Longtime repeat visitors to this space have probably noticed the ambivalent attitude we at Decon Central have toward pro sports in general, and in particular toward the American bacchanalia that is the Super Bowl.
Opinions vary, and this probably puts us in the minority, but we find little more than the spectacle itself appealing. Football is engaging, fun to watch, but nagging background concerns—concussions, drugs, domestic violence—are tempering forces. This and the perennial awfulness of our hometown squad make it all but impossible to pay anything except the most cursory of attention to the regular season, and most of the playoffs.
But then comes the day of the Big Game, the national sport high holy day, and our attention is drawn whether we want it to be or not. Still and all, it was largely undecided until about 36 hours ago whether we’d even watch the game.
What did it was driving by a nearby Very Conservative Drinking Establishment. The kind that Don’t Like Our Kind. Never been inside, but the frequently updated letterboard marquee has always thoroughly telegraphed the managements’ social leanings (how they must be missing that Kenyan Muslim gun-taker). Now their message is simple and succinct, to the point that they couldn’t even misspell any part of it:
The NFL Sucks.
Oh yeah, that. The temerity of taking a knee. The audacity of athletes expressing an unpopular opinion. A certain segment of these United States is turning its back on pro football, and that’s enough for some of us to tune in. So we’re watching the Super Bowl out of pure lefty contrarianism.
Bonus: we’ll get the rest of it. Beer and wings and pizza rolls, wacky commercials and over-the-top hype. And maybe we’ll get some decent football to boot.
Patriots vs. Eagles in Super Bowl LII. Why the hell not?
