What did the TV presentation of the Super Bowl tell us about the American way of life? The contest on the field pitted our muscled heroes slam-banging each other to the turf while intermittently being carted off to receive medical attention. In the stands, cheeseheads and the Steeler nation roared their responses to the action on the gridiron while in the skyboxes the fashionably tailored and coifed elite maintained a more dignified demeanor. During timeouts in the action a barrage of sales pitches portrayed men surrendering their dignity and all else to win the favor of beautiful women until they were confronted by a Bud Light, at which time their instinctive desires took hold; all heads on the sidewalk turning to ogle sleek modeled cars cruising down the boulevard; men, women, boys, girls and babies scuffling to outwit, dupe and maim each other to get possession of the latest electronic gadget; everyone scrambling to sink their teeth into a burger, a pizza or any available edible tidbit. Are we this cravenly materialistic, this shallow? Think of the words that Christina Aguilera almost sang — hmm, could she have inadvertently told us that words are meaningless; that it is our deeds that matter?
— Chester Baran, Gary, Ind.
