I agree with cari04r it is very intresting how one sporting event can bring so many people together. The superbowl shows how much football means to americans and only americans.

This year, unlike many Americans, I was unable to watch the Super Bowl. This is something that has never really bothered me because, for the last several years I have actually been unable to watch the game (an amateur hockey tournament, that our team plays in, falls on Super Bowl Sunday every year). Truthfully, even if I was in front of the TV, I would much rather watch the Capitals and Penguins battle.
On our way back from Lake Placid New York we were actually listening to the game on the radio, and what was bothering me a little is, that with almost every stoppage in play (and in football there are quite a few) they would go to a commercial. Now, I have listened to other sporting events on the radio before, but it seems like this game is truly the one time during the year, big business has the opportunity to bombard our senses with ads about buying their products. I believe most people are fully aware of the astronomical amounts of money these companies fork out to buy a 30 second commercial, and the capital invested in producing a commercial that will enthrall the viewer. On the business side, it makes sense to invest in advertising during the Super Bowl, because of the sheer magnitude of the audience watching the game.
Now the NFL is also trying to sell us their product which is the game of football, but what is the point when the league is selling out? The league cares more about gaining revenue from selling a 30 second ad then improving the viewing pleasure for the consumer. In the article we read from by Berube he stated that: In all that noise, I think, where are the games themselves?� Sometimes I feel like that. I think that the stoppages in play are purposely lengthened and are increasingly more frequent just so they can get more commercials in, it would be naive of me to think otherwise. The biggest issue I have with the game of football is the amounts of stoppages in play. It is a slow sport, but does it have to be as slow?
This issue also relates to other sports. The sport, that I believe is one of the fastest sports in the world, and the one I personally live and breathe, is the game of ice hockey. A few years ago the game of hockey decided to implement TV time-outs during play, because they felt that they were not able to give ample amount of time to commercials. I understand the need to generate revenue for your product, but it stinks when you are attending a game, your team is applying pressure in the opponents zone, there is a stoppage and instead of dropping the puck for a face-off, I have to wait a minute or two so the viewers at home can watch a commercial about Ultra Soft Toilet Paper!�
One thing I noticed, when I was in Lake Placid this weekend for the USA Hockey Adult Tournament; was who helps sponsor the tournament, Labatt Blue. Now Labatt Blue is a Canadian beer Company who obviously felt it worth their while to sponsor adult hockey tournaments all over the country. Labatt hands out free beer to the teams after the games, and free hockey bags for winning the tournament. Now I never really thought about this before, but for us semi washed up hockey players obtaining one of these bags is a symbol (majority of the time) that you won one of these tournaments. A badge of honor if you will something our team (we won last year s tournament) displays proudly. To think our team has been a walking advertisement for Labatt blue in rinks up and down the east coast for the last year, and have not received a dime for your hard work!
Whether, it is the mecca of professional sporting events like the Super Bowl, or everyday sporting events like an amateur men s league hockey tournament. Mass commercialism is just as much apart of sport as the players that play it and the fans that watch it. So sit down enjoy the game, and at least there will be ample time for bathroom breaks.

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I agree with Dave Stier. The Super Bowl is an American testament to our countrys love for celebration, entertainment, patriotism and may exemplify the American citizen. He discusses the unwritten laws of the Super Bowl. Unhealthy food, yelling and screaming, cold beer, gambling and other traditions. The wagers, side bets, player bets, and score grids are also mentioned in his reply to Mr. White. All unhealthy attributes of the Super Bowl, his reply is honest and leaves the reader questioning is the Super Bowl a positive or negative American pastime?!

I have to agree with Towsongurl08 when she says that the super bowl is sexist towards women. Almost all of the commercials were aimed towards men. Even the Victoria Secret commercial showed women in a sexual way. I believe it is this way because companies have found out that the majority of the viewers are males.

The Super Bowl is the most anticipated sporting event in the United States. As said by Mr. White it is also one of the most narcissistic event s held in the United States�. We flaunt everything about the game and the events surrounding it. Americans spend their hard earned money preparing for the event each year and if that s not enough the country spends the tax -payer s money on the game. To name just one extravagance, fighter jets flew across the field at a cost of approximately 5 million dollars. I blinked for two seconds during the game and missed it!! Was it worth the taxpayer s money to have such extravagance? I don t think so! We have millions of poor citizens that cannot afford to eat or heat their home, but we don t care about that! We as citizens love to celebrate and consume for our own means, yet to help another is considered a loss of ones resources. On the positive side not all is wasted, the Patriots are donating their never-to-be sold apparel to poor children around the world. I say this with total sarcasm!! I m sure that s exactly what poor children around the world need, to have apparel. Not food, water, roofs over their heads, schooling, or any of the other necessities that we could have donated using the 5 million that was spent on jets. Yes, I m sure the apparel will help, but we need to look at the big picture! We can have the Super Bowl and the events without the waste of money and resources. The Super Bowl does show how strong our country is but it also shows how materialistic and commercially controlled we are. We all sat in front of the television stuffing our faces watching the game and commercials hoping to be entertained, while helping to make corporate owners filthy rich! The taxpayers will never see the money that was made from these commercials. Why did these big corporations not pay for the fighter jets or the athletes? Without the taxpayers there would be no spectators to keep athletes and corporate owners in business. Lastly, where was the green movement at the Super Bowl? Maybe I m missing something, but I did not see any commercials to promote recycling or saving water. The commercials focused on selling and earning more profit for the corporations. One green� commercial would have been worth the taxpayer s money, unlike jets that waste fuel, pollute and waste the military s resources. Maybe next year the green� movement will make its way to the Super Bowl. I guess the future of our country is okay as long as we have Super Bowl, hahahaha!!

The hype and sensationalism surrounding the Super Bowl has often put the game itself into the shadows. Many consumers of the game are too concerned with the commercials, the food or the beer to even be focused on who s playing and what it means to be a fan of the sport or game itself. Although the Super Bowl did break records for being the most watched game, you had to be blind if you didn t notice who it was that was occupying the seats at the actual game. It is obvious that the seats were filled with middle to upper-class white males, kind of ironic when the players of the actual game are of a different race?

I believe that sporting events and games such as the Super Bowl which are big enough to gain more public notice are a great place to show our support for our nation and patriotism. Maybe it s because I m engaged to a United States Marine who is getting deployed this month, and every time I hear the National Anthem my eyes well up but it was noticeable that this Super Bowl did give credit to those who serve. The reciting of the Declaration of Independence, the singing of the National Anthem, the flyover, it makes my fiancé and other Marines in the middle of the desert in California getting ready to head over to Iraq to not feel so left out when they watch the game.

Who is this game being directed to? If I were a male, I d say me, but since I m not I m going to have to go with the men. I don t think there were enough car commercials or half dressed women for all of the men watching. As a female sports fan I ve pretty much gotten accustomed to the games not being directed towards me. I am not a huge football fan but I am a big hockey fan and those games aren t exactly driven by a female fan base either.

Lastly, it is completely obvious as to the way the media wants us to watch and consume this game. Would this not be true if companies didn t spend millions of dollars on commercials every year, which last about 30 seconds? Berube states, We re your readers, and we ve read the book. However, we haven t read it in quite the way you re reading it.� I am a big hockey fan and whenever I watch a hockey game, I feel the same way I felt when I watched the Super Bowl. Just let me watch the game. I don t really care about you commentary, or what you re trying to sell me, but hey if that s what the country wants to watch when they sit down for a football game, you know that s what they media is going to give them and then some. It s hard not to think that we re an incredibly strong media power when we can t get young people to vote for president in this country but we ll sit down and vote for American Idol. Seems ironic but yet that s what happens.

Overall, the Super Bowl is a great example to anyone from a different country that watches and wants to know what this country is about. Or maybe not. But it does give us as Americans a sense of pride in our country and for once it seems all of us are united on a subject even if it s only for a few hours in February.

I think that Stier made a great point of how much exactly the super bowl means to Americans. In his response he said "The Super Bowl can be viewed as an American testament to our country s love for celebration, entertainment and patriotism (or Giant-ism depends on who you re rooting for). American football is a sport that is dominantly experienced by our national audience (verse other international sports such as soccer and basketball) for a reason that may exemplify the American citizen. As Americans, our society loves extravagant events, overloaded consumption, and being the loudest in the room". I fully agree with this as it was something that I noticed as well. Being excited about the football game and going all out to celebrate what in my opinion should be just another game with more focus on the game than the entertainment aspects really shows how proud we are of our country because like we said we are proud of where we are from . Stier also goes on to talk about the patriotism and nationalism during the game which I also agree with. There are only certain days out of the year that we show this much patriotism. Fourth of JUly, now September 11th and of course Super Bowl Sunday.

I agree with Jackie812 about football fans from other teams i.e. the Ravens suddenly become very passionate fans for the teams playing in the Superbowl i.e. the Giants. How passionate can you become when truly you are not a fan of that team you are rooting for that one game? Yes most of us wanted the Patriots to lose against the underdog Giants, but honestly we all have our favorite teams that we support and root for during the football season and for that much all year round besides one game...the Superbowl..unless we get lucky and our team is playing in it. The other thing I agree upon that many of other students that responded to the blog touched on was the fact that Peyton Manning was shown more on camera than his brother Eli Manning when Eli was the one who was actually playing in the game. How many times did we have to see Peyton Manning during the game? I thought after about 2 shots that was enough but it was more like 10 or so. The guy is not even in the game and he is getting more camera action than his little brother. How ironic?

Super Bowl time! A time where families come together, argue their picks for the big game, make a friendly wager or two, and throw out the biggest smorgasbord of junk food anyone has ever seen! It doesn t matter if you like any team in the Super Bowl; it s tradition.

This idea of Super Bowl Sunday is also a time for advertisers to pull out all the stops. Advertisers come up with scantily clad women, some bathroom humor, usually a big fat guy doing something ridiculous in order to promote their product. According to CNN, companies were forced to pony up $2.4 million to score their 30-second spot on one of TV s biggest ratings nights this year, setting a new Super Bowl record.

What is with this obsession? I know people who are more into the commercials than the game itself. As a society, we are crippled with advertising everyday. I listen to the radio in the morning and there are at least 20 minutes of commercials within the hour before news, traffic, and sports. Everything is sponsored. I mean the Super Bowl wasn t played in Cardinal Stadium or on Arizona Field; it was played in University of Phoenix Stadium. Give me a break! A team can t take enough pride in its house� to fork over the dough to build it?

It seems to me that the advertising in sports has just gone way over board. What s next? Ford Motor Company will sponsor Wes Welker. Built Wes Tough or some other cheesy slogan attached with a Ford logo on his jersey. It sure is heading that way in NASCAR.

I think as a society we are so bent on trying to get the latest products and trying find the best of whatever. The sports world has seen this as an easy opportunity to make some quick cash and was more than happy to allow companies to place stickers all over our stadium. I can understand the want to make money; I just think that advertising is taking away from the face of the game. In all that noise, where are the games themselves,� said Michel Berube, in a commentary about Sports commentary. Here in Baltimore, Memorial Stadium is demolished and not replaced with a new Memorial Stadium, but a giant ATM in M&T Bank Stadium. Memorial Stadium is now a small area across the street from the giant ATM, no longer a large spectacle, which stood for those who fought and died for this country.

The New York Yankees are a team that is worth $1.2 billion. I would think that maybe they have made enough money to get eliminate some of the Budweiser signs around the stadium. Now don t get me wrong, I am not saying it s a bad thing to make enormous amounts of money nor am I saying I don t enjoy a Budeweiser. I just feel that the advertising, which has littered our ballparks and stadiums, today is a little excessive. We don t need to sponsor every instant replay, make a Verizon call to the bullpen�, or have a Chevy Horse-trailer player of the game. I think a call to the bullpen� and a player of the game is sufficient.

I agree with you Justin. It definitely was refreshing not to have to see every celebrity in Hollywood on Sunday during the game. I also agree with you that technology is an amazing tool that can be used in our professional sports today. It can really determine a right or wrong call which could affect the outcome of a game.

What other sporting event brings an entire family and/or friends together on one single night besides the Super Bowl? Berube said it best: It's far better to start by giving us some idea of what you'll be arguing and why.� (page 3, line 7) To me, the Super Bowl is the greatest sporting event there is, because even if I am not a fan of either team playing in it, I have the opportunity to enjoy witnessing the game with people that I care about around me. The game between the New England Patriots and New York Giants definitely magnified the connection between sport and society. Personally, I viewed the game as the glorious, extremely marketable, arrogant cheaters, also known as the New England Patriots, versus the tremendous under-dog New York Giants, who played with a ton of heart. There also were 3 various elements of society that were reinforced through the Super-Bowl which I am going to talk about. These elements include celebrity obsession, commerialism, and the economy.
The first element I noticed was the use of celebrities to keep a diverse audience into the game. This is nothing new in regard to sporting events, but the point is to explain how and why, in my opinion, these people were shown on television. Examples include Jim Carrey, L.L. Cool J., and Justin Timberlake. Many of you may have wondered why these awesome celebrities were sometimes shown in the same commercial as the average everyday individual, with many different crazy things going on all at once. If you noticed, almost every age, gender, and race were shown sometimes in the same commercial, and not by accident. On the business side of things, this is ideal because it targets a larger group of people to sell a product or service. This is because we are made to believe that we are all in this together. So for example if L.L. Cool J. supposedly drinks Diet Pepsi Max, than I must drink diet pepsi max to be like him. But do we really know if he drinks the product he is selling or not?
The second element I noticed was the use of commercialism. We all know that commercials appear on our televisions at great volume most all the time, and serve as an intermission to whatever program we are watching, in order to have time to advertise and market products and services. During the Super-Bowl competition increases greatly due to the fact that each commercial cost a small fortune for even as little as thirty seconds of time. So what happens? These companies push it to the limit. For example, when Danica Patrick, the female Nascar driver un-zippers her jacket half way, or when the young average looking Caucasian male is shown walking around in a city with hundreds of people looking to greet him, and a good looking girl even grabbing and kissing him, simply because he owns the new Dell laptop. These commercials are simply ridiculous, yet still effective. What are the odds that I am ever in my lifetime going to see Danica Patrick naked? Probably a couple million to one. But the fact that I was able to see her begin to take off half her jacket may excite me so much that I go to whatever web-site is being advertised. The other example is even more ridiculous, but still extremely effective, because most all of us desire attention in some way, and most of us crave tons of attention. If you disagree, then why do so many people want to be celebrities. I would say it is for the attention and glory. So that is what this young man gets when he carries around his new dell laptop. Basically, the company wants their target customer to feel that if they do not acquire this product, they may never get this type of attention and glory.
The final element I noticed was the hopeful idea that the economy will improve. A Super-Bowl as exciting and close as that one means that millions more people were watching the game deep into the fourth quarter, which means those same people also saw many more commercials. The fact that the New York Giants won the Super Bowl may have actually been better for the economy because they were viewed as such unbelievable underdogs, which is exactly what most of the American public is compared to the very small percentage of extremely wealthy Caucasian males. It might sound crazy, but I would argue that your average American, who actually may not even be able to afford it, would justify spending money on an expensive item, such as a high quality hdtv, simply because they may feel they need it for the next Super Bowl, considering how amazing the game was and how it may have looked if they only had the right television. This is just one specific example of how the game may have boosted the economy.
The game was definitely an exciting one. I cannot think of any other time where my entire family had smiles on their faces, were jumping up and down, and giving each other high fives, except for last Sunday.

I agree with Towsongurl08 in that commercials were targeted towards men. Even Victorias Secret, a store obviously for women, was targeted more towards men during Superbowl commercials. I would think that if a company was paying $2.8 million dollars for a commercial during the game they would want to target as much as the population as they could-both men and women.

I certainly agree with mwenke1 about the Super Bowl being more than just a game. If 10% watch more for the commercials, then there has to be more to it in our society. I would venture to guess that another good percent of people watch it just because their friends or significant others are watching. I also agree with how mwenke1 said that a lot of people would rather watch the Super Bowl than a political debate because politicians aren't trustworthy and sports are entertaining.

Johnnie Greffenreid
2/3/08
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl this year just like any other year had become a great success with the biggest and most watched sporting event in the United States. There is another reason that the Super Bowl is watched not just for football but for the commercials in between time outs, quarters, and half-time. There are people who have the least bit interest in football, but want to see some of the most hysterical commercials on Television. To a lot of people that watched the game watch it for entertainment purposes and a way to relax. However, I have started to notice that there is more to sports then what meets the eye. There are companies around the sporting event that find ways to relate their company and the sport or event to a common person s life.
Within the game itself, there is a lot that is trying to be reflected towards society either to bring people together or to how they relate. I have noticed that a way the network tries to reach out to people and actually connect different ethnic and cultural groups to this American event. Translators were hired by networks and telecasters to report the game to the different ethnic groups tuning in to the game. With having commentators being multilingual this creates more opportunities to those that have the talent of speaking more than one language, wanting to commentate, and a love for sports. So with these multilingual commentators this brings more diversity to the public and sports for getting together and enjoying a big event.
Commercials from the Super Bowl are the other biggest reason it is watched for the humor of the commercials or sincerity. The day after the Super Bowl mostly what is being discussed are the highlights of the game and the commercials. Morning talk shows and News shows gossip over the most hilarious and most disastrous commercials, and it has viewers tune in and listen if they had missed a commercial. The commercials that viewers tune into can be bad or good, some stereo racism for this year was the Sales Genie commercial with the pandas could and might have loss some of the oriental watchers from either watching the rest of the commercials, the game, or that company. This is how it can affect society either in a good way or a bad way from advertisement because during the game it is the best time to get viewers attention since majority of the viewers are watching for the commercials also.
Sports in general can have an affect or an influence on anyone that can be related to work force, everyday life, group projects, team projects, etc. For example an Article from Michael Bérubé Analyze, Don t Summarize a professor from University of Virginia fresh out of college as a graduate compares his grading practices to ESPN s Around the Horn. Imagine my surprise, then, when I watched Around the Horn one afternoon and realized that here, at least, was my grading system in practice.� (Bérubé) I definitely believe that the Super Bowl has a huge experience and affect on society it definitely has on me. It is easy to make an analogy to football about team work, strategic plays and plans, skill level, experience gain, and so forth that the sport brings.

I am going to have to agree with cari04r. It is quite interesting how the Super Bowl can bring so many people together just to watch a sporting event. It truly shows how much sports mean to Americans, especially a sport that is directed to only Americans, which is something most if not all other sports cannot do. I honestly cannot recall any other game in which restaurants are closed and sports bars are packed. It truly is something that if a foreigner saw, they would truly be amazed.

I agree with a lot of the things that hillswim4life had to say. However the main point that caught my eye was I never thought about the idea that Super Bowl Sunday for companies may actually be more important to their future then to the players themselves. That to me is mind blowing but makes a lot of sense. Advertisements during the Super Bowl sets a precedence and standard that could lead to the rich getting A LOT richer, as opposed to a team carrying momentum from a Super Bowl victory into next year's following season.

I must fully agree with jreddings analysis. The reason being how professional sports have completely taken a stranglehold on our wallets. To me the best way to see this occurred this past NFL season when the NFL network which last year was free started charging a monthly fee in order for fans to watch the Thursday night games. This to me was ridiculous, but like most popularized sports there is always an underlying reason for what the networks do during games. Last years free subscription to the NFL network through Comcast was a good marketing tool to sell subscriptions this year. In the end both of these companies benefited from professional sports. This is just one way that sports takes hold of our wallets which in turn allows me to fully agree with the comments posted by jreddings.

I absolutely agree with Stier on the first line of his response about the Super Bowl becoming a de facto National Holiday. As I stated earlier, my personal experience has driven me to this conclusion. Working for numerous restaurants valeting cars I can tell everyone first hand that it indeed has become an unoffical holiday. The streets were dead with no cars or foot traffic and the restaurants were more empty then i've seen on our actual National Holidays. I know for a fact that with the number of people working with me times our hourly pay didn't equal the price per number of cars we parked. Basically my boss seemed to have lost money. Next year he may re-think about being open on Super Bowl Sunday.

The Super Bowl has evolved into an American tradition, a practice that has developed to a de facto U.S. National holiday. A holiday driven by consumption and over-indulgence; a hallmark event that is categorized as the second largest U.S. food consumption day (behind the almighty Thanksgiving feast). When examining the societal behaviors practiced on Super Bowl Sunday, we can draw parallels from our American culture and develop relationships between NFL Championship and the American norms.
The Super Bowl can be viewed as an American testament to our country s love for celebration, entertainment and patriotism (or Giant-ism depends on who you re rooting for). American football is a sport that is dominantly experienced by our national audience (verse other international sports such as soccer and basketball) for a reason that may exemplify the American citizen. As Americans, our society loves extravagant events, overloaded consumption, and being the loudest in the room. Consider all of the additional auxiliary events which have been associated with the NFL Championship Game. All of the television coverage that has been dedicated towards the Super Bowl and how the thought of this simple game has shifted into a commercialized, consumption-driven holiday centered around a game called football. The complexity of this event has somehow evolved into a treasured National Holiday- yet how? How can this game of football become the American summary of our culture? Let us examine some of the connections between the American society and the Super Bowl.
We can first observe the relationship between the Super Bowl and technology. Over the past several years advancements in contemporary technology have been witnessed on America s biggest stage- the Super Bowl. From the high-definition jumbo screens, scrolling LED stadium trim, the array of telecommunication advancements, on-field heating systems, athletic medical innovations, and the progression of the internet and its integration into the customer purchasing process to name a few. Yet, the Super Bowl also has stood as a platform for growth for several technology-based startup companies such as Apple Inc. and GoDaddy.com. We can also draw connections with Military, such as the flying of U.S. airplanes over the stadium and the presence of military personnel and the American tribute for their dedication to our Country. We also have the expression of our nationalism through the singing of the National Anthem (shout-out to Adolf Hitler). There are relationships between the mass media entities and cultural norms. We witnessed commercials engineered to evoke purchasing behavior based on American trends and assumptions. This event stands as the most viewed television event of the year, which is why there is such a high demand (and high price-tag) for commercial air-time. The venue has transformed into a commercialized destination over the simple purpose of a football game.
Law is among everything we experience, and we try to understand the laws (or rules) of football and the many laws� and rituals we impose on our society. Many of these traditions� are practiced at the thousands of Super Bowl parties nationwide. Laws like the need for a big screen HD television, a plethora of unhealthy foods, excessive yelling and screaming, ice-cold beer, and even to the extent of breaking some of our American laws of gambling. We see wagers, side bets, player bets, and score grids being established at many Super Bowl parties. Yet can these traditions be weighted as religious behavior? Are there more people that pay more attention to sport activities than their religious descendants? Sport has evolved into a religion, a religion that fosters consumption and thrives on the idea that sport is a product. And the Super Bowl, well that event stands as one of the most sought out and embraced products our American society.

I have to agree wholeheartedly with Davinci. He says "What had marvels me the most about this magnanimous event is the sense of patriotism and rivalry that encompasses this occasion in the same instance. Its roots to our nation s historical values are reverberated during this event. " If it is one thing that comes out during the super bowl, its the unification of a population that spends the majority of their lives torn over political, liberal, religious, or finanacial disputes. But super bowl sunday is a chance for everyone to come together, choose between the two teams, and root against the other. It shows that our nation, dispite all of the other problems we have, can still come together and express globally a unification of one of America's dearest pastimes.

In response to knockoutking79 I agree that there was a lot taken away from the game itself with all of the commercials, and that most of the commercials were sexist especially the Danica Patrick (Go Daddy) commercial. I also noticed that for the most part the crowd in attendance at the game was most middle class white males; I am assuming this because of the ridiculous price for Super Bowl tickets, even when most of the players in the National Football League are predominantly black. I feel that all the media and commercials took a lot away from the game and how much I personally enjoyed it.

I agree with hillswim4life and how the media likes to put a negative spin on everything. Instead of letting the Patriots pave their own path in sport history the media constantly compared them to the 72 Dolphins and basically implying that if they didnt win the super bowl their season was worthless. Coverage like this can truly take the fun out of the sport for both fans and players

I have to agree with sruben1 s first paragraph regarding the use of sex appeal in their commercials to promote their product. The ad companies got it right when they started making sexy commercials to air during the Super Bowl because the large population of viewers for a long time has been men. We men are so gullible though that we fall right into the arms of the ad companies and especially because Valentine s Day is around the corner, we go out and buy our significant other things from Victoria s Secret. I personally don t agree with the hype of the commercials because as I stated in my original statement, the Super Bowl needs to be about football. It needs to be about memories of the Super Bowl s of the past and a celebration of the one s to come. It is the biggest game of the year for the NFL and it has turned into a sex filled commercial calamity.

AyBADman's point about men showing emotion really caught my eye: "The Super Bowl also allows grown men to show emotion in ways that on any other day would seem feminine to the point where there man-hood would be challenged." This is very true. There are 4 quarters of rough and tough men hitting each other, but when the game ends, it's suddenly socially acceptable for them to cry. As spectators, we don't sit there and think "stop crying and man up." Instead, we sympathize and our hearts go out to them. Why is ok for a man to be seen crying on national television on this day? Perhaps it's comforting to us. It makes us realize that NFL players have hearts too.

In response to msookdeo s response I do have to agree with him that people are losing track of the fact that the Super Bowl is for a game and not commercials or famous people sitting in the crowd. He was also right in the sense that the commentary has gotten out of hand. There are too many people that make the game sound so easy and having former players pick apart what guys are doing wrong on the field does get old after awhile. It was a great point to make that commentators do get rapped up in stats too much. Hopefully over time this will all change.

In response to hillswim4life's comment, "Super Bowl Sunday is just one of the major days in which media can affect society in many different ways"; I completely agree, and think that it is a crying shame that this power is not used to benefit more people, instead of furthering our national sense of commercialism. It is undeniable that the Super Bowl is one of the most viewed events of the year, and I think that that status should be used for the benefit of our society.

jflesh1 says:

"..if anyone saw our country for the first time would think the United States is obsessed with alcohol and finding new jobs.."

So true. Super Bowl is the spotlight for our beer commercials as well as job seeking services.

The super blow this year was great, in that the cheaters met their demise. I am still a sports fan, so analyzing the big game this year was hard because I wanted to enjoy the event. I say event because the super bowl is no longer only about the two teams on the field, but rather getting together with your friends and family, watching the game, and critiquing the commercials. For people who have no stake in the teams playing, they often watch the game for the advertisements, and just like a critic writing for the New York Times they tell everyone in the room their opinion. Of course this is exactly what the companies advertising want us to do in order to retain information about the products and services they are selling. Having advertisements, banners, and sponsor names pasted everywhere is what we as Americans have become accustom to it is annoying at times, but it s a result of being a capitalistic market the highest bidder wins. This of course does not exclude our own Department of Defense from running commercials glorifying our armed services, as well as the free subconscious imagery of the classic stadium fly over s by fighter jets. The majority of the marketing done throughout the super bowl is also aimed towards males and manly humor, opposed to feminine products and emotional driven advertisements. This is shown through the obvious humor in beer commercial of someone getting hurt, and another method is through the use of beautiful women in skimpy clothing as often seen in Go-daddy commercials.

A very interesting observation watching the game is the contrast of races and ethnicities between the players on the field, the people at the game, the owners and stake holders of the teams, and the people watching it at home. The majorities of players playing the game are from African American decent and have amazing athletic abilities, while the stands are corporate sponsored seats filled with wealthy people because the price tag of the tickets is much too high for the average football fan to obtain. When the game is won the trophy ceremony occurs, the owners get to receive credit in the spotlight, and this year much like all previous years, the stake holders are rich Caucasian families. The remaining majority populations watching the game on television are middle and lower class family and friends.

The game itself was great. This defensive game made the end of the forth quarter very intense. Everyone loves the underdog; and on Sunday the underdog was the victor. The Patriots were favored by 12 points just before game time, and the over under was in the range of 54 to 55. The total score was 31, which is 24 points under the predicted over under! It is always an exciting experience when the experts in Vegas get everything backwards.

In reponse to Stephanie, I would have to agree with her as far the focus of advertising and the game goes. Football, as with all of the big four sports, is primarily watched and certainly played by males. It has been that way since the start of the sports. In fact, I am sure more males watch Women's basketball then women do. Why is that? I don't know. I know females are attempting to make themselves heard in the big four sports for example Purple, a group of female fans for the Baltimore Ravens. They are also making jerseys specifically cut and sized for women. On a smaller note however, the Manning's father, Archie, was a football icon in his day. I am sure that is why they spoke with him. As far their mother, Olivia, she is alive and well. She actually appeared in an ESPN commercial with her boys and husband.

Jackie has a good point in stating that this game brings out the competitive nature of our society in general. its not just about "my" or "your" team, but its as if your team says something about how you must be better than the fans of the losing team. Everyone is always striving to be better than the next person in someway or another and that includes as a fan of a game.

I definately have to agree with ladytigerswim about the commentators as well. That is the part of the game tht I hate the most. We are not allowed to actually just enjoy the game for more than a minute without a criticism or comment repeated for the fifth time. It seems they just enjoy hearing themselves talk.

I agree with A Bennet's response. The Superbowl is definately aimed at the wealthy and business-knowledgeable people in America. It also keeps our interest with famous people in not only the commercial ads, but popular celebrities watching in the audience. This seems to be for the audience member who is about the phenemonon that surrounds the game, and not the actual game itself.

I whole-heartedly agree with the issues ladytigerswim addressed when she brought up how the commentators never stopped talking for longer than ten seconds, maybe even five seconds, throughout the superbowl. They do constantly reiterate stats for the players and try to predict the coaches and quarterbacks next moves. I also found it very interesting how Peyton Manning got plenty of camera time and he wasn t even playing the game. The cameras kept zooming in on him to see how he reacted after each play. Then, for some reason, after the game he was in the locker room with his little bro and all eyes were on them. I feel Eli s performance in the superbowl should have been his moment to prove to America that he s not just Peyton s little brother. Whether it was the cameras darting back to Peyton in the stands after every play, or whether it was Peyton in the locker room with Eli afterwards, those after game interviews and locker-room celebrations should have taken place WITHOUT him. Finally, it was Eli s chance to be recognized for his talents and not his family tree, yet it s hard to do that when Peyton almost got as much face time as Eli. Peyton won MVP in last year s superbowl, Sunday was Eli s turn to bask in his victory and to feel proud for his team, and his performance. Peyton should not have had anything to do with it.

I agree with noaph1 about the super bowl being an American custom now. On Sunday it was probably being the only thing shown at most bars and restaurants around the country. Even when most people do not like the teams who are playing, they are still going to watch the game and pick a team to cheer for. I believe that it is just another sign of how competitive Americans are.

In regard to ayBADman, great point about whaazzzzuuuuuuup� or bud-weis-er� was becoming a staple in American culture. I completely agree about the whole Tom Brady ankle craziness. It seemed that walking boot was 10x more important then any other news story. The Super Bowl needs to be remembered for sport not commercials. I agree that something needs to change when people care more about talking frogs than Super Sunday. The Super Bowl should not be out of control with commercialism, it needs to come back to reality. The NFL is not like this any other week out of the year, and the Super Bowl should not be any different.

I have to agree with espnscfrk about the attendees at a Super Bowl. My old roommates parents fall into the category you talked about, and I was given a sideline ticket to the 2002 Super Bowl in New Orleans. There was actually a guy who asked me if a touchdown gave an automatic 7 points. I was like why are you here with your 50,000 dollar ticket asking somebody a question about points! We average living Americans should get a chance to easily get reasonablly priced tickets, not 10,000 dollars a pair. Instead, nosebleed seats sell for like 4000-5000 dollars a pair as well...might just as well watch it from a portable hand-held tv from up there!

I have to comment that I agree with Chris Richards when he says football should be about athleticism and not all the advertisements we have to watch. Sure we like occasionally watching those commercials, but every 10 minutes we get another load of 10 different commericals. Think about what the people at the game have to go through during those 2-3 minutes of commericals, its misery. For those of you who go to pro football games, the best part about it is being with your friends, hot dogs, and booze because its torture sitting 3 minutes with nothing going on while commericals are playing for viewers at home. So hats off to you Chris...Are you ready for some football!!!....Those were the days right?

Michael Berube had a valid point when he posed the question, Where are the games themselves?� By referring to the fact that all the commercialism, hype, and talk by overzealous chattering parasites� surrounding sporting events sometimes takes away from the event itself. This point was made very clear in the weeks leading up to and during the self indulgent event known as the Super Bowl. I couldn t help but to have my attention taken away from the game as I witnessed many negative attributes of the event.
One of these negative aspects includes a commercial that can be categorized in my top 10 most outrageously sexists commercials�. As Danica Patrick was stripping down her leather jacket I couldn t help but notice how much our society focuses on sex appeal in female athletes, rather than their athletic performance. Danica Patrick is an exceptional race car driver, however, all of her accomplishment on the track are lost in this go daddy commercial that uses her as another ploy to make their website as lucrative as possible. To those who pay close attention, it is evident our media takes pleasure in portraying female athletes as sex symbols. This greatly affects the way we view women in sports as well as our society. The provocative commercial lead viewers to believe that if they accessed the website they could see the full commercial or the full exposure of Danica Patrick. This advertising tool is one that is very pervasive in American society and the use of women, as sex objects will not likely come to an end any time soon. By now, most companies understand that sex sells, and will continue to exploit this trend as long as it earns them profit
Another displeasing reality about the Super bowl was the discrepancy between the race of those playing the game and of those attending the game. It is pretty well documented that the majority of the players in the NFL are African American. For the most part the crowd appeared to be made up of Caucasians. To take that a step further the commercials as well, seemed to overwhelmingly depict white America. This is a one constant reminder of where the control lies in today s society. It is no secrete that our society is controlled by and caters to upper class white males, so the fact that there is no outcry for more ethnically diverse commercials and crowd s present at large sporting events such as the super bowl is not a surprise. The Super bowl serves as a great microcosm for how our society as a whole operates. The commercialistic feed me, feed me� attitude of the American society was painfully obvious when viewing the super bowl from a critical standpoint. I, myself am even a part of this society as I described it. The sad truth is that if the media continues (which they no doubt will) to use sports as a median to knowingly or unknowingly promote sexism and racism, America will continue to be riddled with sexism and bigotry.

The Super Bowl, for as long as I can remember has been a national phenomenon. Fans(those who love the teams or the sport), the general public(those who watch for the commercials), and major companies(those who pay for the commercials) invest three and a half hours of there time on the first Sunday in February to watch what is supposed to be a football game. However, we all know that the Super Bowl is much more then just a game�. It is where not only a champion is crowned and players become legends but it is where whaazzzzuuuuuuup� or bud-weis-er� being repeated by talking frogs become a staple in American culture.
The Melting Pot, a popular restaurant around the Towson area is closed three days out of the year. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and you guessed it Super Bowl Sunday. What does the Super Bowl do to people? It forces KFC to offer over two hundred thousand dollars to the player who performs a chicken dance for a charity of there choice.
The Super Bowl also allows grown men to show emotion in ways that on any other day would seem feminine to the point where there man-hood would be challenged. Plaxico Burress cried while being interviewed after the game. Had this been week 3 in a game against the Arizona Cardinals, he would have been ridiculed all over the New York media as well as the topic of discussion on ESPN talk shows.
Media coverage throughout the Super Bowl is astounding! It was several days before the big game when a Breaking News� along the bottom of ESPN popped up on the television screen. It was from a Boston writer who broke the story that Tom Brady was seen walking through his home with a noticeable limp. Breaking News? I thought this was ridiculous, but the sad thing is, I couldn t even tell you the 50 other stories around the real world that were 100x more important. Hell, it s bad enough that Super Bowl pre game coverage starts about 7 hours before the game, but the fact that next year s breaking news of how a quarterback watched too much televison 10 days before the game makes national coverage I am going to flip.
While driving home with my friend(a patriots fan) he claims that the reason that they lost is because he didn t attend church on Super Bowl Sunday. He went the three previous times and they won. Yet, when asked if he attends regularly, his answer is a no.
As much as I love this time of year because of the culmination of what I consider the best sport in America, I must say that our love for this phenomenon has gotten a little out of control. The fact that we stay glued to our seats during media day and to television screens even after they go to commercial is laughable. However, when a game of this magnitude has the powers that it does to turn talking frogs to icons, I really can t get mad, I just sit back and enjoy it like everyone else.

My experience with the Super Bowl this year was unlike any other. For the first time in my twenty one years of life, I had to work. This really didn t bug me so much because the Packers didn t make it, but it was still kind of a bummer all day knowing that I was going to miss it. The game itself had little meaning to me and I could really have cared less. What was bothering me was the fact that I was one of like probably ten people missing it. Then having people ask me the next day in all my kinesiology classes about the game, what I thought about this, that and myself being a Sports Management major having no response.
However to my surprise a fellow co-worker brought in a television that we were able to hook up to an outside outlet and catch some of the game on. So I actually did end up seeing the majority of the game. But what happened at work made me realize how huge the Super Bowl is and what it means to people. For everyone to know I valet for six restaurants in Little Italy. We parked twelve cars total from 3pm until 8:30pm and every car came in well before kickoff, all but two had left by the singing of the national anthem. That wasn t even my biggest surprise. Upon arrival I began to talk about the game with the owner of Chiapparelli s. Without hesitation he told me to inform everyone that his restaurant was closed because he wanted to watch the game. He didn t care about money at this point, which is his main goal, but he was all about kicking back and having a good time while watching arguably the greatest spectacle in all of sports. He said that Chipp s only closes three days a year; Christmas, Thanksgiving and the Super Bowl. It took me by surprise, closed, on the Super Bowl! I mean they have a bar in there with nice plasma TV s as well. I had never heard of such a thing.
My understanding prior to work was that a good amount of people go out to eat and sit at bars on Super Bowl Sunday. Well my perspective has all changed. I know it is a big party day for everyone to get together and enjoy the game, but not to this extent. Literally during the game I looked around the streets and saw not one car moving or one person walking. Everyone s eyes were glued on this game. I mean it was the second most watched program in all of television history, mainly because of the impact the game had on the record books. But no one was even out at bars and restaurants they were all at Super Bowl parties with friends and family, enjoying good company. At this point I realized what Sage meant by his question, What are the interconnections between sport and other aspects of American society?�
That s what made me really realize why Super Bowl ads cost what they do. It s the dominant sporting practice these days. For example if your at a bar watching the game there are many more distractions around you taking your eyes away from the television, like the guy next you talking your ear off or the coming and going of customers. But at home or parties where most everyone is at, the distractions are still there, but can be ignored. You can blow your buddy off or tell him to shut up when you see a commercial you have been waiting for, you will know most of the people attending anyway so you know who cares who comes and goes. Peoples eyes are on the TV. from kickoff to the final whistle, without missing many moments and in the confines of houses and homes all over. The shear impact it plays on peoples lives and businesses all over is a spectacle in itself.

In today's society, Super Bowl Sunday is regarded as one of the greatest days out of the year. It tends to bring genders, ethnicities and even families together. Watching two battle tested teams come together after a trying season and compete for football's most coveted prize; the Lombardi trophy. The passion that each member of each team plays with is extremely remarkable. A lot of people wait anxiously for this day because they are truly fans of the sport; while others watch just because it is deemed as the thing to do at the moment. It wasn't until recently that I began to think about why is it that most American's including myself like sports and this event as much as we do. I really don't think that there could be just one answer for each individual person, but I do have a few ideas of why though. As long as I can remember America has always been a country based on competition and war. That same sentiment is displayed all throughout the Super Bowl. The flyovers from the United States Air Force right before kickoff or even singing the national anthem right before the game starts all show how important that this game tends to be. But incorporating the military into sports could be seen as just a bit much. Watching sports is supposed to be a time of entertainment and fun, but It seems that being the best of the best is the only thing that most American's seem to respect. As for me, I can agree with this because that same motto and set of values were given to me since I was younger. But when does enough become enough? Why am I supposed to respond to a group of aggressive individuals constantly pounding each other for sixty minutes just so that they can have bragging rights for another year?
The funny part about it all is that even though the game was only sixty minutes long, the effects of it have lingered on for more than a day. I went to work today and all I heard about was how exciting the game was or how shocked and upset people were that their team had either won or lost. That's when it all clicked for me.

This year I personally had no interest in watching the Super Bowl other than for the commercial. It was not until the last minute of the game that I became excited by the fact that the underdogs would come out on top. I may have been routing for the underdog this time but it was almost a shame that the Patriots lost the game. With all the lead up and talk about the perfect season, to lose to a team that is clearly not as good must really suck. There was so much media surrounding the Patriots and the 72 Dolphins that it ruined the fun of the game for the players. They were under so much stress to be perfect and join the only other team to ever do so. I really do not understand why media has to put a negative spin on everything. I have not had a chance to catch sports center since the game but I am sure all it has to do with was how the Patriots were ALMOST perfect. Came so far and lost it all when it mattered. In Michael Berube s article he states, I have to say that sport talk shows like this make me wonder whether some people don t see sport as simply an opportunity for endless metacommentary... and, of course, as gainful employment for an entire entourage of chattering parasites.� Berbrue feels like certain sports talk shows ruin the game. I happen to agree with him. They look for the worst in most athletes. Like the fact that they would not leave Tom Brady alone when he was obviously trying to recover from an ankle injury. Ok enough about the game, there is much more to Super Bowl Sunday than just the big game of the year. I think that the biggest part of the day is probably the commercials. They may even be more important to a lot of people than the actual game. The game does not affect society directly but the commercials during the game do. You see a funny commercial on Super Bowl Sunday you are most likely going to remember it and talk about it for the next few days. I believe that the two commercials that stick out the most in my head were the two on etrade. There is nothing better than a baby talking with a grown up voice. I bet you that the site got so many hits in the past 24 hours they do not even know how to keep up. Football tends to be a sport directed towards males. I personally love football. It is my favorite sport to watch at the college and professional level. You would have expected that most people watching the games were male, but to go against it I had an apartment full of people and not one of them was a male. I know more females that watched the game than males. I believe that has a lot to do with the society I am in. I am surrounded at all time by athletes and most athletes tend to enjoy watching all sports. I also found it interesting how much time the camera spent of Payton manning watching his brother play. Maybe once or twice would have been fine but I think the camera was on him just as much. People who were watching at home wanted to watch the one who was playing, not the one who came up short and had to watch from the box. Super Bowl Sunday is just one of the major days in which media can affect society in many different ways.

The Super Bowl is seen as the biggest event of the year in American society. It is synonymous with entertainment in our mega-media pop culture age. It doesn t matter if you like football, let alone the teams involved. In actuality, you don t even have to like sports. It simply has become American custom to watch the Super Bowl as if it were New Year s or Thanksgiving. People get together, whether it be family or friends, and eat a lot. It s a celebration, no matter if you actually have anything to be celebrating. It is nothing more than a hyped up spectacle to get people together and spend money.
Half of the Super Bowl is just advertising plain and simple. Supposedly the best commercials I will ever see this year will premier during this event. This is certainly the allure by mass media to draw me in since I don t care about either team playing. I obviously couldn t think about going to work or school without having seen these silly commercials. Technology plays a huge part in this now with all the advertisements for the coolest new things that I probably don t need and now I just watch the commercials on the internet without being interrupted by a stupid football game. Don t get me wrong, the last few minutes of the game were fun to watch, but that s it. Come to think of it, the commercials made me chuckle here and there, but they were the same old thing as well. In our society, it s all about the money. To achieve this money, the companies brainwash Americans with their marketing. They tell people that their product is the best on the commercials; they tell the people that the commercials themselves are the best; they tell them that the Super Bowl is the absolute one event that has to be seen. It appears that every year they do their job at sucking in millions of Americans to watch.
There are so many aspects of real American society that aren t even represented in this so-called super� event. Michael Berube states my goal of this rant in his article Analyze, Don t Summarize�; he says that it is not worthwhile to simply just reiterate what happened, but rather to critically explain it and get the true meaning. I m not going to go over what happened in the game or on the commercials because we all saw them; I want to go over how society is portrayed by the Super Bowl. By looking deeper, I see how disparity is shown of the economy. The players all have money, the owners and coachers all have money, and even most of the people who get to attend the game have money. This demonstrates how only a small portion of our society holds a big monetary part of the economy. They have their own set of laws in the game, and it s set up like military warfare. Religion doesn t really show up during the game, but many players are quick to thank God when they win. It is political how each player, coach, and owner holds a powerful position in how the game will unfold, and even the fans in attendance are like the wealthy backers of the politicians by cheering on their team or booing the other. Art is demonstrated through the commercials as well as some incredible plays made during the game. There are several aspects of real society that I could try to relate to the game, but in actuality the Super Bowl is just a ploy to escape reality.

While watching the Super Bowl this past Sunday, I was able to watch my favorite sport with a new appreciation even after only one class. The Super Bowl put the NFL in a new light for me and I was able to see things that I had missed even two weeks earlier during the playoffs. By understanding how sport is simply a part of our society among other popular areas, I was able to look for certain interactions that sport, which in this case was football, has with the other areas that make up society.
The first, and possibly most prevalent, connection to me would be the linkage between sports and technology. Here in 2008, we are fully immersed in the information age and the NFL has taken full usage of all the options available to enhance their product. The Super Bowl was able to do a wonderful job with many replays of key plays, and also the use of freeze framing shots and using slow motion. One play in particular where instant replay provided great entertainment was during the 4th quarter and the incredible catch by David Tyree. While the play was amazing when it happened live, it was even more impressive watching it in slow motion. Also technology played a role in the voting process to decide the game s MVP. It was very neat to see that fans could text their vote of who should be the game s MVP. Sports has used the new text craze that is going around and has used it to once again improve their product and give fans more of an in-game feel.
Another interest I was able to take from the game was the make-up of the crowd. This had to be the other important thing that I noted last night and it was unlike many Super Bowls before it. Now taking from what Berube said in his article, Analyze, Don t Summarize, I wanted to not look at each individual in the crowd and summarize the crowd as a whole, because each member of the class watched the game and saw the fans, but instead I wanted to focus on analyzing the crowd during the game and to pick out certain traits or groups that I found to be of note to my personal view. The first thing that I was able to analyze while looking was that there were a large number of actual fans of teams at the Super Bowl. Of course, there are always fans of the respective teams at the Super Bowl every year, but this year especially featured many more fans decked out in their teams jerseys or other articles of clothing. In recent years, the Super Bowl has become almost a sort of Hollywood gathering where the stars come out and show their faces and get that precious TV time. Yes, there were a number of celebrities at the game, ranging from Jim Carrey to even Peyton Manning who would have been considered a celebrity last night, but the number of high profile stars at last nights game was down from other years. Maybe this happens to go along with the fact that the Super Bowl was not in a social hot spot such as Los Angeles or Miami, but it was a refreshing sight last night to see a crowd, be it made up mainly of men, that was actually there for the game and not the TV time.
Those two areas mentioned above, the use of technology and the makeup of the crowd, were the two most noticeable areas I was able to key on last night. Sure there was the different TV advertisements, which if anyone saw our country for the first time would think the United States is obsessed with alcohol and finding new jobs, but I felt that the two areas I chose just let me use my new knowledge learned in class the most. Finally, by reading Berube s article before watching the game on Sunday night, it did allow me to go into my viewing with not just summarizing the game and big plays, but yet his article inspired me to take my viewing of the game to the next level, and to actually look at some of the smaller details that actually make up the Super Bowl. This class will keep me on that path of analyzing these smaller details of sports and that is a trait that should help me become better as a fan.

The Super Bowl is the NFL s biggest game of the season. The winner of the Super Bowl is crowned the world champion of the National Football League. This game does not only crown a champion, it also creates a platform that allows corporations to promote their products to millions of Americans. Fox charged companies close to $2.7 million for a thirty second commercial during the game. This year I noticed that the majority of the commercials were geared toward the male population. The most evident commercial geared toward the male population was the GoDaddy.com commercial. GoDaddy.com used sex appeal to entice men to visit GoDaddy.com and buy a domain name. Also, a majority of the commercials dealt with beer and cars, both of which are very attractive items to men. When I saw the Victoria Secret commercial I was extremely irritated. The Victoria Secret commercial irritated me because it used Super Bowl Sunday, a day that over promotes the need to purchase unnecessary products to promote Valentines Day; a man made holiday that also causes Americans to purchase unnecessary products for their loved ones.

Aside from the commercials, there were other aspects of the Super Bowl that caught my eye. Before the game started, a video was shown of various players and public figures reciting the Declaration of Independence. As I watched the various players recite the Declaration of independence I wondered to my self; is this really necessary? What does The Declaration of Independence have to do with the Super Bowl? Does reciting the document somehow make the game more interesting to the viewers? Or does it mean that you have to be overly patriotic in order to be a football fan? The singing of the national anthem has become a staple in all sporting events around the world and it is acceptable. However, the reciting of the Declaration of Independence is going a little over board in an attempt to increase patriotism among Americans.

The Super Bowl s half time is doubled in length from fifteen minutes to thirty minutes. The extra fifteen minutes is used to allow for a musician to put on a show during halftime. Personally, I have changed the channel over the past few years during the half time show. I turn the channel because it sickens me to watch America s greatest game become nothing more then a pop culture event.

I miss the days where Super Bowl Sunday was about gathering around with friends and family and watching a great football game. Now everyone is more concerned with not who is playing in the game but with what commercials will be played and who is going to be performing at the freak show that is half time. As a true football fan, it is hard for me to watch the game with others who care about the commercials more then the game it self. I feel as though the Super Bowl is being sold out to the highest bidder. No longer does the game belong to the players or the fans, but to those who can afford to shove their products in your face. The only thing that saved the Super Bowl this year was that it wasn t a blow out and actually turned out to be one of the best games in Super Bowl History.

The Superbowl magnifies the various connections between sport and society because sport no longer is just a game. It has evolved into a very powerful, very lucrative entity that, according to Gerald P. Merrell s article, The super impact of bowl game,� Americans are more interested in than voting in the Presidential election. Sport provides an escape from one s everyday life, to a place where incredible, unpredictable things can, and often do occur. And, as an added bonus, it is the norm to drink beer at all times of the day, no matter what time the game begins, and there is an almost automatic unity, understanding and friendship between fans of the same team. Sport provides an outlet for Americans to express passion and it gives us something to look forward to days, weeks or even months ahead of time. The Superbowl combines all of these things into four, fifteen minute quarters.
Superbowl XLII provides a fantastic example of how unpredictable life can be. The Giants upset the undefeated Patriots 17-14 proving just how far hardwork and determination can take a team or the individual. I love the classic slogan, any given team can win on any given day,� because it is true in sport and in society. As far as the Superbowl being lucrative, well no one can argue that considering CBS generated more that 4X the country of Sao Jome s gross domestic product in a year, from one event. The going rate to air a commercial during the Superbowl was over 2 million dollars for thirty seconds. As Americans, we love to make money. As the most powerful country in the world, it is what we do. We go to great lengths and use every possible opportunity to find new ways to earn money and improve our quality of life. So, the fact that commercialism creeps� into our daily activities, I m not at all surprised at the rate at which we are exposed and that no one seems to mind. Technology is the culprit because it provides the means to reach millions of people. So, is it really surprising that the Superbowl would be a target for commercialism when 140 million Americans are expected to tune into the game? That seems like a genius plan for creating revenue for more than just the advertisers. As Americans, it is evident that we embrace this commercialism as a society. 10% of viewers tuned in primarily for the commercials.
In the article Super impact of the bowl game,� Merrell describes our society as passive� because we would rather play video games than the real game, and we would rather watch the Superbowl at home than in the stadium. I don t think that I could disagree more with that statement. American s aren t passive because we are entertained by our very technologically advanced video games, and our love for instant replays and HD TV. I think any American with a few thousand dollars to spare certainly would have attended the game, but unfortunately, given the current state of our economy, most Americans just didn t have the luxury to choose whether or not they would take a trip to Arizona or to stay home and watch the game. The game was attended by mostly white, wealthy males, while the rest of us settled for watching the game in the comfort of our couch or our favorite sports bar. This seems to mirror our society, as the most privileged and powerful citizens are in fact, white, wealthy males. Football also has adapted to the ways of society which we can see if we simply take a glimpse at the demographics of the players and coaching staff. Lets just say, the race and class of the quarterbacks and coaches aren t very diverse, and these are of course, the most powerful and praised positions on the field.
Merrell also blames the fact that only half of the eligible American voters cast ballots because of the passivity of our society. Well, I am among those eligible voters who don t vote, and I am not passive, nor am I lethargic as Merrell insinuates American s are throughout the article. I choose to watch the Superbowl rather than to watch politicians debate on TV because the Superbowl is, and I quote the article a certain level of strategy, music and dance.� Most Americans perceives the Superbowl as good, honest American fun. In my eyes, politicians are distrustful, say or do anything to win a vote, and when they win, nothing ever changes. None of the issues of the real world ever are resolved or even make a turn for the better. I still pay way too much in taxes, and never see the benefits but I do clearly see just how infested with drugs and crime our cities are, and I do know that I fear walking alone after dark, no matter where I might be. No wonder more Americans would rather tune into an entertaining sporting event allowing one to escape from real-life pressures, than watch a political debate duping Americans into voting for so-and-so because he or she promises us this and that, and, as I sigh, nothing ever changes.

The Super bowl magnifies our culture in so many ways. First off it is the greatest marketing tool for so many corporations since it will always draw the biggest network ratings. It is on a new level compared to other sporting programs with the amount of commercial time they dedicate during the game and the amount of money that the network charges for a company to have a time slot. This commercialization can even be seen at the parties people attend in honor of this great game. Television companies see sales peak right before the game just so people hosting a party can give their guests a better viewing experience. The party I attended actually had a pool for gambling that was random questions to bet on and one was who would get the first commercial: a beer or a soft drink. I always go with the beer. On top of this there were actually people promoting their own companies at this residential party. A friend of mine brought fliers to promote his business since he saw the opportunity to be around affluent individuals all night and there are always roughly 200 people in attendance every year. Speaking of affluent people, did you see who was in attendance at this game? It was like Hollywood up and relocated to Arizona for an evening. The individuals whom attend the super bowl are in the very least; well to do. Most of the regular attendance is the upper class tier of society. Individuals who have little vested interest in the game, but are their solely because they can afford to be. This game also represents our armed forces very well between the flyovers and national anthem, but I feel they do best to support our troops with the live video feeds and messages being sent from our soldiers over seas. This act shows me that this game affects everyone. Soldiers stuck in the middle of a war still make time to watch the super bowl and we in turn honor them with our flyovers and public service announcements. The last part of the super bowl that I would like to discuss is the sexuality that plays a role in this game. First off there is the obvious which is the game is played by men essentially taking years off their lives to play a sport all for the thrill of hoisting the Lombardi trophy at one point. Sex plays a role in the super bowl much deeper than just the game. This spectacle is viewed by almost every woman in America also. Women whom at the party I attended were into the game as much as the men. In the end I believe that this game is so highly viewed because we as a culture have turned this into a form of holiday. It is an excuse to go out and party with no regard on a Sunday. I overheard individuals for the weeks leading up to this game stating, This is my favorite holiday!� It would be mine also if someone could find a way to give me off on super bowl Monday.

Yesterday, Sunday February 3rd, 2008 was Superbowl Sunday, one of the most highly anticipated days of the year. Superbowl Sunday has become more than just a day sitting around the television with family watching the game. Now, the Superbowl consists of more commercials being aired and sports commentators talking during the game then actually being able to watch a good decent American football game. As Michael Berube comments in his essay, Analyze, Don t Summarize�, Sports talk shows like this make me wonder whether some people don t see sports as an opportunity for endless metacommentary .and, of course, as gainful employment for an entire entourage of chattering parasites. In all that noise, I think, where are the games themselves?� This comment is a perfect fit to describe the sports commentator s roles in the game. They are constantly commenting and giving remarks about plays, statistics, and players whether they are actually on either on the teams playing. I felt the camera focused more on Peyton Manning instead of Eli Manning, his brother, the one who was actually playing in the game!
The undefeated New England Patriots were once again in the Superbowl and were playing against the wildcard team, the New York Giants. American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks, sung the National Anthem, and the Bridgestone Half-time show performers were Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
In recent years, the Superbowl has not only stood for the championship football game, but also a time for Americans to drink beer, pig out on food, and enjoy family and friend company. In addition, it is a time for companies to pay $2.8 million for a commercial to be aired during the game to advertise a certain product. Personally, I think it s ridiculous for a company to pay about $3.0 million to advertise a product during the Superbowl. Is that where all of our tax money is going? No wonder the United States economy is suffering and in recession.
The Superbowl has become really sexist towards women. First of all, it is a male dominated sport with all the sports commentators being male except for one female whom was on the field during the game. In addition, the majority of the commercials are targeted towards men. I lost count of how many car and beer commercials I saw during the game. Even the commercials about female products such as Victoria Secret were more targeted towards men. What male would not like Adrianna Lima in Victoria Secret lingerie? Even the motto for the commercial was: Let the Games Begin: Happy Valentine s Day�. Even the commercials that were advertising drugs such as Claritin and Zantac 150 were aimed towards men.
In conclusion, Superbowl Sunday has become a non-official American holiday that is centered around sports commentators commenting on everything under the sun that is going on during the game from the plays to the athletes that are not even on the team (Peyton Manning) to sexist commercials that are aired by companies that are wasting insane amounts of money.

Charles Guidos, KNES 353 Sec.101, W4-6:40

In our American tradition today there are only three days out of the year we (Americans) stand together to show our pride and patriotism to our highest abilities. These days are July 4th, September 11th, and finally Super Bowl Sunday. Do these three days all compare to each other? According our wonderful media today, who practically gives us our entertainment anywhere on a silver patter, America says, ABSOLUTELY! Does the Super Bowl belong in the category of the day that celebrates our countries independence or a day where Americans remorse and remember one of our largest tragedies?

Being a huge sports fan and a former high school and college football player, I can not help but to give in to the shenanigans of the Super Bowl. Think about it, this is the day where our heroes� (football players) step foot on the gridiron� (field) and shed their blood, sweat, and tears for once cause, VICTORY! Well maybe only victory for the fans of the winning team. Sometimes I feel that it s in my blood to make this day the height of the New Year, but yesterday at 6:30pm, I told myself to look at this game in a whole new way. But before I begin criticizing on any details about what happened during, after, or around the game, let me focus on before the game.

If you are a frequent viewer of ESPN, you will have noticed all the Super Bowl predictions, comparisons, and analyses. Notice the words I used though and you will notice that sports anchors as well do not just summary what the Super Bowl will be like, they have to go deeper. The world of sports as well as are literary world never summaries things, they make predictions about the obvious, and then compare every single last aspect until finally they analyze the topic with our microscopes (our creative minds). Micheal Berube of The Chronicle Review said it best in his article, Analyze, Don t Summarize.� He says, No one does that, because no one in the sports world confuses summaries with analyses.� He was comparing what it would be like if sports anchors just summarized the game. What does all this I just rambled about mean though; it means that today we must observe and criticize rather than just watch and listen.

So its kick-off, the crowd screams, people scream in front of their big screens, the ball carrier gets tackled, and we finally relax on our couches. Who is the we� that watch the Super Bowl? Many sources tell America that this is the most watched event in the country. You can be white, black, Hispanic, or Asian and if you know anything about football, you probably watched the Super Bowl yesterday. Now how about gender? The Super Bowl is a spectacular geared specifically towards men, where most of the commercials involve what attracts us most, beer and women. Although if you noticed, this year there were not that many ads pertaining to the ideal thing about beer, which is more beer equals more woman or something along that line. One of the highlight of this year s commercials was actually the baby investor doing the e-trade commercials. Although the only way our girlfriends/wives can participate is by try to be cute and attracting by dressing up in a jersey to cheer for our (men) favorite team or maybe pissing us off� by wearing the opposing team s jersey. That s besides the case, but what is the case is that women have been completely left out this day other being used for commercials. There is the occasional sports maniac women that shares men s interest, but she also can still feel left out. They have to watch us men drink beer and eat buffalo wings until we pass out at wee hours of the morning only to have us rant on tomorrow morning about how amazing the game was. Of course as usual it was an exciting and heart-pounding game, but when it came to the halftime show, there was a bite of concern.

I will have to admit it that Tom Petty had his day, and I respect him for doing the Super Bowl halftime show. The question was to what crowd was he performing for? Surely he was not performing for my age group due to the fact that I was born in 1985, and I never knew of Tom Petty until I heard my older sisters yelling out and im free...free falling!� from their car stereos. I tuned in early this morning to the Kane Show on Hot 99.5 only to hear that they had polls saying this was the worst halftime show ever. The funny part is that society actually wants another Jackson/Timberlake skit. It will give the media another reason to blow up newspapers. The halftime show is supposed to be for one thing a break from sports, break for the restroom, and a free viewing of a live concert. I think it was far from that this year. Overall the game was a great success and the commercials are getting better at grabbing diverse audiences, but the halftime show got worse. That s the Super Bowl ladies and gentleman.

For over 40 years, the Super Bowl has been played in late January, or early February, culminating the NFL season with a blast� by having the only two teams left battle it out to see which is the best team in the NFL and even the world. In the past 10 to 12 years though, that blast� has turned from football to commercials. Now many of the people, who watch the Super Bowl, only watch it to see the funny, clever commercials during timeouts and halftime. It has become so bad that there are even websites which have every commercial played on their webpage so that people can vote for the funniest commercial for that year. The blast� has also turned in the direction of the halftime show. Every year the promoters try to out do last years performance by hiring the bigger, better performer for the next year. Promoters have tried even getting companies such as MTV to take care of the halftime show but we all know how that one happened a few years back. Basically what I m trying to say is what happened to the football aspect of the Super Bowl? Now it s all about the commercials, halftime, and basically money.
Until the early to mid nineties, people actually cared about the football aspect of the Super Bowl (not saying that some don t today) a