One of the things I love about the Super Bowl is that more than most things, “everyone’s watching.” Let’s attempt to put this in perspective…
In the last presidential election, approximately 12.6 million people voted.
In last year’s Super Bowl, approximately 114.4 million of us tuned in.
Granted, not everyone’s old enough to vote, and one doesn’t have to be registered or an American citizen to watch the Super Bowl.
But as said, “everyone’s watching.”
What is also true is that we’re not all rooting the same amount for the same team…
Some people are lifelong Denver Broncos fans; others are diehard Carolina Panther fans (since they first began play in 1995). Some are motivated to cheer on Denver QB Peyton Manning, in hopes of one more Super Bowl win before the future Hall of Famer seemingly soon retires; others are intrigued by the talent and charisma of Carolina QB Cam Newton. Still more cheer on specific others; i.e. my youngest has great enthusiasm for Denver’s defensive specialist Aqib Talib (I think he likes saying his name), and many where I’m from are cheering on hometown hero Luke Kuechly. Still more, no less, are tuning in for commercials only — and several others are only in the room while the game is being played, paying minimal-at-most attention, enjoying this day as one of the world’s premiere social events.
In other words, we watch for different reasons… possess varied passions… feel it differently… express it differently… and are motivated differently. We are, by all accounts, a bit of a divided people group.
As a divided people group, we will eat chips, watch commercials, and remember forever some of the game’s great moments…
We will enjoy the halftime show, and hope for no wardrobe malfunctions…
We will see if Peyton’s still “got it” and if Cam can keep it going…
Yet what I appreciate most about this division, is that while as a collective whole we root for different teams and players — different people and parties — is that there is very little “take that,” “you idiot,” or any demonizing of the other team.
We play the game, accept the results, congratulate the winners, and act like mature adults.
I think that’s it for me…
In much of the division on this planet, there is too much demonizing… too many cave to believing they have been somehow blessed with the omniscient ability to cast another team, player, people, or party as all evil… all bad… all arrogant… all racist… all sexist… all dishonest… all narcissistic… all ignorant… all idiotic… or all yada yada something. Too many see themselves as all-knowing to do such casting. Too many demonize due to division. Too many more justify following along.
One of the things I love about the Super Bowl, is that we are better at dealing with the division…
… and that we eat a lot of chips.
Respectfully…
AR