With the super-bowl coming up in a couple hours now and everyone getting all pumped up as I sit in my room contemplating this ridiculous event, and wonder what to write my blog post about. I'm thinking of symbols, religion, some sort of issue that would create a good discussion. So, getting more and more fed-up thinking about it, I realize here in itself is a great symbol, and some even call it their religion. Football, is it Sacred or Secular, Super or Stupid?
What is it about this game that makes it so American's love it? We have taken a secular activity in my mind and transformed into a sacred pass time. I am so sick of how overblown and capitalistic this sport has become, and how we all sit around and let it totally consume us. Even people who I know dont like football simply watch it for the commercials- come on! (Although I will admit the Bridgestone commercials were brilliant, yes I am a hypocrite.)
In our readings McDannell says,"During the first half of the twentieth century, cultural critics observed that a powerful "cultural industry" made up of the media, popular arts, entertainment, and fashion controlled the desires and needs of the "mases"."(10) The media has shoved whatever it has wanted down our throats whether we like it or not just as the church did before the media was around. "For the sixteenth-century Protestant reformers and the powerful Catholic church manipulated weak people through images and trinkets." The media has turned football into our religion.
I have done a fair amount of traveling outside of the United States and have come to understand football as being the iconic American sport in the eyes of the majority of each person I have talked to. Why is this I ask myself? Could it possible be the relation between America being the most materialistic and capitalistic driven country in the world and football being the most popular form of media mindwash? Either way it is a symbol that speaks loud and clear the more I think about it. Our general of central command tossed the coin to open the game for goodness sake... If that doesn't say "this is America" I don't know what does.
I do know that I have had enough between John Madden, the 3 hour pregame show, hour long halftime show with good old "born in the USA" Bruce Springsteen and 10 million dollar commercials which lets be honest...half of our class probably could come up with more entertaining ones.
Okay, I'm done my rant now.
-Cal
p.s. I know I started with saying it was a couple hours before the game and I posted this at 6:30 on Monday, but I needed to add a few more thoughts after letting the full scale of the event set-in.
What is it about this game that makes it so American's love it? We have taken a secular activity in my mind and transformed into a sacred pass time. I am so sick of how overblown and capitalistic this sport has become, and how we all sit around and let it totally consume us. Even people who I know dont like football simply watch it for the commercials- come on! (Although I will admit the Bridgestone commercials were brilliant, yes I am a hypocrite.)
In our readings McDannell says,"During the first half of the twentieth century, cultural critics observed that a powerful "cultural industry" made up of the media, popular arts, entertainment, and fashion controlled the desires and needs of the "mases"."(10) The media has shoved whatever it has wanted down our throats whether we like it or not just as the church did before the media was around. "For the sixteenth-century Protestant reformers and the powerful Catholic church manipulated weak people through images and trinkets." The media has turned football into our religion.
I have done a fair amount of traveling outside of the United States and have come to understand football as being the iconic American sport in the eyes of the majority of each person I have talked to. Why is this I ask myself? Could it possible be the relation between America being the most materialistic and capitalistic driven country in the world and football being the most popular form of media mindwash? Either way it is a symbol that speaks loud and clear the more I think about it. Our general of central command tossed the coin to open the game for goodness sake... If that doesn't say "this is America" I don't know what does.
I do know that I have had enough between John Madden, the 3 hour pregame show, hour long halftime show with good old "born in the USA" Bruce Springsteen and 10 million dollar commercials which lets be honest...half of our class probably could come up with more entertaining ones.
Okay, I'm done my rant now.
-Cal
p.s. I know I started with saying it was a couple hours before the game and I posted this at 6:30 on Monday, but I needed to add a few more thoughts after letting the full scale of the event set-in.
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