I had a great time watching the Super Bowl yesterday. I've always loved playing and watching football, and my only hope for the game was that it would at least be an interesting game. On that level, it didn't disappoint. But there was another intriguing level for me this year...

I ran across this interesting piece by CBS's Bob Schieffer. (Of course, CBS won't let me embed it - they want more eyeballs on their Youtube page's ads...it never ends does it? So I have to link to it instead of you being able to play it right here...)

http://www.youtube.com/user/CBS#p/u/26/PNPwGyKtflg

The line that really got my attention...

"So you could argue, we're here because the Super Bowl is big news. I won't. I believe it's more important than that. I think it's one of those breaks when we can put aside those things that really matter, and for a few hours just gather with our friends and family, and enjoy something that makes absolutely no difference in the course of human events. We need that every once in a while. Maybe lately, more than ever."

So the importance of the Super Bowl is not that it it's good football; it's more important than news because it is socially-acceptable escapism. The part that interests me is, why do we need to escape? On the surface, seeing the Super Bowl as escapism may not be such a big deal. But just take a minute to consider the implications of a so-called "societal theology of escapism". I promise you that they're not good.

So why am I hating on the Super Bowl?

I'm not. I love watching a good football game and having a good time with friends. I'm hating on seeing it as escapism, and even celebrating it as such. I would rather turn the conversation to "engage-ism"^*. Why not celebrate something like the Super Bowl as a way to engage, rather than the opposite?

You probably heard a lot of the fuss over the commercial sponsored by Focus on the Family, where Tim Tebow was apparently going to use the spot to thank his mom for not having him aborted. (Turns out the ad wasn't even close to that much of a "hard sell".) It got so much press for addressing such a controversial issue so publicly. But as I watched the plethora of "man-on-the-street" interviews before it all happened, the concern was not primarily because it was going to be a pro-life message (though there were a few sit-down interviews that tried to address that). The primary reason people didn't like it? (I'm paraphrasing here:) "We just want to have a good time. Why do you have to spoil that?" My translation: "I want to escape. Don't try to engage me with this stuff during my escaping time." (Read the last paragraph of this article to see an example.)

So (since the Super Bowl is now over) allow me to engage you. Is escapism a good thing? Can we somehow celebrate rest and good times without needing to be mindless about it? But more than that, why do we feel the fundamental need to escape from "life"? What is it that leads us to constantly need to "disengage" and go to our happy place once in a while? Why is it that our happy place is always a place where we don't need to do anything, or even think about anything?

Again, I'm not saying every SB ad should try to be life-changing. But why do we so strongly want to equate "enjoyable" with "mindless"?

Things that make you go hmm....

Speaking of dated pop-culture references, the other fascinating conversation was about the cultural relevance (or lack thereof) of the SB—and specifically its half-time show—to my generation of 20- and 30-somethings. Since the infamous "wardrobe malfunction" in 2004, here are the list of performers: Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Donna Summer, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, and The Who. Notice any patterns here? ;)

A friend of mine on Facebook had a most insightful comment: "I'm enjoying that they were the rebels of their youth, and now they're the safety net". The target demographic of the Super Bowl is clearly people with lots of money and power with a powerful bent towards nostalgia. Us Baby Busters are clearly not that, and it's certainly starting to show, if the conversations I had yesterday are any indication.

Now, I don't like to drink Pepsi, but I've got to hand it to the "choice of a new generation"; they opted out of a Super Bowl TV ad this year, focusing instead on social media. CBS, and you too, music industry, learn something from Pepsi: let me embed your video. Let me share it with others. Don't just treat me as an eyeball to view your ads. And don't assume I want to use your product to escape.

Engage me. Let me engage with others. It's a win-win, I promise.

^*You have no idea how much I want to write, "you heard that here first. I call trademark dibs!"