It is upon us. Tommorow is the 41st installment of what has become the biggest sports day in American culture. Why is the NFL championship game so much more celebrated than the championship of other sports that are popular in America such as baseball and basketball? A best of seven series in baseball or the Final Four does not even compare to the coverage that the Super-analyzed, Super-advertized, championship game in the NFL gets. Why is the Super Bowl such a pop culture phenomenon? Why do people watch the Super Bowl who have never watched a sporting event all year? It is a one and done game opposed to other major professoinal league sports championship games, I suppose that helps.
For good reason major products have decided that it is worth the millions of dollars to put up a 30 second ad. I have heard some non-sports fans say they watch it for the commercials, I suppose they are expecting the most clever commercials to be introduced during the most watched televised sporting event of the year. Maybe the draw of commercials, which people usually avoid are a draw to the usual non-sporting fan. A sign of the consumer driven times. Entertain me with the advertisment of your products.
Last year, the world's most popular sport showcased some of the world's best athletes to compete in the World Cup. The most dedicated fans are those who tune in to watch the game. I am sure of this because the only commercials are at half-time and the focus of the tournament is on the games. While players are in their respective locker rooms, there are not World Cup officials holding their breath for a possible wardrobe malfunction. Instead, the players are resting preparing for the next commercial free 45 minutes of action while a relatively speaking minor entertainment show is on display. The entire focus of the month-long tournament is deciding who has the best soccer in the world.
Don't get me wrong, I like American football. I enjoy watching games every Sunday during the season. The Super Bowl is my least favorite game of the season because of the over analyzing and all the non-sporting focus it gets. When it comes to the biggest stage of competition I think the World Cup blows away the Super Bowl.
Go Peyton.
4 comments:
George Foreman said: "Boxing is like jazz - the better it is, the fewer people can appreciate it."
If that's true, then Football must be one of the finest sports ever since only about 300 million out of 6.5 billion people like it.
Soccer is a sport for the masses because there's not that much to understand. It's very accessable both visually and athletically. A complete stranger could watch the game for a while and easily figure out the point and the major rules. A good athlete could in a short amount of time be a competent soccer player (not at the World cup level, of course).
Football, on the other hand, is a refined, specialized sport. There are so many rules and regulations that even the most experienced players/observers have trouble remembering them all. American's are all about specialization - specialty coffee, specialty food, specialty clothes, specialty careers. No wonder specialty sports are popular here.
Manning was only the second worst quarterback in the game last night . . . just kidding. He proved me wrong. He's legit. Now he's going to be on the cover of Madden 2008 and get hurt for most of next season.
I think soccer is jazz and football is pop music. Soccer, like jazz, is the "sport for the masses" because of what you said, but I don't think it's quite that easy to nail down. I'll just leave it at that.
Jason, I am utterly confused by the contradictions in your statement.
James, at no point in my blog did I say Soccer is better than American Football. I was comparing the Super Bowl to the World Cup. Each sport's largest stage of competition. Therefore, I am utterly confused about the argument you gave.
My thoughts on the difference in Soccer and American Football have many similarities to yours, but I have a greater appreciation for sports for the masses. That's why I like soccer.
Although, I would challenge you to think about the fact that as a person learns soccer they find that there are many details in skill and team tactics that one cannot see who is strictly a major American sports fan.
I also don't think America has cornered the market on specialization. Especially on food. But for whatever reason, American Football is more popular here and that is OK. I am not out to change the popularity of Soccer. I do like playing and watching it more though.
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