The Superbowl

Yesterday was the day of the Superbowl. For most of my readers that's probably as meaningful as the fact that today is Groundhog Day! Just in case you're as ignorant as I was, the Superbowl is the final game in the (American) football series, and is a Big Deal here. For the past week or two the media have been in a frenzy, and shops and ads have been pushing everything from beer and chips to large-screen TVs in preparation for the big game. I had no real intention of watching, as "football" is still something of a mystery to me, despite numerous attempts by my house-mate and others to explain it. However, it turns out that most people watch it, not for the game, but for the major adverts that aired! Now that's something I can appreciate!

As it happened, Colin and Janet's Bible study group was having a social to watch the game/ads together, and I was invited to join them. We enjoyed some pizza and brownies (note the good, traditional American foods!) and then settled down to watch the game/ads, which had been recorded by our hosts. To my untrained eye, American football seems to consist of a few short bursts of action interspersed with seemingly interminable periods of standing around doing nothing. The joy of watching it late, was that we could fast-forward through all the tedium looking out for the ads, and any particularly dramatic plays on the field. And there was one of those. Even I could appreciate the record-setting run made by one player from his own goal line to score a touchdown for his team!

As for the ads, I thought they were good, but not as earth-shattering as I had expected (perhaps a sign of the tough economy). There was a strong preponderance of testosterone-rich ads for big trucks, fast cars, beer, chips and action movies.

At half-time there was a concert by Bruce Springsteen, which was pretty mediocre in the opinion of all present at our Superbowl party.

All in all, it was a very interesting cultural experience!

Just getting back to the point I made earlier about my lack of understanding of the rules of "football", just after we arrived at the Superbowl party, Colin and I got involved in trying to explain the rules of cricket to a couple of American men. As we chatting, part of my brain was analysing the discussion, and I had to concede that it must have seemed to them like cricket is as bizarre as American football is to me. I guess it's all case of what you have grown to understand and enjoy over a long period of time!