Well, another “Big Game” (the NFL hates when you use their term for it) has come and gone and I didn’t watch one second of it. Not even one of the commercials.
OK, I did watch the commercials online the day after the game, but I did not watch them live.
I don’t think I watched a single football game this season, really. It’s not that I am against football or don’t like football, it’s just that I have better things to do most of the time.
That was not the case during the “Biggest Game in the History of the World” played recently in Miami. In fact, my wife and I actually had some down time on Sunday. But we opted to watch the “Breaking Bad” marathon AMC. Yes, we have seen the entire series more than once, but it is a dark, brilliant masterpiece. Once you watch a little, you can’t turn it off.
So we missed the game. And the commercials. And the halftime show.
Ah yes, the halftime show.
It seems that a lot of people were up in arms over the entertainers not being more conservatively dressed during the halftime show – namely Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. I did see some highlights of the performance and I must say, both were amazing performers. Also, their outfits weren’t any more scandalous than the average NFL cheerleader.
But many people were outraged over this. One mom even said she had to scoot her 13-year-old son from the room. Yeah, not sure that was his idea.
My question is where have you been? If you were that shocked by a halftime performance, I can only imagine your disgust at a Hooters restaurant or the words about women that have come from our own president.
Yes, there are things to be shocked and upset about, but the halftime show is not one of them. Here are a few:
* We are killing the environment. Global warming is real and we are ignoring it at the peril of our children and grandchildren. This is our world we are talking about. The government just got rid of protections that were in place to keep waterways from being polluted. That is something to be upset about.
* The national debt is more than $22 trillion. That’s right – trillion. That is an increase of more than $2 trillion since 2017. This is the largest debt ever and Congress and the president are doing nothing about it except adding to it. Tax cuts for wealthy people are fine for wealthy people, but we are saddling future generations with a mountain of debt that won’t be able to dig out of.
* Our healthcare system is horrible. Yes, there are fine doctors and hospitals, but who can afford them? Even if you have good insurance, one major illness can wipe a family out financially. I know a lot of people who have had to hold fundraisers to pay their medical bills. That is wrong, and something we should all be upset about.
* Low unemployment is great, but the “gig” economy is an anchor around the necks of future generations. The days when you had a good job for decades and an excellent pension are pretty much gone. The average CEO now makes 271 times more than the average employee. In 1965 it was 20 times more. See a problem there? Young people now get paid like part-time employees and usually have no benefits at all while the boss makes out like a bandit. This is the norm, and it is something we should be gravely concerned about. The gulf between the haves and the have nots is growing to Grand Canyon proportions. Eventually this will tear the country apart.
A halftime show at a football game? Nah, that doesn’t get me too upset. There are actual huge problems in this country that are worth the outrage. Focus on those.
