Super Bowl LVII will be played today, that’s 57 for those of us using traditional numbers, not Roman numerals.
A quick check of online numerology reveals 57 to be a number of positive energies and spiritual enlightenment. Also, so the story goes, 57 suggests getting rid of bad habits and being on the right path.
Alas, at this time I cannot be certain I will actually get around to watching the game, despite all its supposed positive attractions.
Certainly, I won’t watch six-plus hours of pregame hype for a contest that, even with its traditionally bloated halftime display, won’t run much more than four hours.
There was a time when it bordered on the sacrilegious to suggest to me not watching the big game. As a youth I died – figuratively speaking – when the AFL teams from Kansas City and Oakland were hammered by Green Bay in the first two Super Bowls.
When Joe Namath and the New York Jets allowed the AFL to start to win these title games in Super Bowl III, ironically only after having agreed to merge with the NFL, it was a joyous time.
Through the years, I’ve attended six Super Bowls as a sports writer for Johnstown and Pittsburgh newspapers. With any luck, I’ll never need to go to another.
But I did host numerous Super Bowl parties after I retired, a practice ended by COVID hysteria and general lack of interest on my part. My wife lobbied me hard to have another this year, just to get the gang together before more of us died or were rendered immobile. I opted out.
The pro football of my youth and years as a writer, an entertaining and apolitical diversion, has given way to a Woke thing with preachy slogans plastered on fields and helmets.
Identity politics has invaded what once was a meritocracy.
Like so many other sports leagues, the NFL pays fawning tribute to the hard left, without requiring proof of the legitimacy of the cause.
Virtue signalling is the dominant thing.
Along the way, the league has downplayed the long-term physical impact of the game on its players. A recent study by Boston University noted degenerative brain disease in just under 92 percent of the brains of former NFL players that were autopsied.
The league also doesn’t want to touch on the negative effect of gamblers addicted to betting on the games, or average fans being forced to get second mortgages to pay for seat licenses for home game tickets or to fund a trip to a Super Bowl and the sky-high ticket prices for it should their team advance that far.
This Super Bowl begins with a taint, particularly in the case of Kansas City being there, owing largely to some controversial officiating.
The Philadelphia Eagles also benefited from at least one major officiating miss in their conference title win, a non-catch that was allowed. But, considering the injury-riddled San Francisco opposition, the Eagles would have won easily even if that call had been made correctly.
The Chiefs’ win over the Cincinnati Bengals was much closer, and featured a do-over for Kansas City of an unsuccessful third-down failure. There also was an intentional grounding call on Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow that was suspect.
On another play, Burrow was hit late, an apparent roughing penalty, but there was no call.
However, near game’s end, a scrambling KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes was hit out of bounds. Flag. Fifteen additional yards. Game-winning field goal for the Chiefs.
Replays show two KC offensive linemen could have been flagged for holding on the play, which would have negated the late hit call and the entire play. But they were not penalized.
The fact that virtually all of the close calls went in Kansas City’s favor has prompted a lot of complaints, even from disinterested observers. Just do an internet search for “AFC championship game rigged” and you will get a lot of stories and videos to that end.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, borrowing a page from Democrats, was denying the reality with ridiculous overstatement at his annual Super Bowl press conference.
Of league officiating, Goodell said, “I don’t think it’s ever been better.”
At least he didn’t blame the Russians, or race, or even a Chinese balloon.
Considering I live in a town that fast has become Filthydelphia West, with many negative consequences, the only desirable outcome of this Super Bowl for me would be for both teams to lose. Since that can’t happen, I’m not sure how much time I want to invest in watching the game.
Sam Ross Jr's site 