There are fewer things more precious to an American’s psyche than war and money. One could argue—and there’d be no disagreement on this end—that their undisciplined approach to both has created a mess not only for themselves but also the global village at large. For one day each year, the love of the almighty dollar meets the bloodlust of obliterating an opponent in a made-in-America orgiastic celebration of all that is supposedly honourable and admirable in that nation’s character. You may know this annual event as the Super Bowl.
On Feb. 1, about 100 million people will sit in front of their yet-to-be-paid-for flat-screen TVs to watch the high-scoring Arizona Cardinals line up against the brawling Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII. (“Super Bowl 43” doesn’t look quite as nice on a $20 T-shirt.) And there’ll be no signs that the U.S. is mired in an economic firestorm, nor that it has lost any of its bluster.
NBC has virtually sold out its 30-second commercial spots, at $3 million a pop. Over 70,000 people will see the game live at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., many of them forking over far more than the $500 to $1,000 face value for tickets. (With just under two weeks to go before the big game, game day tickets in the stadium’s upper corner—the cheapest of the cheap seats—are being sold for $1,700 through StubHub.com.)
When the coin is tossed right before the start of the game, a massive cheer will rise up from the crowd to greet the head referee’s “heads” or “tails” call. People will have won and lost money even before the opening kickoff. More bets, both legally and illegally, are placed on the Super Bowl than on any other sporting event. Sports books in Nevada—the only state with legalized sports wagering—will handle about $100 million in wagers, ranging from the outcome of the coin toss, to the team being assessed the first penalty, to the teams’ combined score. USA Today estimates that over $8 billion is wagered annually on the game, with only two per cent placed through legal channels.
The TV audience will peak at about 150 million during the half-time show, this year featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The guess here is that The Boss will break out “Born in the U.S.A.” in an effort to stoke the nation’s ego. (Even if, 25 years later, America still can’t get its head around the song’s intentional irony.)
When the game ends, players will be bloodied, some of them might even be maimed, and the list of winners and losers will extend beyond the confines of the playing field. As a final billboard of American bravado, the winning team —a collection of mostly-American players representing an American city in an America-only game—will forever be known by Americans as “World Champions.”
Didn’t a certain Englishman in New York point out that “History Will Teach Us Nothing”? If America is the student, then well stung, Sting.
