Gladiators

The overwhelming success of the Super Bowl in the U.S., which is a country deeply divided on critical issues of human rights and economic justice, reveals some things about human social dynamics. I am and have been quite detached from team sports in my life, so my observations may resemble those of a hypothetical alien from outer space, to those who are immersed in Super Bowl mania.

The Super Bowl was once a predominantly male obsession. Men slamming their heads together aggressively and violently to move a ball down a flat field was the province of the testosterone-driven, beer-swilling males who had their finest days (and most fit) in high school sports. They relived their glory days once a year in unison, aided by a national sports broadcast, geared to selling things in commercials.

Gradually, as women ascended into mainstream equality through various changes in the educational system, driven by feminism, the new feminism included adopting many of the behaviors of testosterone-drive, beer-swilling males: Aggressive driving, aggressive speech, excessive drinking and mannerism previously associated with male jocks. A segment of the female population adopted traditional heterosexual male behaviors to compete in a male-dominated society. This included enthusiasm for bloody and brutal team sports, like hockey and football. Super Bowl fans include more and more women, indistinguishable from their male counterparts.

Commercial team sports have been the beneficiaries of this development. While female leagues still struggle for financial sustainability, the grunt-and-grapple male teams have ascended with record profits and fan bases. Whole cities suspend their operations to host parades for winning sports teams. Politicians revel in the audiences these celebrations bring. Mayors ride the popularity of the contesting teams, like victorious feudal lords after jousting tournaments. 

And what does the drunken crowd want more than victory?  They want entertainment and distraction from their humdrum urban lives of office cubicles, crowded subways and worries about paying their bills. They want to see big men hurt each other as surrogates for their rage at their own impotence. They want to win a bet or a surrogate victory to break their boredom and complacency. They want an excuse to get drunk, to howl, embrace, and to simply cheer about something...perhaps about anything. 

All of this on the surface may be considered "normal" human behavior. After all, the same old story has been happening for centuries. Hitler made his proud global debut at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Many then thought that he was a great guy because he liked sports. Bread and circus were the Roman equivalents of guacamole and Super Bowl. Nero's balcony has been replaced by the corporate sky box. It is all neatly as it should be in the minds of those who garner profits and power from pitting one man against another in the ring of life. It is all neatly as it should be to those who satisfy themselves with a life of mindless conformity, living out the lives that are dictated to them by their TVs, their iPhones, their parents, their peers and their bosses.