Why I won't be watching the Super Bowl: Football is un-American
| Brookline, Mass.
This Sunday most of America will be watching that uniquely American spectacle known as the Super Bowl. Even casual fans will tune in because they鈥檝e bought into the concept that the commercials 鈥� an ordinary and somewhat onerous distraction on any other day of the year 鈥� are high art, must-see TV that evening.
I used to play my part in the annual extravaganza, dutifully marching off to show up at a Super Bowl party and even hosting a few myself. But I鈥檝e since given up on the game of American football for the simple reason that it doesn鈥檛 fit in with American values. Let me explain.
In many ways, football, which has somehow ascended to the top of American culture, is paradoxically the most un-American of sports. Americans who celebrate modern football as the 鈥渆very man鈥� sport are duped. With its defined roles built right into the fabric of the game and a predictable storyline contingent on those roles, there鈥檚 little room for 鈥渟ocial mobility.鈥� American football is like Old Europe.
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More than any other sport, football viewing has also been overtaken by new media. That means heavily managed pervasive commercialism intermingled with sports commentary. The average sofa spectator isn鈥檛 watching unbridled team athleticism and split-second cooperation so much as he鈥檚 consuming perfectly engineered commercial breaks. And at every interruption, he鈥檚 fed instant analysis from the sports center aristocracy 鈥� expertly designed to give him the feeling of inclusiveness.
The real drama of other sports
Please don鈥檛 dismiss me as a non-sports fan. I wouldn鈥檛 think of missing the World Series or the NBA Finals. I marvel at the Olympics and the World Cup. I鈥檝e simply come to the realization that American football is actually a faux sport, closer to the Disney World that the Super Bowl MVP would claim that he was going to than the real drama that one might see at other sporting venues.
Sports are magnificent. At their best, they represent our noblest efforts to surpass our human boundaries. The high jump, long jump, and pole vault may be our purest attempt to slip the bonds of gravity. Individual sports also give us a window into what it鈥檚 like to compete against ourselves. Who hasn鈥檛 gasped in awe at spectacular one-on-one clashes that have been so epic in nature that the names of the competitors will now and forever be connected with a hyphen, as if they鈥檝e become a single entity, such as Ali-Frazier or Federer-Nadal?
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Even weekend warriors can replicate that feeling by being so evenly matched against another on the golf course or tennis court that it seems as if one is competing against oneself. With that comes the exhilarating realization that only by reaching down deep within ourselves and accessing a better, previously unexplored part, will we prevail. The result can be as personally transformative as when Jacob wrestled the angel.
Team sports contain all of that and much more still. Aside from dealing with a formidable opponent, one also has to make oneself a viable part of a team. This means retaining one鈥檚 individuality while joining with a group of individuals for a common goal. This happens all the time, of course, but rarely outside of the sports field (or perhaps a jazz band jam session) does it soar to the level that it forms an entity so dynamic and cohesive, it creates its own separate consciousness. The result can be almost transcendental. I feel sorry for those who鈥檝e never experienced it.
It's not an everyman game
This is where football comes up short of even a first down. The facade of team cohesiveness is there, of course. How else could they march up the field? But the individuals have long ago given up their dynamic individuality to scripted roles that they are supposed to play.
If there is anything that defines us Americans, it鈥檚 that we tend to be iconoclasts. We have a legacy of tearing down the class structure. It鈥檚 how this country was founded. That鈥檚 even truer for those of us who have only been here one or two generations, because we have direct and personal interaction with parents or grandparents who made the ground-breaking decision to reject the old structure and embrace the unbound possibilities of the new. That鈥檚 one reason why a healthy infusion of immigration has always been essential. It keeps the American spirit alive.
Baseball, basketball, and soccer are more everyman in nature and, thus, more in line with the American experience of rugged individualism. Anyone on the field or court can (and often does) hit the winning home run or score the winning basket. Shaquille O鈥橬eal, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, and Magic Johnson all led their teams to championships from different positions 鈥� center, small forward, shooting guard, point guard. In baseball, The World Series MVP could be the second baseman.
Classist, defined roles
Football, on the other hand, with its more defined roles of officers (ball handlers) and linemen, is more classist and essentialist. It鈥檚 a horrible sport for kids, not because of the significant chance of injury, but because of how it will most certainly affect their personality, as they unconsciously conform to the perceptions that others have projected on to them according to the position that they鈥檝e been conscripted to play.
How many after-school TV specials involved a high school football team with a handsome ego-driven quarterback; a wide receiver who was somewhat deceptive; a defensive lineman who will stop at nothing to get what he wants; and an offensive lineman who is naively overprotective of those around him or just plain dumb?
It鈥檚 true that the critically acclaimed show 鈥淔riday Night Lights鈥� has attempted to break down those stereotypes. But 鈥淔riday Night Lights鈥� is in many ways the 鈥渆xception that proves the rule鈥� (and a good example of the proper use of the expression). The show鈥檚 contrasting story lines, such as the fallen quarterback, or the sensitive lineman, wouldn鈥檛 carry as much weight without our own preconceived notions to challenge 鈥� that how individuals are supposed to act is based on the position they play, not on who they are.
The illusion of fan involvement
So why has football ascended to the pinnacle of American culture, given its restrictive, clich茅d story line? The answer may be exactly that. Many Americans simply buy into the soap opera. It鈥檚 reassuring to some to know that the quarterback is married to a supermodel (like Tom Brady) or that he鈥檚 the son of another quarterback (like the Peytons).
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Football also gives many the illusion of control. With its segmented action of downs, it鈥檚 tailor-made for media analysis and commercial breaks. Now, everyone can be a Monday morning quarterback after each and every play. It also allows us to watch each other watch the game. It even allows us to watch the officials as they watch themselves on the instant replay to review the call we just saw them make. All this readily available content pretends to give us ownership and involvement, even connection. But does it really?
As for me, I鈥檒l take a pass on the not-so quintessentially American touchdown pass this Sunday. Someone has to break the cycle.
Brian Fox is a freelance writer.
