Another Storm

This storm arrived, once again, on a Sunday – once again disrupting our Sunday walk. For some reason, I felt that this was a prettier storm than the one before. Perhaps it is only a state of mind. I took a few pictures around the house, but, in the end, felt disappointed about them. The weather was warm when compared to the days of the previous storm, and a lot of the snow melted away the same day.

It also happened to be Superbowl Sunday. Not that this mattered too much to me. I have not seen a single American football game this season. I used to watch a lot of sports when I was young, but no more. Arena sports no longer grabs my attention, especially if it is all about overpaid professionals going about their job.

Nevertheless, I had resolved to watch the entire game on Sunday because it is such an American thing to do. I even figured out which team to root for – even though I had no interest in the game. This year there would be no disruptions in the viewing of the game because we were not a a party with other people – which is typically the case on Superbowl Sunday.

The game was fine. There was enough strategy, skill, and technique demonstrated in this game, which, although physically tough and brutal, involves a lot of organization – almost military like, but perhaps with more rules! But I was also surprised by how I felt about all the hype and the additional artificial drama that was a part of the broadcast of the game. In the past I would have accepted it, and maybe even get drawn into it, but now it seemed completely fake and artificial. The ads were particularly stupid. And to build sports personalities into hero figures makes no sense to me. Perhaps the overall experience is like watching gladiators fight in ancient Rome – in a more “civilized” way. (I wonder if they had advertisements during the Roman times in the Colosseum. There must be an Asterix comic book including a panel or two satirizing this concept!)

Nevertheless, having chosen a side to cheer for, I was surprised by how quickly my emotions were manipulated. I began to not just cheer for my team, but also find fault with the other – and with the referees. I was actually “hating”, and I surprised myself with the intensity of this emotion. I was even prone to verbally expressing these emotions. I think it is the animal instinct in all of us that draws us in to something like this in spite of ourselves. I was a part of the audience in a Roman amphitheater! This is what happens in our politics today.