Superbowl Sunday: Who Wins? and Does it Really Matter?

If you've followed Out of My Hat for very long, you already know that I'm not a big NFL fan. Back in the day (it was a Tuesday) I was a Viking fan. To give sports fans an idea of how long ago that was, names like Jim Marshall, Alan Page and Carl Eller were a few of the names on the roster. The Scrambler managed the offense and they still played in an outdoor stadium.

But back to the point--today I'm not a big fan and Sunday is the BIG day for football.

I know that the NFL season is a big deal to its millions of fans. I just don't understand how everybody can get so worked up over seeing your favorite team play a grand total of twenty games--if you're one of the lucky few; sixteen games for the majority of fans.

But that's also off point.

Does it really matter who wins?
And not just for football. You could ask the question about baseball's World Series.
In the grand scope of things, what does it matter?

I know that professional sports are major league industries and billions of dollars are at stake for those that are vested in the business. But for the average guy or gal that is watching from their Super Sunday gathering, isn't it just a momentary escape from the burdens of everyday life. So often, we have elevated these sports super heroes to the point of modern day gods that not only do we shower them with indecent amounts of money and attention, but we choose to look the other way for their bad behaviors and even their cheating through the use of illegal substances.

Oh we are quick enough to condemn them when the obvious meets with hard evidence, but we would rather give them the benefit of the doubt until then because we all know that it makes for better sport. Here's a great article for any sports fan that is tired of the accepted practice of cheating and the example that it teaches our kids.

Of course, there are also great stories in sports; so much so that some would have us believe that God really cares about who wins and might influence the outcome of the big game. (I guess they've forgotten about that Notre Dame game.)

Yes, we can look on as cyclist Lance Armstrong bears his disgrace on national TV (part 1 and part 2 if you really want to watch it) and we can join those that are piling on with the long list of lives he's ruined. We can excuse the people in charge of monitoring the sport as we do in other sport venues, but we all know that the game, the race, the sport is more about making obscene amounts of money than it is about competing fairly. Here is an audio clip of Daniel Tosh's take on pro athletes. There is probably more truth in it than we care to admit. And I should make this language warning. If you stop listening when he gets to the NBA part, you can avoid the unnecessary foul language.

In the end, I may or may not watch the big game Sunday. If you will be pulling for one of the teams, I wish you well and hope that your team wins. I'd rather watch the UFC 156 fights tonight.

John <><