Kleeman's Last Word

Super Boredom

The game sucked, the commercials were tepidly forgettable and the outcome couldn't have been less ho-hum.
Why the hell do millions upon millions watch the Super Bowl, again?
It doesn't say a lot for a sporting event, when a commercial about a never was whose greatest achievement was sleeping with Britney Spears is far more exciting than the game. The halftime show featuring Prince was levels above the play at the idolized sporting event.
I could only shake my head last night as another Super Bowl entered the books, shut away, exactly where it belongs. And to think, some people believe the day after this snooze fest should be a national holiday? Are we that strung out on drugs and alcohol that we think this game is greater than breathing air? I dream that this is not the case, but television ratings and pre-game chatter tell me otherwise.
Last Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs had a chess match that finished with a thrilling overtime win for the Spurs. The game was exhilarating, the teams had immense personality, elbows were flying, players were struck to the ground. This regular season NBA match up was far superior to the Super Bowl and yet more people watched the lesser event.
How about that 18-inning thriller between the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves two seasons ago?
Baseball and professional basketball have earned their viewer ship while football just sits on the toilet seat and craps more bad games into people's mouths. I can remember few Super Bowls I've been made to watch that were respectable games.
The NBA Finals and World Series have always earned my respect, even when my teams weren't playing in them.

What's with all these NFL bandwagoners? You're not from Indianapolis, you're not a Colts fan. Shut up and quit telling me how cute Peyton Manning is. I sat miserably last night as friends of mine cheered raucously for the Colts, a team they have never supported or watched outside of the playoffs. The only player they knew by name was Manning.
I nearly tore my room to pieces, screaming my lungs out when the Spurs dropped a regular season game to the Phoenix Suns last Thursday. It was a regular season game that will likely mean nothing when the NBA playoffs begin in April.
I have always loyally supported the Astros, Houston Rockets and the Spurs. I have driven round trips to San Antonio and to Houston just for the opportunity to see my teams play.
It pains me then to see so many non-football fans just flock to this crap game. In the course of Super Bowl discussions, I met a grand total of two people who were actual fans. They were Chicago natives who had supported the Bears since child birth. Most everybody else was just jumping on the bandwagon. The wagon's wheels are falling off, the temperature is cold and the ride is boring. I can't wait until people jump on again next year.

posted by Robert Kleeman @ 9:25 AM