Have You Heard of This Thing Called "The Superbowl"?

Firstly - I debated with myself about starting this thread at all because I don't watch football and honestly could explain for hours about my criticisms on the game itself and the business behind it, but this is not what i want to focus on in this thread..

Secondly - I live in Washington (less than an hour from Seattle) and while i do not have a personal interest in the Superbowl, i feel fairly entitled to comment on it because i have not been able to escape hearing about this event everyday for at least a month..

Thirdly - I haven't been able to find ONE thread (though it is tough to sort through the searches results on Samaru) which is critical of the Superbowl, and i find this a bit disturbing. There are threads about "false-flags" and every other unfounded conspiracy, but not any which plainly talk about the nature of the Superbowl itself

here it goes:

If i don't care about football, why am i spending my time typing about it you ask? Actually it was a (near)near-death experience which happened just hours ago..
i was walking on a street in a town which is fairly rural.. a huge truck come BARRELING down the road, and come INCHES from hitting me and my autistic walking-companion..

the 20-something-year-old girls inside yell: "GO SEAHAWKS BABY, YEAHHHH!"

and right about then, i wanted to somehow interrupt all TV programming and simultaneously ask the entire audience a few things I'm confused about:

-WHO out there can defend the hysteria behind this "super-fan" phenomenon..!? a couple weeks ago, i found out what "the 12th man" thing was all about.. and i had a good laugh.. but doesn't the whole thing seem just a LITTLE bit underhanded? I'm not going to go into ranting about how it parallels nationalism (though I'm pretty certain it does haha) but I really do find it disturbing that people in the year 2014 can still be convinced to exhibit similar behavior but over a SPORT instead of their COUNTRY.. I mean.. what KEEPS it interesting for you? I'm not sure what conclusion to even draw, but i know I'm not comfortable with the situation.. strangely it seems that even many of the "conspiracy theorists" out there who are so fixated on Obama's birth-certificate, or Illuminati symbolism, never seem to pay attention to the more obvious things like this.. can ANYONE on this site say these people deserve to be millionaires for playing a GAME..?

-WHAT do you get from watching this game? Is it actually the thrill of the sport itself, or is it just another EXCUSE to get excited about something..? WHAT are you actually invested in? Say that you are suddenly, miraculously the BEST football player on Earth.. NOW what..? What does it change? Would you feel just as *special* if you were suddenly the BEST construction worker on Earth..?
..didn't think so...
..funny thing is that the big difference is that the construction worker actually BUILDS things... your favorite athlete throws a ball and runs.. their body functions properly.. good for them?

-WHEN do you think everyone will just stop caring about the Superbowl and Football altogether..? i mean, yes i know our entire WORLDWIDE culture has been in a slump for about 10 years now, and there's not many signs of any big change, but the superbowl has only been happening since 1967.. THIS IS A NEW THING! haha.. imagine if this generation somehow created a new/better/more-entertaining sport..!? maybe they even could treat sports as what they are (games) and perhaps people could start investing that ticket money into, i dunno.. something THEY could actually participate in, instead of sit on bleachers, watch sweaty strangers throw a ball around.. oh and have "family time"

-WHERE is the fun in gathering your family and friends together, gazing blankly at a screen, eating the crappiest food possible, yelling at the little men on the TV for not doing what you wanted them to do... oh and yelling at anyone who is trying to talk during the game, while you are trying to yell at said little men..

-WHY!!!??? just why..? Y!

-HOW do you find that you are "too busy" during most of the year, to do what you ACTUALLY ENJOY in REAL-life, and yet MILLIONS of people spend money they probably hardly have on seeing a game..


does anyone else see what I'm getting at? MODS should move this to the rant forum is you feel like it's necessary, but I honestly think that this is a social-issue that most people ignore or too busy participating in haha.

If you have to ask the question, you will never understand the answer...

reply to post by LadySkadi


haha sadly I think I agree with you. I really honestly do want to understand (empathize) with them, but it's something that has evaded me since high school.. but yes this entire thread might as well just be considered rhetorical haha cuz I doubt "the 12th fan" is going to stop by and graciously give me some insight

I feel your pain dude... I am currently sat at work, on a Sunday night in the UK and one moron has insisted we watch the Superbowl, so for the past 4 hours it's been on (including the tedious pre-match warm up) and we still have god knows how long to go. It's such a dull game...

Then there is the half-time show.. Is that just to make sure everyone is awake?

Oh, the claim it is the worlds "biggest sporting event"... Even here in the UK they have been saying this on the TV... Not heard of the FIFA World Cup, or the UEFA Champions League, or the EPL, or the Olympics then?

And finally (I could go on for many pages), why is there the need to stop every 2 minutes and why do you need a defensive and offensive line up? Can your players not comprehend defending and attacking at the same time?

mini-rant over - awaiting flames from "football" fans (despite the fact it is primarily played with the hands...)

How do you not figure this is a rant?
You didn't bring up anything other then your views on why one would watch football
If you can't wrap your head around getting together with friends and family to have a good time then I am sorry for you.
I am sure you have been in a gathering of people that showed extreme passion towards something that you are interested in.

I 'get' what you're 'getting at'

This is something I wouldn't ever question or admit to questioning in my hometown as I would probably get murdered and left on the side of the curb for Mr. trash man to pick up (I don't like Mr. trashman...he scares me

I went through a phase of intense social contemplation of the sport too, but never voiced my opinions for above reasons.

I thought, if you think about it, foot ball is really stupid, I mean, the whole premise if the game is essentially that they try to get yards, they get tackled, get back up, run more yards, occasionally kick a ball, and there calls of interferences and stuff once in a while. And then the process just keep repeating with running to yard posts and kicking things and stuff and stuff. WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS, FOR THE LOVE OF CHEESE STATE CHEESE SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME?!?!

Then I realized.....


a) It's simply part of the American Culture, like guns, beer and deer hunting and trucks. (all things we like to love and keep forever and ever) It's just how it is.

b) People like to see people get annihilated by opposing forcces

c) People can identify with the colleges and history of the players and their life achievements, which as superficial as it may sound, plays a large sociological factor

d) Football is simply an American past time. It just is and the tradition continues no matter how irrelevant it may seem.

e) People who like sports just like sports and the idea of sports

Can't base the reasons on just one factor explaining why people like football.

reply to post by stumason


If it is so simple why can't you figure out how much time is left when there is 4 quarters of 15 min and a clock showing what quarter it is in and the remaining time left...
Pretty simple stuff there.

reply to post by Sremmos80


Because they stop every 15 seconds to have a chat, walk around aimlessly and generally not do a lot.. The game kicked off around 2300 our time, it is now 0214, yet we're only in the 3rd quarter as far as I can tell, so either time has dilated somehow, or the game is tediously slow.

EDIT: I see we have finally started the 4th quarter, but I guarantee the game won't be over in 15 minutes...

What's the difference between football (Super Bowl) soccer (the World Cup) and the Meso-american (Mayan ball game) - The losers aren't sacrificed...

Team sports have been around forever, but we have come a ways, no?

They do still have value and they do teach some life lessons, perhaps you have (or have had) to play them in order to understand that.

The masses need something to put their energy into and attention on. If it were not for sports, such as football, these people may actually focus and put their energy into things...productive.

Sports are a distraction needed by people in power (do they orchestrate it? - I doubt it, but I do think it's a valuable asset). It used to be religious fervor - now it's screaming "super-fans" in buses. In America anyway...

Meh.

reply to post by HyphenSt1


I don't know how anyone could support anything Pete Carol is involved with.

reply to post by HyphenSt1


For the same reason Roman emperors had gladiators

Got to get the masses mind off what is really goin on

Stave off the collapse for a while longef

reply to post by LadySkadi


For me, the latter two are probably a lot quicker.. A soccer (Football - it actually requires the use of the foot as well!) game is 90 minutes and is generally finished in 90 minutes, with a few added on for stoppage. So far, a 1hr game of American Football (Handball) has lasted a damned site longer and is approaching the 3 hour mark.

I have never understood the power and hold over people that team sports seem to have.

You are not participating. You are not playing. You are simply watching people play - primarily on a television screen.

Football is the most boring to me. I might be able to handle an occasional basketball game or baseball - even soccer or hockey. But football is pretty dull. To me.

I don't know where the superbowl is being played nor which two teams are playing. I don't know who performed at half time. I've managed to ignore or dodge all hype leading up to the event. I am on ATS now, going to pop in a DVD, and head to sleep. Could care less about the outcome. Tomorrow, some will talk about it at work, but by the next day, it's all over.

It kind of creeps me out when the seemingly whole country or world is fixated on something - like a game or a royal wedding. With all the hungry, poverty-stricken people in the world, with all the disappearing rainforests and ecosystems, with all the loss of freedoms and controls being put in place, with all the injustices -- this fascination with a few people on a tv screen is very strange to me.

reply to post by Sremmos80

If you can't wrap your head around getting together with friends and family to have a good time then I am sorry for you.

didn't think "the fans" would've read the whole thread

I am sure you have been in a gathering of people that showed extreme passion towards something that you are interested in.

very true! most of my friends and I tend to enjoy music, but there's a few differences:

-We enjoy each other's company AND the performance..
-We don't take music so seriously as to believe that musicians deserve to be millionaires.. we don't believe they do.
-We put on OUR OWN SHOWS, and consider ourselves PEERS to the musicians we admire, instead of being entirely isolated from them, and consider being "a fan" as a pastime unto itself..

reply to post by unb3k44n7


If you actually took the time to fully understand the game and its nuances, you'd realize that football has more in common with the game of chess. It's actually very complex. The culture surrounding it may be a little dumb, but it's about having fun. People don't really allow themselves to have fun anymore since you must be an idiot if you're having a good time.

Are you not entertained???

reply to post by HyphenSt1


Thing is if they are signed and you are not, they aren't peers. May as well just be a fan.

reply to post by stumason


You can still easily tell how long is left in the game.
Yes the air time is going to differ from the game time, that's more capitalism IMO
Games have gotten progressively longer but that is just because of the greed that is not isolated to football by any means
Are football games different then conventions? Comic con comes to mind, pretty damn large with a lot of hardcore fans that people outside that crowd would look at as crazy
Are cosplay enthusiast any different then a super fan? Less barbaric sure but is the passion any different?

reply to post by ItCameFromOuterSpace


Personally, I get the tactical side of it, but then I get the tactical side of Chess.

Doesn't make it any less boring though! If it was more free flowing and not stopping every time someone gets tackled, it wouldn't be that bad, but if they want NFL to take off in the UK, they're going to have a hard time of it. Putting on those Exhibition games at Wembley just won't cut it.