Baseball is America’s pastime, but football has established itself as the game of America’s present and future. The combination of physicality, athleticism, and mental toughness required to excel in this sport has created a mystique around it that is unmatched by any other activity and truly defines what it means to be an American.
Now why, some ask, does football deserve to be crowned as America’s new game? A fair question, and not necessarily one that can be entirely answered with facts and statistics, but instead with a look inside the American psyche.
We as Americans have built our culture on certain values and characteristics that classify who we are as people and as a nation. Determination, physical, and intellectual dominance, and—sadly to a certain degree—capitalism are just some of these traits which have become the backbone of our country, and these were all present in Sunday night’s Super Bowl.
Let us first look at the determination, an idea that our parents, teachers, and coaches have firmly established as the basis for all good things. With hard work, dedication, and focus comes reward. Its the American story. This was the driving force behind Abraham Lincoln’s leadership throughout the Civil War, the resolve that was required to defeat the Axis Powers in World War II, and the notion which today moves President Bush, whether you agree with his policies or not, to act to defeat terrorism.
This classic American ideal was also forever present on the field in Houston on Sunday as players from both the Patriots and Panthers battled, down after down, quarter after quarter, to achieve the goal for which they strived so hard for over the past five months. They left everything lying on that field that we as Americans are expected to do in every activity we participate in throughout our life.
The desire to rise to the top, another motivator in American society was also clearly visible to the casual observer in Sunday’s Super Bowl. They wanted everyone to look at them and say, they are the strongest, the most talented, and the most gifted. They simply wanted to be No. 1, the thing so many other Americans strive to become in their lives everyday.
Finally we examine capitalism, a principle for which wars that lasted decades were fought. Capitalism was perhaps regrettably the most abundant American value involved in the Super Bowl. While the players and coaches struggled on the field, owners and TV executives counted the dollars roll into their bank accounts. A 30-second advertisement for the Super Bowl cost 2.25 million dollars, while ticket prices continue to grow more each year. The Super Bowl is actually considered by some to drive the economy as food and beverage sales increase 40 percent prior to the game, television sales increase 10 percent, and furniture sales increase five percent. So although the focus for many is the action on the field, it is unfortunately all about the money off it.
Football is indeed America’s sport as it encompasses the best and worst of the American culture. The passion, labor, and skill displayed by these players in their quest to reach the top pedestal of their respective career is something we as Americans can relish in. But behind this magnificent spectacle we cannot escape those wealthy money-grubbers who simply think about nothing but the dollar signs. Sunday was a day I watched football with both joy and excitement as I saw men exhibit the quintessential American values, and for four hours, steal my heart. However, my bliss was short lived as I realized those corporate elite, hovering like hawks from their press boxes high above, were the ones who were truly stealing the show.
