Why Football?
(Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY) 
Are men suffering from "testosterone poisoning" or is everyone sucked in by a media extravaganza of explicit violence and implicit sex? Because if there's one thing we demand as Americans, it's distraction.
The US wars in Iraq (which is still going on) and Afghanistan (which is worsening) and Pakistan (which is a secret except that we keep bragging about drone attacks) are not being televised.
So we need to see proxies fighting: It's US against THEM, fill in the blanks, any adversaries will do since we're here to see the battle.
To prove that any competition will do, there's a Lingerie Bowl, a Puppy Bowl (Animal Planet), and empty salsa chip bowls in living rooms everywhere.
We're gorging ourselves on gore and goop (gunking up our hearts and artieries). If we did it in an orgy of unnecessary roughness just once a year, it might not be so bad. But there are months of battles leading up to it, and reports of rapes and crimes by the heroes all year long. There are silicone implants cheering on the sidelines, and everyone is debased all in good fun.
Breasts almost exposed make this wardrobe malfunction scandalous (Go Daddy)
Commercials better than Game
So why is it we go from one "sport" to the next for year-round distraction? What's missing in our lives? It, of course, does not stop with sports. The exact same thing happens with the entertainment of entertainment, as women, some men, and all our gays go ape goop about the Academy Awards.
That's all in good fun, too, and perhaps a little more important than all the sports basis of wagering. But it's still made all about competing and a single "best," an ultimate winner, a sea of losers -- and we wonder why we don't feel so well. What are we missing? Contemplation (anussati) instead of meditation (jhana/zen) -- "being in the zone" -- might be called for to find out.
We saw The Big Game, partly for ALL THE COMMERCIALS but mostly for a post-game live performance by the Dirty Heads, free at the Key Club in Hollywood hosted by local station KROQ. There were more females in the audience, with and without boyfriends in tow, than Cheeseheads. Everyone laughed so much when that guy knocked got the ball knocked out of his hands in slo-mo and tried to grab it. (Green Bay Packers win NFL Super Bowl).
Exploring Our Darker Emotions 
Karla McLaren -- author, social science researcher, and empath -- discusses the importance of exploring our "darker" emotions. When we accept them and honor them, energy is released. She suggests healthy ways of dealing with overwhelming grief, anger, fear, and jealousy. More at karlamclaren.com
Tibet at the Super Bowl
The Tibet-CIA-China issue is highlighted to corporate advantage, a 2-with-one-stone win.
Super Bowl commercial on Tibet sparks controversy
(VOA) The U.S. Internet discount company Groupon, which aired a commercial during Sunday's Super Bowl focusing on the plight of the people of Tibet (watch), has sparked controversy overseas and in China. Some have posted angry comments online saying the commercial went too far, while others have announced their plans to stop using the discount service. The controversial commercial opens with a shot of a lofty snow-capped Tibetan mountain scene set to flute music. Then, U.S. Hollywood actor Timothy Hutton appears and says in a somber tone: "The people of Tibet are in trouble. Their very culture is in jeopardy." More>>
Sex sells Vegetarianism (PETA)
The choice is easy: Make a regular commercial that costs millions to broadcast, or make one so provocative it gets banned and is shown free all over the Web. Thank you, PETA. It's a wonderful cause.
Beavis & Butthead return! 
"Huhhhh, huhhhh, huhhhh. Look Beavis, we are, like, on TV again. This rules." Beavis & Butthead, MTV's '90s cartoon series that came to as much define the grunge and alt-rock era as bands like Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and Pearl Jam, is returning to the airwaves this summer, MTV reports. Yes, that means all-new episodes of the fart-joke crackin', heavy-metal-lovin', socially- and sexually-inept Highland, TX, duo, who premiered on MTV in 1993, started a controversy with parents for their foul language and behavior... More>>
Karma ("Carma") Commercial
Bridgestone Tires commercial tackles the complex topic of karma in "Carma" -- human saves beaver, beaver consciously returns favor.
- Past years: superbowl-commercials.org
