Super Bowl XLII, Divine Half Time Program

In his column this week Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer has come up with an idea to come up with a decent half time show that is almost 100% guarenteed to not have a wardrobe malfunction: Gregorian Chant. Fr. Euteneuer is realistic about how well it will go over: "Granted, they probably wouldn't be satisfied with the Gregorian chant that I would suggest." So what inspIred him to make this suggestion? Super Bowl XLI!

No, not the Super Bowl per se, but, as he says in the article: "(I)t's just the embarrassing cultural junk that goes with it that has me worried." & not just an embarrassment but a Super Embarrassment. "Think of it. The entire world gets a three-hour window into American culture one Sunday a year, and what they see will determine in large part what they think of us. . . . . there also has to be some disdain if not contempt for what we display as our "way of life." " What kind of an image does the whole Super Bowl show present? How do we present our way of life?

By putting on a show "punctuated by some of the most salacious commercials that corporate America can dredge up to sell lite beer, Doritos, hair color, Chevys, Pepsi, Pepsi and more Pepsi. . . . . that's the image of bloated America that the rest of the impoverished world will see." Not a pretty sight, is it?

But that isn't the worst of it. "The greatest Super Bowl embarrassments, however, are turning out to be the half time shows." This year's show will feature the artist "Once Again Known as Prince", the "androgynous little icon to American cultural decadence". While I have enjoyed some of Prince's music, Father is right in calling him "the master of perversion". 1 of Prince's hits was a song that even had to have the title edited to be able to even say it on air, "You Sexy MF". (For the unitiated the closest I can say is that MF stands for maternal incest.) I hope CBS remembers Janet Jackson's performance & that they have a 5 second delay & a bleeper button ready.

It hasn't always been that way. As Father points out the "Super Bowl has featured in its history such class acts as Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Pete Fountain, Al Hirt and even Up With People and the US Marine Corps Drill Team". He's right, they use to have class acts. On its website, the list of performers is called the Super Bowl Halftime Honor Roll. Up to a few years ago it was. Now, the way we are presented is una disgrazia, un imbarazzo.

& how about the money spent on the advertising. The fortune that is poured into developing & producing the ads. & what about the cost to air them? As Father says: "And are we really okay with admitting that US businesses are paying $2.6 million per 30-second spot this year? I'm sorry but that's just obscene. I don't even have to be an advocate of the plight of the world's poor to blush at that. Yeah, I know, it's the market right?"

"America has so much more to offer the world! What about the faithfulness of the 100,000 people who braved the cold to stand up in defense of innocent lives at the March for Life last week? What about bravery of the men and women who serve our country as firefighters, paramedics, police officers and soldiers risking their lives to serve others? The Super Bowl should show the true colors of the land of the free and the home of the brave and leave the cultural garbage out."

I agree!