The day after Super Bowl Sunday

VIY: Very Important You

Super Bowl Sunday has come and gone. Millions of pounds of chicken wings, wieners, dipping sauce and nachos have been consumed, and hopefully digested; gallons of beer have been poured, bets placed and wagers won and lost.
Browsing through the electronic media, like a sports page tourist, I came upon a variety of articles, videos, clips and comments reviewing anything and everything from the actual season and team's and QB performances, to the entertainment, TV ads and broadcasting crew and "talking heads".
All very common and usual following an event of such gigantic proportions.

What may not be so common and would actually be nice, is an attitude of recognition that events of this magnitude could not possibly please every single person, organization or fun club.
What would be nice, and thoughtful, is to think back at such an event with memories of parties, full house pubs, conversations and debates, moments of utter joy and deep disappointment taken in as what one could see as an experience quite unlike anything else (even with Christina's free styling of the National Anthem, even with the well documented difficulties with seating arrangements at the Dallas Stadium and the ongoing debate of whether the Black Eyed Peas were THE best selection of artists for the half time show)...
I find it would be just great to think of yesterday with a sense of exhilaration for having participated in something so grand, so intricately orchestrated, so full of emotion to make one happy to be alive and live in a country where millions of people get to mingle and share in a sporting event that will never be repeated. Not like this.
Just think of the total amount of hours, man power and infrastructure involved in the planning, execution and delivery of such a spectacle; the hours of training, playing, strategy making by the participating teams and coaches; the millions of dollars and creative juices poured into the conceptualizing and executing of a 10" ad by advertising executives, art directors, filmmakers, graphic designers et al; the endless traffic jams, pre-game parties, tail gate gatherings planned; prepping and cooking and serving and cleaning from businesses and private people alike...The sheer exhilaration of it all, the screaming and scheming, face paint slathering, dipping and drinking and laughing and crying with your family, co-workers, college buddies, neighbors, complete strangers!
Is that not enough to induce waves of appreciation and gratitude among us all? So maybe out team did not make it, maybe we are a bit miffed with the guy who got to win the 5G at the pub pool, and is now going to have a better wedding with OUR ex. Maybe Fergie WAS too screechy, Usher didn't really get to sing and the refs could have made a few (one?) different calls to appease our sorrow. And yet, all of this was conceived, organized, created and delivered in a characteristically grandiose fashion for YOU! Yes YOU. The Very Important, can't live without, never to be underestimated, over-saturated or under-indulged YOU!!

As for me.. I will fondly remember last night as the night I got to enjoy the game on my flat screen TV, from the comfort of my well heated apartment, chewing on freshly delivered Dominoe's wings and sipping some very cold, very refreshing Corona. Aah... and to tell you the truth, I actually liked seeing the Black Eyed Peas, (never saw them live or otherwise before). I did not mind the Tron-like costumes of the floor show dancers and Usher did do an impressive split. Both teams played well and scored enough to keep me from switching the channel to Sex and the City reruns AND got to watch my first (gasp!!) episode of Glee following the game.

All in all the Very Important You, that is me, was quite satisfied. Thank you!