Superbowl XLIII

Well, the teams are set for the Superbowl; we've got the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals. I'm pretty sure that no one picked these two teams before the season, but here they are. I, honestly, don't think I could possibly be more ambivalent.

I think that my interest in football ebbs and flows, depending on how I feel about life in general. It's weird. It seems that the more "into" football I am in a given season, the more fucked up my life outside of football is. Football is like my "safe zone." When things are going okay, I don't have the time to devote to changing my fantasy lineup every week or to read enough to be able to make some educated guesses on picking the games. In that case, I guess it's a good thing that I don't really give a rip about who wins the Superbowl.

I'll still watch it, though. I mean...I'm still an American after all. I think it's important that I watch the Superbowl...for the commercials, if nothing else. And I know that you can just look at the commercials online the next day, but... Okay, here's the thing: I remember seeing in movies and reading in books about how, during World War I and World War II, the GIs would use the question--who won the World Series in ___whatever year to determine whether someone was on their side or a spy. So, I'm thinking to myself--what the fuck would they do to determine that now? Because most of the people that I know, outside of my nephews and myself, did not watch and would not know that the Phillies won the World Series last year, beating the Tampa Rays in 5 games. Nor would they know that the Giants won the last Superbowl over the Patriots in one hell of a good game. Or the Celtics winning the NBA title against the Lakers.

I know it used to be much more important because there weren't as many other things available to entertain them. But, I can't help but feel nostalgic for those days. Actually, I think that my nephews and I are throwbacks. During the Olympics last summer, Adam and I sat and watched water polo and badminton and table tennis for hours and hours. Maybe we belong to a different era. I guess it's lucky that we have each other.