The Super Bowl might have started out being just about football, but in the past decade or two, it has come to incorporate almost every aspect of American life from sports to politics to pop culture. It captures more viewers than any other show almost every year. According to CBS News, NFL championship games stand as nine of the 15 highest-rated television shows in history.
When the Super Bowl is brought up in conversation, it might start with a casual or heated debate about which teams deserve to go and which one will come out on top, but eventually, talk will turn to pre-game and halftime shows, advertisements and memories from past Super Bowl parties. Along with talk of the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles came talk of Janet Jackson, the Budweiser frogs and movie trailers.
This year, the pre-game show took on a rather political tone. During the show, a segment was aired during which NFL coaches recited the Declaration. The show also featured a lengthy discussion about the Dec. 26 tsunami relief efforts. Former Presidents Clinton and Bush, who were nominated by President Bush to chair a private tsunami relief campaign, sat side-by-side to talk about the tsunami and how Americans have come together to help those in the region. This showed that the Super Bowl is capable of erasing some of the world’s strongest political divisions, even if only for the evening.
Although the game was not scheduled to start for about an hour, chances are good that more people caught this political discussion last night than they would have if it had been specially programmed for any other day of the year.
The pre-game and halftime shows also showcased the diversity that exists in pop music today. Country music star Gretchen Wilson teamed up with country legends the Charlie Daniels Band, followed by hip-hop and R&B artists Black-Eyed Peas and Earth, Wind and Fire. The halftime show was anchored by Paul McCartney.
The Super Bowl also gives Americans reason to consume massive quantities of snack foods, purchase or rent big-screen televisions and watch advertisements for products varying from beer to soda to insurance. Many products have been introduced via Super Bowl advertising, including the Machintosh computer (via the famous “1984” advertisement) and the Dodge Neon.
When it comes down to it, the Super Bowl is as American as it gets. It’s commercial, it’s political, it’s competitive and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We spend millions of dollars and hundreds of hours planning parties and making game-day bets. We put aside responsibilities and worries for at least an evening (and sometimes even the next workday) to enjoy the end of the football season.
