Super Bowl gives insights

Often viewed as a highly valuable object by most sports fans, a Super Bowl ticket could also be the key to understanding both positive and negative aspects of American culture, according to Dr. Michael Real of Ohio University.

Real, the director of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, spoke last night at Boston College about the American phenomenon of the Super Bowl. His talk, ‘Super Bowl: Mythical Spectacle,’ also examined the game as America’s myth ritual and drew parallels between aspects of American culture and football.

According to Real, football has some of the same functions for Americans that primitive tribal rituals have. The sport can give people a character to idolize, and in some cases, deify, he said.

Real referred to a Joe Namath ad that said, ‘God isn’t dead. He’s just got bad knees.’ Other mythical similarities include sharing the football experience with a group, during tailgating and Super Bowl parties, and the fan’s personal connection with certain players or teams.

Real said football’s structural values also tie into American culture. He described football as territorial, describing it as a fight for property, the field and a struggle to control more land and push the other team into an end zone.

‘In an economic system about how much property you can own and control, football is a good metaphor,’ he said.

Real said another connection can be drawn by examining the use of time in football. Football is played strictly by the clock, unlike baseball, which is played until the last out is recorded. American culture is also time-dominated, which Real proved by describing the idea of society ‘using time almost obsessively.’

Football can also reflect American culture in negative ways, Real said, pointing out the gender roles in football. Football is extremely male-dominated; few women play at all, and none on the professional level. Women are relegated to cheerleading roles and were once characterized by an announcer as being ‘cheesecake,’ he said. Real referred to the gender exclusivity of football as a ‘sad statement on the place of our culture today.’

Real said football also presents an unflattering picture of American culture in terms of race. While many African-Americans play in the NFL, making it the ‘most enthusiastic equal opportunity employer in the country,’ few African Americans hold upper management positions in the NFL and in NCAA Division I-A football.

The Super Bowl, according to Real, is a prime example of football reflecting American culture because it is solely an American event.

‘You can’t not know about the Super Bowl,’ he said.

Additionally, the Super Bowl is Americanized in advertising, he said. Previous advertisements have shown the Super Bowl trophy with a shining American flag on it and a Super Bowl venue with a large American flag being held across the field.

Real, invited to speak because of his work in cultural studies, spoke to a packed auditorium of students.

BC sophomore John Kennedy, attended because he received extra credit for his Rhetorical Traditions class, but said the lecture was insightful.

‘I’ve always looked at the Super Bowl from a sports perspective,’ he said. ‘It was really interesting to look at it from a different perspective.’

Tara Pisani, a BC freshman also receiving extra credit for Rhetorical Traditions, said that Real’s discussion ‘reinforced the culture we’ve been learning about in class.’

Kate Lakin, a sophomore in Boston University’s College of Communication, also attended. A football fan, she said she was intrigued by the lecture’s title and wanted to hear Real’s take on the Super Bowl.

‘I never thought of the Super Bowl in comparison to United States culture and how they are reflections of each other,’ she said.