Among the gladiators hurling themselves across the field and at each other with a ferocity that will shorten expected lifespans- there will be a player who, in the privacy of his own home, has sex with other men.
Millions of Americans willfully suffer under the illusion that religious faith brings health, wealth and- I kid you not- Super Bowl victories. A recent study by the Public Religion Research Institute found that one-third of the United States believes that God plays a role in determining which team wins the Super Bowl.
Also, a majority – more than one in two- believe that God rewards individual athletes who are faithful to God with success.
In the age of the DVR and the internet, Super Bowl Sunday is America’s High Holy Day for advertisers. On no other day during the calendar year are more people in the United States sharing in the same common experience. Last year, 71 % of households who had a TV turned on were tuned into the big game. In an age with 9 thousand channels on your boob tube plus the endless nooks and crannies of the Internet, to produce a communal experience like the Super Bowl is a marvel. With so many people watching – and watching the commercials, what can we learn about ourselves by what advertisers are trying to sell us, and the tactics they use to get us to identify with their brand?
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