I don't know about you but when it comes to the Super Bowl, I
just want to have fun. That's it.
Nothing more. Nothing less.
When Super Bowl XLIX kicks off this Sunday night at 6:30 pm
and the New England Patriots play the Seattle Seahawks, I'm only hoping to
experience one vital and grace-filled and oh so necessary human emotion:
happiness. Along with that, laughter and smiles and excitement and joy and
community.
It all comes down to the fun.
To gather together with family and friends on a cold and
dark winter evening. To sit by a fire and get caught up in the excitement of the
game, a game. A play filled competition which really,
finally, has absolutely nothing at stake. Nothing important or profound or
earth shaking or life changing will occur because of who wins and who loses
come February 1st. The Super Bowl is
kind of "super", but not so super that the outcome will shift the
course of history or cure a deadly disease or mend a broken heart or help the
powerless or increase the faith of millions.
No.
Instead, in preparation for Sunday, this is what I'm doing. I'm
stripping away all the hype associated with the Super Bowl, "Deflategate"
especially. ENOUGH ALREADY! Dismissing as so much hot air all the drama, the
media noise, the excess, the money, and the chatter. Then I'll remember that
the best of professional sports always comes down to just one goal for me, as a
lifelong sports fan.
To have fun. FUN!
Enjoy the entertainment of watching human beings push their
physical skills to the limit, doing stuff with their bodies you and I can only watch
in awe. Find a bit of escape and for one evening put aside work worries and
life worries and world worries and then lose myself in an all American
extravaganza, so over the top and so completely excessive that it is fun and
funny at the same time. Indulge in eating way too much bad food. Return to the reason I first enjoyed watching
pro sports. Remember why I first fell in love with being a fan.
It was and is about fun!
So this coming Sunday I am totally psyched to watch the game
and as I take in that three hours of competition, I'll recall sweet memories of
the times when sports have lifted my heart a bit and just made me happy. Given me fun. The afternoon I spent with my
little sister Claire in the right field grandstand of Fenway Park,
on a hot August Saturday, for a doubleheader. Who won? Who knows? But there was
cold beer and lots of laughs and fun. Or the summer night in 1971 when Dad
surprised me and my big brother Ed with a once in a lifetime trip to Schaefer
Stadium, to watch the very first Boston Patriots game ever played in Foxboro. I
will never forget that magical evening. It was beyond fun! Listening to games
on the radio as I take a road trip. Turning to the newspaper sports section to
check the scores. Jumping up off the couch and high fiving my Godson when
there's a "SCORE!" and then watching as he learns how fun it is to be
a fan.
Fun.
Funny. The difference between "fan" and
"fun" is just one letter. Not a
very far distance to cover.
"Deflategate"? Not interested. I’m done with that. I'll let other fans, other pundits, other
folks worry about that stuff.
I'm just in it for the fun. GO PATS!
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