Is the Superbowl real?

It was a midterm question in HPER 621, Principles of Physical Education, as posed by a brilliant and inspiring graduate teaching assistant named Mary Margaret (Peg) Fabbro, Ph.D., and it started a spirited discussion, which was the whole idea. Peg loved football. She had actually played on a women's semi-pro football team for a while. She also loved teaching, and she once asked me rhetorically, "Which do you love more, the subject matter or the students?"

Let's just say she took her job seriously. Some of the students in HPER 621 argued that obviously the Superbowl is real, since it's on TV, it costs a lot of money, it generates a lot of money, and everyone pays attention. Others argued, on the contrary, that it's a a media pseudo-event, a heavily hyped infomercial with little relation to actual sport, since it's on TV, costs a lot of money, generates a lot of money, and everyone pays attention.

One student's response was memorable. Chris Spielman, a former Buckeye and a linebacker with the Detroit Lions at the time, asked me, "If the Lions were in the Superbowl and I could get you tickets, then would it be real?" Point taken. I told him yes, that would change everything. I would accept his offer and take my dad to the game. I'm still waiting for the Lions to make it, but when they do, Chris, I want those tickets.

So this past Sunday afternoon I was again part of a great Amerikan electronic community huddled around our televisions in a strange kind of spiritual, if not religious, gathering, and you could cut the manufactured tension with a knife. Eli was under pressure. Giselle was in her private box. Tom was keeping cool in the pocket, and Bill Bellicose looked lovely as usual in his scowl and his hoodie. I was back from my bike ride ready to relax with a refreshing beverage, and the guacamole had just the right proportions of garlic, lemon, and salt.

The question on my mind was whether the Superbowl is a religious event. Some people clearly have a large emotional investment in the game, namely Giants fans, Patriots fans, advertising geeks, and pop culture mavens who just want to see the halftime show. Other people have a material investment in a team jersey, a bet in the office pool, a friendly wager on the side, and the beer and food required to make it a legitimate sacrament.

Maybe we should all get the Monday after the game off work, so we can properly observe, participate, and recover from the magnitude of the celebration. Just like a real holiday - there's that word again, real - a lot of people get together with family and friends, go to parties, eat and drink together, and make the day special whether or not they take the game seriously, care about either of the teams, or know the history of the NFL.

Brady gives up a safety for intentional grounding from the end zone. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw could make the different if they get some running room. The Elton John Pepsi commercial is superior to the bland Coke ad, the idiotic apocalyptic Chevy ad, and the brain-dead, nostalgic, racist and sexist beer ads. Manning and Manningham managed to hook up on some key passes, and the Giants won. The grilled salmon, potatoes, and green beans were perfect. Madonna and choir were sharp, and it was cool to have an actual marching band in the halftime show.

This year I didn't have any skin in the game. I'm not a Giant fan or a Patriot fan. It would be different if the Lions or the Packers, or even the Bears, Vikings, or the Browns were in the game. I spent the day jump-starting a pickup truck, baking bread, doing laundry, mulching a flower bed with pieces of the Christmas tree, and riding a bike across Hoover Dam and back on a beautiful mild midwinter day. My own religious holiday. The game was fun too.