Then I married, became a father in addition to being a husband, and, all of a sudden, there was a whole lot more to life than watching football. Spending time actively involved with the kids, being outdoors and enjoying the time with the family. Concerned more about my family than what was on the tube on Sunday.
I never looked back.
On Sunday, we went to my wife's family's home for an afternoon together and dinner.
I sit and talk with my wife's Dad, then begin to watch the start of the Super Bowl. Since I've been out of touch with football, I ask who's playing. Glad to hear it is the New England Patriots since, if the Miami Dolphins (I grew up during the years when the Dolphins were a dynasty) couldn't be there, the Patriots were as good any representative of the American Conference.
So, I'm watching the teams being announced and coming onto the field, noticing I'm beginning to enjoy this after so many years of abstinence. Then, out comes Michael Douglas (every time I see him, all I can think of is "Fatal Attraction") who starts talking about the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII.
That's okay. Paying our respects and reflecting on the sacrifices made during that period of time is okay. Then, this tribute is taken beyond the scope of the anniversary of WWII and extended to those serving in Iraq.
At this point, I can't recall if anything was mentioned about the Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War I, or Afghanistan. All I can remember feeling is the overall militaristic and nationalistic tone that overtook the monologue.
I look around to see if anyone around me was noticing the change, or if it is just me. Nobody seemed to show any expressions (other than my dumbfounded, "can't believe my ears", mouth-agape look).
Out come the ex-presidents: Bush, the elder, and Clinton.
Out come the choirs of ALL the armed services, except the Coast Guard.
Out come the trumpets.
Here come the fighter jets flying overhead.
Wow... a little too over-the-top, I thought. I look around again. Nothing. No comments or expressions.
Am I the only one that finds it completely outrageous to take a SPORTING EVENT and turn it into an opportunity to tug on peoples' emotional strings to further instill the thought that a military confrontation is HONORABLE???
Oh, but wait a minute, this is not just any sporting event. This event is viewed by MILLIONS (86 million). What a perfect way to slide in this reminder that war and militarism are a part of our culture and even honorable actions.
It is one thing to fight in defense of your country, your freedoms, your families. That is honorable. To go seek someone (individual or government) as a preemptive step, based on information that may or may not be reliable, impacting and destroying the lives of another group of innocent people... mothers, fathers, sons, daughters ... that is something else. That is NOT honorable. Those are the actions of a bully.
Are we, the American people, as a culture, mind-controlled by the media? Do we just sit back an accept everything that is being fed US? Unfortunately, I believe so. And so does Richard Dolan:
Fifty years ago, if you drove across the United States, you could listen to truly independent radio stations, which (can you believe it?) actually had local people reporting local news. You could read an independently-owned newspaper (which competed with several other independently-owned newspapers in the same city). Journalists competed to ‘scoop’ each other, to get that inside story no one else could get. In other words, muckrakers could still work for a major newspaper.
To put it mildly, that’s not how it works today. What people need to realize is that there is no longer a free market for news.
This is not a facetious remark, not hyperbole. America no longer has a free press. Not the kind, at any rate, we grew up believing in.
At that point, the game was over for me. No need to see the kick-off. I know who lost... you and me.
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