chance opportunity for those of us who couldn't care less about football (or sports in general, in my case) to pretend allegiance to one of the two random teams in the Big Game. Perhaps that's why we need this holiday, of sorts--to allow even non-fans the cathartic experience of choosing sides in intense competition.

Or, maybe our sole reason for watching is the commercials. Super Bowl time is certainly prime time for all of those companies. According to my friends, there may even be 3D commericals. They're jokesters, though, so maybe they're pulling my leg. 3D or not, the commercials are without a doubt what people talk about most.

Then there's the halftime show. As a former marching band member, I love that saying, "The football game will take place before and after the marching band's halftime show." However, it seems that most Super Bowl halftime shows are ridiculed before the first note erupts from the sound system. For me, this cynicism began with Michael Jackson's performance and the nearly nude bubble ladies that spread out across the field back in the early '90s. Janet Jackson's wardrobe snaffoo almost a decade later set up the whole idea as an object of ridicule. And then the artist choice--I'm sure they have someone in mind for their audience, but I don't think I ever fit in that mold.

Well, with all of this skepticism, happy Super Bowl 2009. May the Steelers win, may the most clever commercial be forever burned into our memories, and may the halftime show be forgetable.