Happy Super Bowl Sunday!đđđ»
Looks like weâre going to the movies.
To put it bluntly, weâre not really into sports in this family. Hereâs one example that proves the point.
When we were looking for our first house in West Los Angeles in the early 1980s, we were charmed by how very quiet the neighborhood was. Almost no traffic. Most people were at home apparently enjoying a peaceful Sunday afternoon. Turned out there was a Super Bowl going on and we didnât even know it. We were probably too busy admiring the homeâs interior to tune in to the sounds of cheers, groans and blaring TVâs buzzing forth from homes along the street.
We bought the house and were surprised at how busy the neighborhood actually turned out to be. A giant mall was being built down the street, and eventually we could hardly back out of our driveway for all the cars zooming by.
Moral: Donât go house hunting on Super Bowl Sunday if you want to know what the neighborhoodâs really like!
Many years later, weâd get invited to the home of our friends to watch the Super Bowl, along with a crowd of other parents and kids. We couldnât say no. It was all about the halftime show and the commercials, which I admit were quite entertaining. And the snacksâthough fattening as all get-outâwere pretty great. How could you be opposed to nachos, crockpot chili, chocolate chip cookies, M&Mâs and red velvet cake, even if you hardly knew one team from anotherâand could really care less about who won or lost?
It still feels a little un-American not to be engaged in the Super Bowl. And, food-obsessed person that I am, Iâm always interested in what people are cooking for the occasion. Blogs are filled with suggestions for mouthwatering arrays of finger foods. Hummus, Texas caviar and a chicken tenders and a âcomeback dipâ inspired by Taylor Swift are on the Super Bowl menu offered by Anne Byrn in her Between the Layers blog. She describes her Reuben dip as ânon-partisan and like a creamy Reuben sandwich, full of corned beef, Swiss cheese and even sauerkraut.â Reminds me of a yummy sandwich I used to serve to diners at a Santa Monica coffee shop where I waited tables in the early â80s, hoping for my big journalism break.
Speaking of a big break, I remember actually getting a scoop about a one-minute commercial from Apple (then called Apple Computer) that would run just once in the 1984 Super Bowl at a cost of $1 million. At the time I was working in the L.A. bureau of the trade publication, Advertising Age (now called Ad Age). Loosely based on the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, the ad, directed by director Ridley Scott, fresh from helming production of the sci-fi thriller Blade Runner, became one of the most acclaimed ever.
The groundbreaking commercial introduced Appleâs first Macintosh computer without ever showing the product and changed the fortunes of Apple Computer and, as the New York Times put it last week, âkicked off ⊠the Super Bowl tradition of the big game serving as an annual showcase for gilt-edged ads from Fortune 500 companies.â
Today a 30-second spot airing during the Super Bowl sells for $7 million. And, as Steve Hayden, who had a hand in writing the â1984â ad at Chiat/Day, Appleâs advertising agency in those days, told the Times, the Mac computer, presented as being a game changer and a force for good, has a more murky identity these days.
âThe tools that were originally intended to help free you now are used as a way of enslaving you with conspiracy theories and unproved stories and unsourced news thatâs not really news.â
I wonât be privy to the commercials released during Super Bowl LVIII, but I did make some damn fine chili if I do say so myself! Itâs pretty all-American, except it doesnât include meat and it does include beans, so there are some, specifically in Texas, who may say itâs not genuine chili. But itâs pretty good just the same. Iâll have more to say about it next time.
Happy game day to those of you who are into it. If not, I still recommend you enjoy a few snacks.
Thanks for your likes, shares, comments and subscriptions. Iâm always thrilled to hear from you.
See you soon!
Ruth
Last weekâs journalism issue and now more on the glory days of advertising--we lived parallel lives!
The quote from Steve Hayden is really something and thanks for the link to the Times piece, Ruth!
I have 4 brothers and grew up with sports being on the television and talked about ALL THE TIME â I still remember watching Joe Namath in Super Bowl III ! đ I watched with my nephew today who is here on a sports broadcasting internship â the tradition continues! (we ordered in Buffalo Wings)
Your chili sounds great! â€ïž