SuperB

Yesterday saw a superbowl to remember, by all accounts. Perhaps not

as an epiphany of fair play, but certainly one in terms of spirit. San

Francisco versus Baltimore created a veritable East meets West

psychodrama, although the actual two leagues are country wide in and of

themselves. East meets West is a thread in all superbowls, for they are

a tribal celebration of sport of interest to all in the US. Yet folks in the

West are three hours behind those in the East. Superbowl XLVII - the

47th since 1967 - was played in New Orleans.

As a woman, I will refrain from commenting the actual play, which I didn't

watch but read about. In preparation, I glanced through the New Yorker

sports section for some insight. What I gleaned comes down to the

notion that the game would be epic because both teams possessed

defensemen that were exceptionally fast. From what I read of the actual

game, offensemen were exceptionally energetic. With respect to the historical

game, that is.

And don't we have here a thread that runs through many sports, including

hockey. The players are not the same; they are the supermen of the game.

The hero of that long touch down, player Jones - in pictures - looks slightly stunned by

what he has accomplished. How was that possible, he seems to be asking.

Some of those superbowl party menus also seem to touch the impossible.

Beer peanut brittle, anyone? Just the right mix of sweet and salty, according

to the L.A. Times. So this is the situation out West, where the game plays at

3:30 in the afternoon. More beer is drunk on Superbowl Sunday than any other day

in the year. The brothers out West have ample time drown their enthusiasm

before those chili pepper ribs come on-line. As for the fans down East, are they

ever subjected to Italian loaf sandwiches the size of dictionaries? Work for the

ethnographers, there.

Beyonce - bless her - lipsynched the presidential inauguration, presumably so she

could save her voice for the Bowl. And deliver she did. Alas, those expensive- to - buy

commercials were deemed unfunny. Dudes deserve the best, on this their holiday.