Posted on 02/08/2021 10:40:54 AM PST by EdnaMode
Almost a year after retreating inside from a deadly virus whose spread has only gotten monumentally worse since, I turned on the Super Bowl. It might be weird to see a sports event as typically hyperbolic as the Super Bowl brought down to a simmer Amid Pandemic, I thought, but at least I’d have some new shade of background noise on as I put together my 80th puzzle of quarantine.
The reality of the event was almost stranger than the strangeness I’d expected. Instead of making obvious changes to reflect the fact that the entire country is in some version of lockdown while half a million people have died, the Super Bowl seemed to unfold basically the same as it would have in any other year. The stands of Raymond James Stadium appeared to be packed, thanks to a combination of cardboard cutouts and the more than 20,000(!) people who had traveled there to attend. While 7500 were reportedly vaccinated healthcare workers and masks were required, the visual of a crowded stadium was nonetheless strikingly normal in a year that’s anything but.
Then, when it came time for the halftime performance, The Weeknd put on an elaborate, uninhibited show that automatically became the largest scale concert to be held in a year. As an audience waved lights up at the stage from the field, I briefly forgot how bizarre it was to see a real live concert happening now, as millions are scrambling to get life-saving vaccines. Even the commercials in between the game itself largely ignored the pandemic —a deliberate choice, as several advertising executives told Variety.
On the one hand, I can’t blame companies for not wanting to indulge more of the self-serious commercials about banding together and getting through hard times that have flooded TV in recent months. There are only so many times we can play the game of guessing which sentimental togetherness message belongs to whichever disingenuous corporate behemoth without losing our minds. But it was undeniably disorienting to watch ads featuring, for instance, interactions like Gwen Stefani and Adam Levine FaceTiming each other from inside restaurants without a mask or care in sight, waited on by smiling servers who didn’t have to worry about bringing death home from the brunch rush. From where I and so many others are sitting — i.e. on our couches at home, where we’ve been for months on end — that commercial felt almost as fantastical as the one for SpaceX’s all-civilian space mission. In what world do either scenarios truly exist? Not ours, that’s for sure.
So as it turned out, the most jarring thing about the Super Bowl happening in a year marred by an unrelenting virus was that the Super Bowl didn’t look at all like it was happening during a year marred by an unrelenting virus. After months of watching European soccer — which features fake crowd noise and has only sporadically allowed smaller crowds when local lockdowns permit — it was a genuine shock to switch on a sporting event in America, a country that does not have and never had a handle on the pandemic, and watch it march on relatively unchanged. Unlike concerts, awards shows, and even President Joe Biden’s inauguration, the significant forces behind the Super Bowl saw no need to adjust to the extraordinary times. Instead, they followed the government’s lead and did everything they could to make life look as “normal” as possible, no matter what. In that respect, at least, there’s something perfectly, metaphorically fitting about the fact that the Super Bowl looked about the same as always — until you zoomed in to see the truer picture of people shivering in masks.
On a basic human level, I get the instinct to reject realism for trying to make things seem alright. It’s always nice to get a reprieve from our daily dread, and being able to turn on something, anything, without thinking about sickness, loss or Zoom would be great. And yet watching the Super Bowl, I couldn’t think of anything but the devastating virus that the broadcast was otherwise determined to ignore. Seeing a stadium teeming with people wasn’t a relief, but a window into some uncanny mirrored valley where everything looks the same as it was before, except somehow still hopelessly backwards. It didn’t feel like an escape; it felt like waking up to yet another day of lockdown while having to forge ahead like everything is okay. But nothing’s the same, it’s not okay, and pretending otherwise isn’t going to be what gets us through it.
They should have watched the Golf Tournament from Scottsdale AZ just before the Superbowl. Finally the fans were allowed back.
Missed the toilet bowl.
Somehow, it has not made a d*mn bit of diff in my life.
Guess one group of felon kneelers played better than the others and they’ll get a ring and some bucks.
Are we sure that the scores didn’t “magically” change during half time? After all, the whole thing is run by corrupt inept leftists.
To hell with these people...seriously!
The virus is unrelenting, deadly, spreading wide and unchecked. Where has the author been the last year?
I thought it was normal until they zoomed in on the crowd and revealed 75% cardboard cutout fans sitting in the seats.
Fake!
The America-thieves have to keep THE FEAR going. There are plenty of indications that Americans are at long last beginning to actually think about all the crap they’ve been handed this year, and starting to wonder why there always seem to be Democrats hovering around in the background.
Agreed. The election fraud and the resulting surrender of America to china can't be solved by a stupid ball game.
It takes a lot of concentration to see what’s going on on the field so incredibly fast during plays. If the cameras never span the crowd, who pays an ounce of attention? Now all those uncomfortable masks being tugged at on the sidelines, they are noticeable.
>> The Weeknd put on an elaborate, uninhibited show that automatically became the largest scale concert to be held in a year.
More elaborate maybe but bigger scale concert?
How many people were actually on the field?
Do the people in the stands even count (only the non-cardboard figures)?
Do biker rallies or Trump rallies count? (Tens of?) thousands present.
They want everyone miserable, afraid, panicked, and wearing a mask (or two) forever..
They may have ignored the virus, but they sure as heck didn't ignore the fake overplayed "systemic racism" narrative.
If you are not cowering fear, you are rejecting realism.
You could turn this on its head (for the Left) and say that we are all sinners, God is Just, and Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So, do not reject reality: Fear the Lord and strive unceasingly to be a good Christian.
But the Left wants to create fear and use that fear for it's own purposes.
Yep, they apparently aren't as WOKE as the other sports.
Everything looked normal to me yesterday. Didn’t even turn the TV on at all yesterday. Had family over, enjoyed a nice visit, meal.
The Chiefs beat the Buccaneers 664 to 615. Ask Hillary.
That’s how title winners are tallied. The total competition tallies, not just one game.
Shared misery..for everyone..but our superiors.
I see troll posters (or the competition) posting “how dare you!” comments on in-person events listed on Facebook.
It isn’t enough that they lock down existence for 2 years, they will shame you and anyone else for even thinking of going to an event.
Good news for Kansas City Chiefs fans! The NFL has now declared the Chiefs as the winners of yesterday’s Super Bowl. Although the Tampa Bay Buccaneers appeared to win the game by a score of 31 - 9, the NFL announced that early this morning a box containing 24 additional points for the Chiefs was found in a storage room at the stadium. The league further stated that, although no one knows where these additional points came from, or if they are legitimate, the NFL has no plans to investigate, and considers the matter closed.
They have no lives that’s all like they have zero lives of their own
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.