Three Ways of Looking at a Super Bowl

As the name implies, the Super Bowl is a big deal. It’s annually one of the most watched television programs in the world and, this past week, over 90 million people tuned in to watch the Pittsburgh Steelers trump the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. But was that all they saw? Luckily, three of those 90 million write for PopMatters and their readings of the big game describe a cultural event that reveals a lot more than simply which is the best football team. Ross McGowan looks at the (inept) way football is televised and predicts a grim future for the sport, Bill Gibron shows how the game’s much hyped locale of Detroit was made an afterthought by promoters and publicists, and Pittsburgh native Dante Ciampaglia tells us just how much a Super Bowl win can mean to a community.