From the NY Times article The Surreal Bowl: From Beyoncé to Hip-Hop Halftime
By KELEFA SANNEH
"If the Super Bowl makes people feel patriotic, it is because the game conjures up a feeling of virtual community: people all over the country, watching the same thing at the same time. And the halftime show began with a statement of patriotism. "Choose your team," John Elway said. "Choose your music," Beyoncé said. Soon the screen filled with people asking us to vote, and to get involved — to choose our future, in other words.
But you can't have it both ways, can you? For most viewers, the Super Bowl isn't a chance to choose at all. (If it were, the Carolina Panthers would probably not have been playing.) For most viewers, the Super Bowl is a chance to watch other people's favorite teams, other people's favorite singers. Viewers forswear the pleasures of choice to savor a different kind of pleasure: the pleasure of joining for the sake of joining. After all, that's an American tradition, too."
I just liked that and wanted people to read it.
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