I am not a football fan. It has always been too rough a game for me and way too reminiscent of the bread and circuses of the ancient Roman Empire, but given the weeks of super bowl hype to the 10th power, as a Bay Area resident, it seemed almost disloyal not to watch the game. So I watched, without the bias or the expectations of a genuine fan. There were a few surprises, I would imagine. The team favored to win, the Carolina Panthers, lost, but then how often have we watched the underdog dig deep and find the last ounce of courage and expertise to pull out a victory, which the Broncos did… a resounding victory at that since they were never behind the count once.
Few rocketing passes...
Perhaps the game disappointed some since it was definitely a defensive squad’s win. Very few rocketing passes from either quarterback were delivered as they were strategically contained. Obviously this was not a game to entertain fans so much as it held strategic calculations for a win, and a win is a win is a win.
The very future of football itself...
The quarterbacks themselves were a wonderful human study. Such anguish showed on the face of Cam Newton when a play did not go well while Peyton Manning did not wear his disappointments on his sleeve. Perhaps it is true that the act that destabilizes the young man often stabilizes the older. Secretly I think I did hope for a Broncos win so that Manning could take away some signature victories as he considers what lies ahead for him. It is well that he should weigh his future, considering football’s gift that keeps on giving…traumatic brain injury. Perhaps many should think about the very future of football itself now that the word, concussion, holds so much more meaning.
Up for review...
Could it be that that grand, money-making institution called football should be up for review at this time? Are the serious injuries that disable enough to give pause for thought? I guess we’ll see.
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