My Name Is Rich Frost And I Didn't Watch The Super Bowl

I think the newspaper reports said that some 108 million people watched the Super Bowl on Sunday evening. The newspaper stories go on to say that this was a record breaking Super Bowl with more people watching the game than had watched the final episode of “M*A*S*H”. That’s a whole lot of people – and believe it or not – I wasn't one of them. Yup, My name is Rich Frost and I didn't watch the Super Bowl – I didn't go to any Super Bowl parties – and I didn't have a bet on the final score or who was going to win. Incredible, huh?

If you think that it’s easy to be out of the “Super Bowl” loop – think again. If you don’t believe me – next year I want you to try avoid the Super Bowl hype and influence that is all around you during those last couple of weeks leading up to the game. You pick up a newspaper – there’s all of the Super Bowl stories and next to the stories are ads with people trying to associate their products and services to the big game. When are retailers going to realize that you can have a Super Bowl Sale on Super Bowl Sunday? People want to watch the game – they don’t want to shop…oh well.

Not only was I not one of the 108 million eyes tuned to the Super Bowl – I also didn't get to see or even hear one minute of a half-time show featuring “The Who”. Did I miss anything? I don’t think so. There’s nothing really sexy about a sixty-plus lead singer in a rock n’ roll band swinging around a microphone singing, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss” and shouting that “We won’t fooled again!” C’mon!!!! Who are the Who singing about – they’re all old enough to have oatmeal mush and drool coming out of their mouths in some rock n’ roll nursing home – why are they doing a half-time show at the Super Bowl?

How did I avoid not getting caught in all of the hype on Super Bowl Sunday? Well…you can have your year and a half and three year old grand children spend the day with you. The little ones are good teachers for adults when it comes to things to not give a damn about. You see, grand children are more concerned about whether Grandma and Grandpa have a pantry that’s well stocked with chocolate donuts and cheese puffs; and they’d rather be watching “Dora the Explorer” or “Sponge Bob Square Pants” than watch a overpaid jock readjusting his cup in between plays. I’m sure that once they get older – they’ll change their views about the Super Bowl…but for right now…you could douse John Madden with gasoline and set him on fire on the sidelines and the grand kids wouldn't bat an eye.

There’s another way to avoid the hype of Super Bowl Sunday….you could grab a book and sit in your favorite chair and get lost in some of the great works of the classic authors. J. D. Salinger died recently – you could crack open a copy of “Catcher in the Rye “and read it – while 108 million other people are tuned into the football game on CBS. You could…and like me…you probably didn't.

I shouldn't admit what I was doing when the Super Bowl was being played – because you’ll only laugh --- and dare I say – call me the biggest pussy on the planet earth. Yup, while the Super Bowl was being played – my girlfriend and I were sitting comfortably in front of the television set watching an episode of “Chopped” that I had recorded off of the Food Network on the DVR. After a new “Chopped” champion was crowned – our attention went to a two-hour movie – not HBO, Showtime or Starz – nope – we sat and watched a totally unforgettable two-hour movie about a woman with amnesia who was having some doubts about her “fiancé” that aired on the Lifetime Movie Network. (I told you that you’d call me a pussy.) It was one of those bad movies that you had to sit through to the conclusion, because you know that the people making it knew it was as bad as you thought it was.

Yup…I totally avoided the Super Bowl on Super Bowl Sunday. And all of the commercials that aired during the Super Bowl game – I didn't get to see any of those either – including the controversial abortion ad. Well, life goes on, they say. They’re will be other Super Bowls. I’ll have my chance next year to join the millions who get taken in by all of the hype and hoopla and maybe I’ll even give a damn about the game….but this year wasn't going to be one of those years.

My name is Rich Frost and I didn't watch the Super Bowl.