With the "big game" having taken place pretty recently, I (and every red white and blue blooded American) am still buzzing on the high of having my favorite team win- the Patriots. Though it may or may not have come down to a terribad decision by a certain coach in the last crucial moments, that's not what I want to focus on in this post. We all clearly know the furor and zealotry that occur around this special American event, but that raised the question in my mind- Why do we glorify this event so much?
After thinking about it for a while, I narrowed it down to a couple causes. First and foremost is the fact that corporations benefit greatly from having a high concentration of Americans watching a single program. For advertising purposes, it's a gold mine for these companies just due to the sheer reach of the ads. This is evident in how ingrained the famed Superbowl ads have become in our culture. Hell, I know some people who don't even watch it for the game, but rather just to see the best that these mega-corps have come up with. Secondly, I think that the feeling of belonging that emerges from team sports is something that many people feel very cozy with. Major football team fan-hood is, essentially, a tribal structure where we wave colors and shout names of the team that we (usually arbitrarily) support. This allows people to easily identify those who are "in" and those who are "out" of their respective groups. Now, while not all people take football as seriously as others (myself included), the feeling is still there. I cheer on the Patriots despite only knowing about 2 of their players names, tops.
Overall, it's not really about the sport itself. It's much more centered around the culture surrounding it and the corporations pumping money into it.
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