Super Bowl? How About Super Decadence?

As usual, I watched the Super Bowl this year.  I think I have seen every one, including the first one in 1967 between the Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs.  I’m still waiting and hoping that my Detroit Lions will make it someday!

I had an unexpectedly negative reaction to the event this year.  I was really turned off with the whole production. But please know that this is my issue.  I’m not throwing stones at anyone who may disagree, only offering some of my thoughts.

The Coin Toss

It all started when they flashed back to the coin toss at the beginning of the first Super Bowl.  The participants were the head referee, and two captains from each team.  This year, 56 years later, there was a crowd that included four captains from each team, and a host of other “celebrities”; probably 25-30 people.  That comparison struck me as a reflection of our changing culture.  

Sports Gluttony

Regarding the game, in addition to the coin toss extravaganza, there are two weeks of hype between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.  On game day, the official pregame show goes for about 6 hours, not including all of the other coverage over two weeks.  The halftime show goes for 45-50 minutes, compared to 12-15 in a normal NFL game.  There are jet flyovers (at taxpayer expense), countless interviews and stories about players and others, and many related features and special programming.  And there is the cost.  In 1967, you could go to the game in person for $12 ($105 adjusted for inflation). In 2023, tickets averaged over $5,500! The rising ticket and ad prices are needed to fill the owners’ coffers, who have to pay the millionaires who play the game.

All of this “excess” really provoked me.  The game itself was a good game, close and down to the wire.  And although I didn’t watch the long pregame or halftime show, I still felt like this game and everything associated with it was, to use a food analogy, like gluttony in the extreme! 

Our Cultural Excesses

Our culture has embraced many other excesses since that first Super Bowl.  The national debt in 1967 was about 326 billion (about 2.8 trillion adjusted for inflation).  Today, it is about 31 trillion.  Social media has exploded to give us way too much information.  We have excesses in the areas of sexuality, materialism, and in just about every part of life.  We have been clamoring for, and getting, more of everything the world has to offer. Our ears are constantly being tickled with new products to buy, new experiences, new initials in the gender/sexual category acronyms, etc., etc. etc.!  

Our Cultural Scarcity

But we are experiencing scarcity in the most important thing: God’s Word and his ways.  Amos was a prophet in Israel during the 700s B.C., which had some of the same issues that we have today in our country.  He said this: “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land—not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.” (chapter 8, verse 11).

The government and media are becoming increasingly hostile to God and believers in Jesus.    We have not, as a culture, paid attention to the timeless words of the Creator of the universe!  

Hosea was a prophet and contemporary of Amos.  Hosea wrote of Israel: “She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold—which they used for Baal. (chapter 2, verse 8).

Like Israel, we have been blessed by God with so many material things.  But instead of acknowledging that everything we have is from God, we have bowed to Baal, the ancient “god” of prosperity and materialism. 

What To Do

We, the people of God, can make a difference.   Remember 2 Chronicles 7:14, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  To the extent that we have contributed to the decadence around us, let’s seek God about specific actions we can take based on this scripture.

As for the Super Bowl, I’m not sure if I’m going to watch the game next year or not.  If I do, it may be the game only, possibly even with the sound muted.  But please know that I’m not making any judgments of those who do, or those who enjoy the hoopla associated with it.  This is my opinion, what God is speaking to me about this.  In every area of life, each of us needs to hear what God is saying to us, and do it. I think we can all agree that we need to pray for our country and our people!