NFL Superbowl = NFL Supernothing

Nobody take this personal even if you live by the sport or still play. So please keep in mind QTIP--  quit taking it personally, (no matter how much you might hate the screenshot).

People are going to hate me for this one; they'll call me unpatriotic, they'll want to punch me in the face, they'll call me a Frenchie or some other slur.

But I'm so sick of it, after watching the Patriots lose to the Jets for my first intense playoffs game, I just am over the fuss.

Just am OVER it! Don't get me wrong, American Football is a great game (I wouldn't say historic though). It involves skill, 1-on-1 battles, huge burly men sprinting and crashing into one another pulling off epic plays. And after thoroughly understanding the schematics of the game, the positions, the plays, the challenges and obstacles...I get it. I've wrapped my head around it and understand it through and through.

But come on people--it certainly isn't soccer (the original 'football' by the way).

My associate Carl Pitts was not too happy I chose to write about this topic;

"Ew, hating on the nfl? Why its one of the most successful businesses in the country. So you are saying capitalism is bad? The NFL generates so much money for citites throughout the country that without there sports team they wouldnt have the capitol and funding that they have. It produces jobs in and out of the country. Every year it is the biggest sporting event to attend and watch on tv with the super bowl."

All valid points. And I know they give to charities, but still dig deeper, look at the longstanding effects of what sort of culture the NFL brings.
 

But trust me, I'm on board with the whole capitalism train, and I know it is the most watched sporting event on television every year. But let's break it down a little bit more:

The NFL is a sporting event that consists of 15 minute quarters. The game should ideally last 60 minutes right? WRONG. In stead it is a perfect representation of money gone amok.

Flags and arguments happen so periodically that this game of skill and technicalities turns into a three hour event. And why are they so long? Literally to cram product based commercials in between every break they get, and to encourage Americans to spend spend spend and buy buy buy. And I get it, my uncle John said it best; "The commercials help to not only employ ad-people, but the people who manufacture and sell the products," sure, but how much is too much?? I think NFL commercials exemplify that

I just don't understand the mentality of it, that's all. It enslaves millions of people for entire afternoons, and just encourages sleuth, gluttony, and bad manners. 

Again--I love good competition and talking shit about other teams in sports. But soccer for example is two 45minute halves, no TV time with commercials, no coaches challenging plays when they know clearly know their player is in the wrong. It bewilders me.

Over the years watching the sport, becoming accustomed through my best friends who live and die by it-- I just don't see the intelligence. These are players who don't seem the smartest take big hits damaging their brains and bodies, party, use steroids, demand higher pay checks, and why? So they can help fuel the growth of the NFL monster by promoting people to stay fat and be stupid.

And of course our grandparents grew up playing the sport, then it became popular in the 60s and really took off with television and what not. Then we grew up watching it with our parents (The babyboomers), and before it was too late to point it out to them, they're all ready hooked. They love the fact they can waste an entire day eating crappy food and filling their all ready obese bellies with beer. And then there's the stupid rowdiness!

Gen-Y, I think capitalism is great, I think America is fabulous and a key player in helping to lead the rest of the world. But we have to curtail this sport, how long it lasts, the complaining and whining of the coaches and team owners. We canNOT give them uncapped salaries and let them rob the country while never giving back to the community. Lets all push for players being drug free, not living too lavishly with their all ready over paid pay checks.

Lets try to strive for the good old days where it was all about sport and not glamor and fame. It was about unity and bringing hard competition to the table so that you could rant about your state's successes, but it's turned too violent and obscure for me. The talent is over sized, the pay is ludicrous, and we shouldn't be throwing money at entertainers who have even worse entertainment at their half time shows.

We should want them to be good role models for the kids and for our future generations. But we can't feed into the NFL bullshit. Don't even get me started on the MLB and how they take advantage of everybody-- with fat players who chew tobacco, shoot up roids and go on strike when they don't get paid enough--babies.

Soccer (the original football), basketball, and hockey though? Those are sports ladies and gents. Not just 3-5 hour televised programs controlled by conglomerates to feed off our obsessions to buy spend and watch their programs endlessly.


But still....be active, go play something this weekend!