Folks protest the Redskins football team for a purportedly racist name, but the “Patriots” are celebrated, at least here in Boston. One of the main agenda items for the American Revolutionaries (not to be confused with “rebels”) was stealing land from Native Americans west of the Proclamation Line, established down the spine of the Appalachians by the British in 1763. Many of the actual “patriots” stood to gain what would today be billions of dollars in wealth if this ban on white settlement could be eliminated. (start with “Washington as Land Speculator” from the Library of Congress)
Shouldn’t folks who care about football and Native Americans be demanding that the New England Patriots change their name? And be more passionate on this issue than on the Redkins?
Separately, what about the T-Mobile ad where babies with different skin colors were featured to illustrate the company’s commitment to various virtuous values, e.g., “you come with open minds and the instinct that we are equal. … You’ll demand fair and equal pay.” The company advocating equality pays its CEO 178 times more than a median employee (payscale.com). What about the context in which the ad appeared? What would be “fair and equal pay” for most of us to run out on the field and participate in an NFL game? Does it make sense to say “we are all equal” in the middle of a sport in which few of us can compete? How long would a 100 lb. 70-year-old TV viewer last on the scrimmage line?
Readers: What were your personal Super Bowl highlights? My most vivid memory is the communal kissing of the trophy at the end of the contest. A ritual in which each person touches or kisses a metal object seems like a bad idea during flu season!
Related:
My personal highlight was watching the singer/rapper who performed at halftime and seeing how comically his band was faking their music. Apparently it was all canned.
Why even call the performance “live”?
OT
I didn’t quite understand the Black Cu commercial, or something spelled similarly.
Scrubbing the the YouTube highlights reel, I was amazed at seeing a few passes…bounce off an empty patch grass. Seriously, with all that training and practice, nobody could even try to catch it?
I wouldn’t have even touched the trophy during flu season let alone kiss it
Unless ‘competing’ means something else in the colonies, ‘a 100 lb. 70-year-old TV viewer’ might die immediately on the scrimmage line, but the fatality would occur when said old timer is competing (or attempting to do so). Equality of access to the gladiator pit does not imply equality of survival.
My favorite play was Tom Brady on his ass while Philadelphia recovered his fumble. The ads were on their ass too. It was quite a game and makes me wonder if offense has a permanent advantage as heavy contact is dialed back.
gladiator pit -> workplace
survival -> pay
@Federico: FTFY