Whether they be in an overcrowded bar with dry and overly-salted fries, or infront of their own 64” LCD television screen with a bowl of store-bought buffalo wings, football fans everywhere gather together for this annual meeting of grunting, cheering, sweating, chest-bumping, and fist-pumping. Yep, it’s the Super Bowl.
Now, I’m not sure what’s so appealing about watching a bunch of hairy, sweaty men grapple each other and toss a ball around, but this event attracts millions of North Americans to turn on the boob tube at the same time. I’m not trying to bash football, because personally, I love it. I used to play flag football in my high school days (Warriors, FTW!). I loved thinking out the strategies involved in planning the plays. I loved the teamwork and the feeling of euphoria when your team scores a touch down. Heck, I even loved all the suicide drills and endless push ups that our coach made us do at every practice - which, may I add, made me very pleased with my toned legs in my senior year - because I knew that that was the cost of victory. I just don’t see the appeal in watching the game when I can step outside and actually physically engage in the game.
So on Sunday, instead of sitting in front of the boob tube, I sat with Clyde and surfed the interwebs. Specifically, I was on Facebook while I was reading articles for my classes. For about 3.5 hours or so, Facebook was relatively quiet, except for the excited updates on the Super Bowl. This is what I found out:
1. The game was between Packers and Steelers.
2. Christina Aguilera sang the national anthem. She looked like she gained weight, but her hair was done nicely.
3. The Black Eyed Peas were performing at the halftime show. Everyone hated them. Fergie is horrible and she got uglier.
4. iJustine (Youtube celebrity) is a Steelers fan. 2637 people liked the photo of her eating a yellow and black cookie. 1209 people commented, half about the game, half about the cookie.
5. Packers scored a touch down at least twice and ended up winning the Super Bowl.
6. The Super Bowl ads weren’t as epic as past years, but Volkswagen made a super-cute Star Wars themed ad.
7. Janet Jackson and her bewbs were no where to be seen.
Furthermore, Glee was on right after the Superbowl. A friend wasted no time to update the world: “Sue Sylvester is wearing... black and yellow... and is raging out. Sounds like she was a Steeler's fan.”
Yep, pretty accurate summary, I know. You’re welcome. ;)
My friend asked on Facebook, “Who ended up winning the Superbowl?? .. I want to know if my prof will be in a good/bad mood today.” Luckily for her, her prof is a Packers fan. Looks like she’ll be having a good time in class today.
Facebook, I salute you. As one of the leading social media sites, you make it easy to stay connected with the world without any real interaction. Even with no intention of knowing about one of North America’s most watched events, I was updated about every victory, every missed note, and every derp face.
So thanks to the power of the Internet, and Facebook in particular, I watched the Super Bowl without actually watching it. Instead of sitting infront of my telly for 3.5 hours, I used that time to finish reading and taking notes for two articles for class, played with my puppy, took a shower, and caught up with the Super Bowl shenanigans in a matter of minutes. So with my Facebook friends watching the game for me, I can justify missing the game and was free to do other things. Plus, “watching” the game on Facebook was even more entertaining. People post hilarious opinions and commentary. And, as if that’s not enough, I’m sure that within the next few days, Michael Buckley and Philip Defranco (whatthebuck and sxephil on Youtube, respectively), will post a video covering the major events of the Super Bowl. And Ray William Johnson (RayWilliamJohnson) will review a viral video of a remix of Fergie’s exceptional performance. I’m sure it will be better than the original.
Cheers,
Bonnie and Clyde, watching TV without watching TV.
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