Super Bowl XLV

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, and like most Americans I will be watching the game. Even though I will be watching alone, I'm getting in the spirit and bought guacamole dip. I love guacamole but it's so fattening that it's a rare treat.

I have no rooting interest in the game, but it figures to be a good one. It features two of the oldest franchises in the game, the Green Bay Packers, who have more NFL titles than any other team, and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who, if they win, would have more Super Bowl titles than any other team. (Unfortunately for the Packers, most people seem to have forgotten everything from the pre-Super Bowl era--a commentator this morning mentioned that they have three titles, but that's only counting Super Bowls).

When it comes down to it, though, I will probably be rooting for the Packers. The Steelers have won twice recently, and they would seem to have more "bad" guys than the Packers. I was talking with someone at work who said that it seems like every team has their own collection of felons, scoundrels, and rogues, which is true, but the Steelers seem to have more than their fair share. James Harrison, who was fined several thousand dollars for illegal hits, and Hines Ward, voted the dirtiest player in the game, are prominent Steelers, and then there's quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

This NFL season carried the theme of redemption, embodied by two players--Roethlisberger and Michael Vick. The latter, who went to federal prison for cruelty to dogs, emerged as an exciting player for the Philadelphia Eagles. His team came up short in getting to the Super Bowl, but he went a long way toward mending his image. I appreciate his effort to redeem himself, but I will never be able to root for him. I wish him well, and hope he's never allowed near a dog again.

Roethlisberger, who was not indicted for any crime, was suspended for four games by the league for behavior detrimental to football, stemming from an incident in a Georgia nightclub. A woman accused of him of a criminal case of "busy hands," but the case was dropped. As to Roethlisberger's guilt of innocence, I have no idea, but it's clear to me that the man was certainly guilty of a sense of entitlement, of thinking that because he's an NFL player that he lives by a different set of rules than ordinary people.

I find it interesting, and completely natural, that winning is the best way to resurrect a reputation. Last summer there were many Pittsburgh fans who said that they wanted to get rid of him. I wonder if those same people will be heartily rooting him on in today's game. I'm not judging these people--I'd probably do the same thing if it were my team. It does call into question the reasons why we root for the teams that we root for. What would cause our allegiance to shift--the off-field behavior of a player? What would be have to do to change a perhaps life-long rooting interest in a particular team? As Jerry Seinfeld said in one of his routines, we really root for the clothes, not the person wearing them. I'm sure a psychologist would attribute it to the basic instinct for humans to want to be part of a tribe. As long as he's one of us, even creeps like Ben Roethlisberger earn cheers.

I think Roethlisberger and his mates will figure out a way to win today. Steelers 19, Packers 16.