We watched the Superbowl. That in itself is worth mentioning, since my wife and I otherwise have little interest in watching sports on TV. But a few years ago we decided to get in synch with the quintessentially American phenomenon by watching one; we decided on champagne and popcorn as the "fare," and actually found it was kind of fun to watch one game - supposedly the best one - a year. Years have gone by (that first one was so long ago it was in January, not February; and also was before people started to watch the 'bowl "for the commercials"); and we've changed the menu a little (now it's champagne, chips and guacamole) but we have kept that tradition ever since, gradually falling into the rut of a usually-boring game, a mediocre half-time show, and some occasionally humorous ads.
What struck me about the 46th iteration this year was that, in contrast to most recent years, the game itself was the attention-getter, with a close match between the Boston and New York that went right down to the wire. Those famous expensive commercials this year became the bore, demonstrating far less originality than in the past, as many of them stuck to the same old shticks - polar bears, bimbos, talking babies, and the like. The half-time show looked to be one of those things for which you "had to be there" - if you saw it in person you might get caught up in the moment, but watching at home, it's just a lot of noise and flashing lights; you can kind of watch the money being burned.
The other point I found interesting was the tendency for politics to creep in. Some saw politics in Clint Eastwood's message. I watched his soliloquy, and thought it might be political, probably because it was just a talking head; yet listening to it, I didn't detect anything overtly political. I've heard some reports that it was actually a commercial for Chrysler (?) but I never heard Chrysler mentioned, so I assume not. If Eastwood meant it to be political, he cleverly made it fuzzy enough that it might be taken as positive by either major party.
On the other hand, the mayors of New York and Boston did a joint appearance to brief their take on the second Amendment to the Constitution and its public-safety ramifications. That shouldn't be political, either, but it is these days, and I thought they made the most of the exposure. Will this camel's nose of liberal consciousness edge farther into the tent of NASCAR America, or will there be a move next year to ban overtly political messages? Curiously, I haven't seen anyone comment publicly on this spot. It's very possible it didn't even register with a lot of people.
Comments