The Super Bowl’s Psychological Impact on Popular Culture
David Keller
Com 290
Lloyd Rohler
General Information and Facts-Brief Synopsis of its History:
The First Super Bowl, January 25 1967, Green Bay Packers defeat Kansas City Chiefs. There have been 36 Super Bowls to date from 1967 to 2002. Famous Names and Teams Embedded Into Popular Culture as a Result of Super Bowl Success include such teams as the Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders and such names as Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Joe Namath, to name a few.
The game’s evolution parallels society’s evolution. Rules of the game change just as the rules in society change. Technology contributes to players being stronger, faster, and larger. Super Bowl of today produces a different type of game in many ways than that of yesteryear.
John Madden is a pop culture icon for his colorful brand of commentary. He became a noted broadcaster as a result of his unique personality in leading the famed Oakland Raiders to two Super Bowl victories in the late 70’s and early 80’s.
Themes Inherent within the Context of the Super Bowl include: Good vs. Evil. The infamous Colts vs. Jets Championship, Joe Namath vs. Johnny Unitas in Super Bowl 3 January 12th 1969. the Baltimore Colts and New York Jets became symbolic representation of two voraciously alternate political factions. Namath of the Jets being flamboyant, outspoken, and a rebel both on and off the field was seen as a prodigal son of the sixties revolutionary mindset. Unitas of the Colts was reserved, traditional in style and demeanor, and thus gained the backing of the traditional political faction within the U.S. Neither of the great quarter -backs actually took a stance, but the country sort of rallied around them as a result of the volatile political situation of the time. (Vietnam War, Counter-Culture Revolution, etc.) Namath boldly predicted in a pre game interview that the Jets were in fact going to win despite being heavy underdogs, and his statements turned out to be prophetic. The Jets won 16-7. Ironically neither Namath nor Unitas played a factor in the game. It was a running game and tough defense that decided the outcome. Ultimately very interesting to see how a game like the Super Bowl can transcend sport in such a powerful fashion, becoming a symbolic representation of differing political ideology.
Mythic Subplots (Cowboys, Redskins, Vikings, etc). Team mascots are all either powerful characters of historical lore, or majestic creatures that exist within nature. These concepts can produce rivalries that take on a life of their own. The prime example is Cowboys vs. Redskins which known as being one of the greatest rivalries in the history of the game, often determined who would represent the NFC in the Super Bowl for many seasons. In this case we can see a mythic battle between cowboys and Indians that serves to intensify the meaning and nature of the football contest.
Psychological transference can occur with fanatical fans. The Oakland Raiders of the 70’s and 80’s had a fierce reputation for playing raw and dirty. The Raider representing a marauding pirate philosophy contributed at least in part to the team’s mode of thinking. Fans in some cases became obsessed with their team. There exists a video clip showed a raider fan stabbing a fan from another team in the chest for nothing more than supporting his team. The fact that the Raiders had a Super Bowl winning tradition in their time period coupled with their win at all cost pirate philosophy drew some fans into a sort of extreme fantasy role playing mode of thinking. In this extreme example we see just how much the power of the team’s logo and philosophy, as well as Super Bowl tradition can suck a fan into thinking the game to be far more important than it actually is.
Super Bowl Compared and Contrasted to Other Professional Championship Events: Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, all major professional team sports play a series of games instead of one to decide the champion. This makes the Super Bowl truly unique in American professional sports. Football has generally been viewed as the toughest team sport with giant men playing a full contact sport that makes the entertainment value very high for sports fans. These factors combine to make the Super Bowl a unique and powerful winner take all entertainment package that appeals to sports fans like no other championship event can.
The commercialization of the Super Bowl makes it a grand spectacle of commodity. People who normally don’t even watch football tune into the Super Bowl for the creative commercial broadcasting. Naturally, the grand spectacle that is the Super Bowl generates the creative commercialization process that feeds fervor for material things and influences pop culture.
Sources and Links:
http://www.superbowlhistory.com
http://www.sportingnews.com/articles/almanac/nfl
http://www.city-journal.org/html/5_3_a3.html
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news/yhoo/superbowlxxxvi.html
http://www.raiders.com/flash/flash.html