Super Bowl Lives Up to the Hype

As a Colts fan, last night’s Super Bowl was not ideal. Any New England Patriots’ triumph is very low on my list of things to see. Being fair, though, it was a remarkable game. Both teams played at a championship level and the outcome was in doubt until the very end. The commercials were largely forgetful, at least for me, although I wish the Mexicans had drafted the polar bear.

Three quick comments: One, the Super Bowl is one of our few shared moments during the year. Television used to be much more communal, but the explosion of channels, streaming, and viewing on our own time has changed television. Sports programming is really the only thing we all watch live at the same time and the Super Bowl is the king of sports programming.

Two, I feel for the Seahawks. Not because they are classy or deserve my sorrow, but I understand the frustration of watching a coach over think offensive football. This past season, UGA was in a back and forth contest against South Carolina. With the clock winding down and trailing by three, Georgia had the ball first and goal with Todd Gurley lined up behind the quarterback. UGA opted for a pass that resulted in an intentional grounding call. Second down was a short gain and third down was another incomplete pass, followed by a missed field goal. Not UGA’s greatest series of offensive football. Regardless, the lesson is simple. When you have the best player on the field, who has been powering through tackles, give him a chance to win the game at least two or three times. Don’t over think it. Don’t let the defensive match-up dictate what the offense must do, but do what you do best.

Three, the Super Bowl is what historians will look to as a prime example of America’s slide into a culture of spectacle and entertainment. We eschew simplicity in favor of bangs and sparkles. Tradition is never enough, but it needs to be refined and reformatted and amplified. Bigger is better. More. More. More. One of my favorite pictures from last night’s game was at the beginning when NBC showed a picture of the coin flip at Super Bowl 1. There was an official and the team captains at the center of the field.

Here is the pic from last night’s coin flip:

There are more than 20 people standing there, about half of whom are pointing a camera at the proceedings. This is the point when the thing is not as important as everything surrounding the thing. The spectacle has overtaken the event–and I did not even talk about halftime.

Political News in Brief

Scott Walker (R-WI) is surging in Iowa and nationally. The Governor has moved from the second tier into the first, and he is now considered one of the candidates to beat. His polling numbers show this, at least in Iowa. At the same time, Jeb Bush has moved from “not a chance” into the first tier as well. Romney’s decision not to run establishes Bush as the default establishment/moderate candidate.

Being the front-runner is fine, but winning what we call the “invisible primary” has little to do with winning the nomination. Walker and Bush are viable and that is the best they can hope for at this point.