Forget the winners and losers - both on the field players and coaches, and off the field bettors. What I really want to know is how many chickens gave it up for all the wings they say are consumed. Duff’s in the GTA apparently sell 25,000 wings and people book delivery weeks in advance. Somewhere in the US a delivery place does 3,000 lbs and ships them all over the country.

As much as I am fiercely competitive I have a real soft spot for underdogs and losers. I really want my team to win but then get sentimental and feel bad for the losers, particularly in an event like the Super Bowl. There is just so much effort that goes into getting there and with the emotion and hype that goes along with these “big” events, losing just seems so sad.

The hours and hours of mindless chatter that passes itself off for “game analysis” leaves no doubt that this football championship is all about winning and losing. But if all you know about the Super Bowl is that Green Bay beat Pittsburg then you missed an incredible amount of life. Its fascinating how this event has pushed a long way past a championship game and has become a cultural festival in which for about three hours out of 8 for some and up to a week for many others, a game takes place. I referred earlier to the wings. Over the past week I heard even hard core fans being interviewed who seemed to place at least equal importance on the festivity. For many others the TV commercials and half time show are the real draws. This year’s spectacle with the Black Eyed Peas was a phenomenal celebration of music, technology and presentation.

So maybe there is more to life than winning and life really is worth continuing after a loss. Maybe enjoying all of the festivities with friends, including the game, is worth it. The well timed Weekly Reflection from The Thomas Merton Institute this morning gave us the following:

“the score is not what matters. Life does not have to be regarded as a game in which scores are kept and somebody wins. If you are too intent on winning, you will never enjoy playing. If you are too obsessed with success, you will forget to live. If you have learned only how to be a success, your life has probably been wasted.”
Thomas Merton. Love and Living. (New York: Harcourt) p. 12