Students: Super Bowl dull

Super Bowl XXXIX, a whirl wind of activity, sliced through America on Feb. 6.

The game has turned into a highly sophisticated marketing behemoth with a dash of sport. This year, according to Nielson Media Research, 86.1 million viewers tuned in and companies dropped $2.4 million for 30 seconds of advertising.

However, many of the students and faculty at Georgia College & State University found the 27-24 New England Patriots victory over the Philadelphia Eagles over-hyped and insipid. Senior Ben Parker called the game “one of the most boring three point victories I have seen,” and senior Terrell Boone echoed Parker’s comments.

“The game was good, but I was expecting a comeback. Instead it was just another three point victory for the Patriots,” Boone said.

Many students and faculty watched the game with a small gathering of friends and veered away from the massive parties. Some had plans to watch the game but ultimately did not even turn on the television

“I just drank a couple of beers with my roommates. Nothing special,” senior Justin Patterson said.

“My friends and I decided we were going to crochet during the game and watch the commercials because usually they are pretty funny,” sophomore Hetty White said. “But I ended up working out during the first half and only watching the halftime show.”

When the game becomes mundane, a redeeming factor can be found in the entertaining commercials or extravagant half -time show. Patterson was one of many that enjoyed the humorous commercials.

“I had fun with the commercials, both laughing at them and making fun of them,” Patterson said.

Instructor of Russian Anastasia Shuyskaya, has been in America for almost a year and got the chance to experience her first Super Bowl. She said she attended a friend’s party and watched the game; however, she said she did not completely understand it.

“I have been to a high school football game before so I knew the rules, and I watched from the beginning to the end of the game,” Shuyskaya said. “American football for me is nothing; I don’t understand it. [Americans] grow up watching American football and know all the rules. For me, I sometimes don’t even see the ball.”

Shuyskaya did draw a parallel between Americans’ love for football and Europe’s love for soccer.

“[The excitement surrounding the game] is the same as sometimes how Russians get excited about world champion in [soccer]. They all go out to sports bars and follow the games,” Shuyskaya said. “[Football] is different, doesn’t mean it is bad; I have to get use to it.”

Once the game reached halftime, it was time for the true festivities to begin. With all the negative responses following last year’s Super Bowl half time show, the NFL and FOX had to find a reliable and inoffensive source of entertainment. Sir Paul McCartney was brought in and played a 12 minute set featuring three Beatles songs.

“The halftime show was awesome because Paul McCartney is awesome. He wasn’t boring and he played ‘Hey Jude’ which made it even cooler,” White said.

Patterson said he was surprised to see McCartney perform during halftime.

“The halftime with Paul McCartney was unexpected. I didn’t expect him first of all, and one of the songs he covered was unexpected,” Patterson said.

Most students and teachers at GC&SU agree that the Super Bowl has more entertainment value than sport value, which is unsettling to some.

“I think [the Super Bowl] is silly, it is a function of marketing mostly and our love of blood sport and our feeding [of] Americans’ appetite for violence and spending,” Dr. Robert Viau, Professor of English and Interdisciplinary Studies, said.

Viau even goes as far as to come down on professional sports as a whole.

“Professional sports in general turn me off,” Viau said. “Partly because of the super star status big old hunks of meat slightly animated by intelligence are getting.”

White agrees with Viau’s first comment, saying the game is “too much hype” and “more so about celebrities than the actual game.” Patterson said he “didn’t give a damn who won” while sophomore Joseph Attaway comes down hard on America’s love of the Super Bowl.

“The Super Bowl is sports attempting to be the most entertaining it can, and the extravagant halftime shows, the cheerleaders, and the [dumb] commercials all show this,” Attaway said. “The party is more an excuse for a game, these days. America’s obsession with football is just like America’s obsession with anything else.”

Obsession or not, the Super Bowl is one of the most watched programs during the year. Parties will continue to be thrown and companies will continue to pay millions for a few seconds of advertising. That is how America works.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 11 2005. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry