All Hail The Superbowl

Punt.

Today, even the front page of the New York Times has yielded to the Superbowl. It does not matter what else is happening in the world, on this weekend, Americans do football. Or rather, they use football as a vehicle for the indulgence of vice and bad behavior, for throwing aside family time, chores and errands and, well, mostly just watching tv and getting drink. There is also recreational drug use, sex trafficking, illegal gambling, and an increase in domestic violence. And for advertisers, it's almost as good as Christmas. Do you watch the Superbowl? Do you watch football in general? Are you even watching the game or is it serving a kind of social purpose or curiosity? Either way, be sure you understand the impacts of this game on our world, and make your choices wisely.

National Ball

Superbowl.

This year the NFL will generate close to $9 billion in revenue, $500 million of that in association with the Super Bowl. Tens of thousands will attend the game and hundreds of millions will watch it live. It is, and has been for some years, the largest collection of human attention in the United States if not the world. And what do we choose to do with this opportunity to communicate with so many people all at once? Sell beer. And cars. And Beyonce. I think that more than reality television, or Facebook, or Twitter or Black Friday the Super Bowl reflects back to us what we already know about ourselves. We like to consume. We enjoy violence and competition as sport and entertainment. We like mostly naked women, especially if they only dance and sing. We really like beer.

And maybe that's okay. Maybe the Super bowl and football in general are all a part of healthy mass catharsis, a national blowing off of steam. Maybe it does drive business and the overall economy, creating jobs and revenue. Maybe hero worship and camaraderie forge the ties that bind us to each other. Or maybe it's the entire country enabling each others vices.

Super Bowl weekends are associated with increased incidents of drunk driving, domestic violence, gambling, alcohol and drug consumption, and human trafficking. Why are you watching?

References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XLIII

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/01/24/nfl-nonprofit-football-money-ask-usa-today/4837575/

Will Tackle For Food

NFL.

Were you aware of the fact that the National Football League is a recognized non-profit organization with tax exempt status?  Did you know that many of the NFL's stadiums receive enough money in public funds to cover their operational cost, leaving all the revenue from ticket sales, vending, and advertising to go to training and salaries? This tax exempt status may or may not apply to individual teams, but since they have a non-disclosure policy when it comes to finances how much they pay to whom is not publicly known. What we do know is that while Food Stamps and student financial aid are on the chopping block there is no risk of the NFL losing it's public funding, at least not anytime soon. While I understand that the NFL does some amount of charitable outreach, it is by definition an entertainment organization, not a charity and from ticket sales and players salaries alone it seems clear that they can afford to build and run their own stadiums.

Greg Easterbrook has written a book about the impact of football on America and discusses the financial aspects of the NFL at length.  It's worth reading, especially if you pay taxes or watch football.

Like what you are reading?  Then support the Kickstarter for my book Girl Gone Wild- On Being a Woman in the Wilderness.  Thanks!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1731666363/girl-gone-wild-a-guide-to-being-a-woman-outside?ref=city

To hear an interview with the author:

http://www.npr.org/2013/09/24/225775287/nfls-a-nonprofit-author-says-its-time-for-football-reform

Photograph Courtesy of:

http://www.bettingexpert.com/blog/field-position-goal-expectation