Superbowl Sunday

Ok, so Superbowl Sunday. As I am writing this entry the score is 7-0, Packers leading. Why, you may wonder (but you probably don't), am I blogging about the Superbowl, when I know nothing about football and don't care to learn about it? But if you quickly think about it, the Superbowl isn't really about football. Sure, you have hardcore fans and football aficionados that will be focusing on the game, play by play, call by call. (Those are the types of people I never want to disturb during a game, by the way. They tend to become very high strung and scary).

Anyway, I just feel like the Superbowl is a really fascinating cultural phenomenon unique to American society. Foreigners may ridicule us for being obsessed with a sport that none of the rest of the world is interested in, but at least we can say football is an exclusive marker of "American-ness," something created by US, by Americans, for Americans. I'm not trying to channel nilly-willy anthropology here, but I haven't seen very many events (maybe not any, in fact) that have the ability to gather so much viewership and serve as an appropriate conversation starter between people from different strata in society. Think lawyer and bicyclist. Professor and construction worker. You get the point. In fact, I feel a little left out being one of the few people I know actually not watching the game. Tomorrow, when people recap the highlights of the game, I will be listening on, unable to join in on conversation.

But that's beside the point. I am so amazed at the social and commercial vitality of the Superbowl that I was driving today and saw the bus pass by. All I could think of was how sad that the bus driver had to be on shift while the game was going on. Well, assuming he/she was even thinking about watching it. That's why I think the Superbowl should be a nationally recognized holiday. Shut down retail and businesses during game hours so everyone has a chance to get together and watch the Superbowl! I mean, it certainly already has the commercialized element to it, and it definitely has permeated the American psyche as deeply as many other national holidays have (maybe even more so, in some cases).

I don't quite get the obsession with the Superbowl either. Come to think of it, I've never watched a single Superbowl game. But if it has the power to gather people together for the purpose of camaraderie, beer- and heart attack-inducing food-fueled afternoons, and good times, then I'll cheer for whatever teams make it to the Superbowl.

Ok, back to work. That con law book ain't going to read itself!