If this Super Bowl week proved anything, it’s that the Northeast won’t be hosting the big game until global warming takes it up a notch. The domes and US hotspots are in firm control of the game to the extent that I’m waiting for St. Thomas to be awarded the 2009 prize. If this week proved a second thing, it’s that the combination of a boring host city and two teams nobody outside their respective regions cares about make for an unappealing conclusion to an otherwise crazy NFL season.
One can imagine the sports reporters making up angles to write their pieces and wishing the game was being staged anywhere but Houston. At least they have the charisma of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichek to carry them through the week. The leading debate amongst most sports reporters is not the question of steroids in the NFL, but whether Belichek’s wife is more annoyed with his one sweatshirt wardrobe or his lack of emotion in the sack, errr, when his quarterback gets sacked. There has yet to be an incident that rivals Eugene Robinson’s arrest for soliciting a prostitute days before the Super Bowl, or even Barrett Robins’ meltdown hours before kickoff last year.
Unfortunately sports fans haven’t been as lucky this year, and we’ve had to endure countless features about Jake Delhomme’s rise from obscurity to lead an underdog Carolina Panthers squad to the big game. Not only do I remember a similar angle when Kurt Warner was making a name from himself, but I’m convinced that somewhere in there is the plot to the immortal football film Unnecessary Roughness-the one with Kathy Ireland kicking field goals and taking showers in the locker room. This time around the press corps has had to settle for Patriots quarterback Tom Brady attending President Bush’s State of the Union, and former XFL standout Rod Smart who is best known for his nickname “He Hate Me.”
Another loveable Panther is Ricky Manning Jr., who had as many interceptions in the NFC championship as All Pro quarterback Payton Manning threw against the Patriots. As interesting as these stories are, they don’t compare to John Elway trying to win a championship, or John Gruden coaching against his old team and boss Al Davis.
The lack of entertaining storylines this week has made it a relatively dismal time for the press at the Super Bowl. Other than the Playboy and Maxim party, the next most entertaining thing has been driving the streets searching for Yao Ming. Nonetheless, there will be a game, and perhaps, a very exciting one will save the day. At the very least, there will be brilliant commercials straight from MIT grads working for Budweiser’s advertising department. The fact that this game is getting attention is a testament to the hype machine of the NFL and corporate America. Still, the bottom line remains the same-just because it’s the Super Bowl doesn’t mean the game is interesting. As my super fan and bookie friend back home said, “If it wasn’t for the bets, I wouldn’t even watch the game.”
Certainly this game is not the dream match up commissioner Paul Tagliabu’s office hoped for, but then again, this is not the NBA either. The fact that one game decides the championship is often lost on those who watch it simply because it’s a cultural institution. For many the game is a spectacle, and the only reason to watch is because they’re at a party or they’re a fan of the halftime show.
Yet for many the game is not about the aforementioned pretenses. There are, in fact, fans that pay attention to football starting in summer. They know the teams and have a sincere interest in every play and every player, or at least have laid fifty bucks on the Panthers getting six and half points.
