MetLife Stadium, Marine Corps New York
Yesterday’s Super Bowl game was a glorious victory for the Seattle Seahawks and a stunning loss for the Denver Broncos. But the game, while focused on athletic competition, involved more than that: It Not only should the government not tax the NFL, it should not tax any association or corporation. . A few highlights:
- Preceding the game, Fox broadcast a reading of the introduction and conclusion to the Declaration of Independence, America’s founding document. This is now a tradition for Fox, and an admirable one at that.
- Soprano opera singer Renée Fleming beautifully performed the National Anthem before the game, turning the patriotic song into fine art.
- Fox saluted America’s military servicemen and women, and Budweiser sponsored an advertisement in which it threw a homecoming party for a serviceman.
- Producers of beer, breakfast cereal, automobiles, soda, insurance, deodorant, fast food, and more purchased expensive broadcast time—$4 million for thirty seconds—to promote their goods and services. Many of the ads were brilliantly and artistically produced, ranging in tone from hilarious to sentimental. Although a few of the ads made me cringe (one airing in local markets even promoted a religious cult), on the whole the ads celebrated the American spirit, capitalism, and the pursuit of profit.
Being from Denver, for me the game was largely an unpleasant experience as the home team got crushed. But the Super Bowl is about more than just football. It’s about celebrating not only athletic greatness but the many qualities that make America great.
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