BOSTON -- Fox tried its hardest to make this year's Super Bowl a celebration of American patriotism. They redid the Super Bowl logo from a Bourbon Street inspired bourbon-colored logo, to a graphic of the continuous states in red, white and blue. America's biggest sporting event was refigured to celebrate our nation, praise our heroes, make millions of dollars and give us a decent game.
The audience received the greatest Super Bowl comeback, upset and game ever. Fox and the NFL saw ratings increase over previous years, bringing in millions. Our heroes were honored--both of the gridiron and of real life. But our patriotism? Well, thanks to Fox, our patriotism was slathered in schmaltz.
At Gillian's (next to Fenway Park), my party arrived a couple of hours before the game began--it was Super bowl Sunday and we needed a seat. All the big screens were lit up with the pre-game show. Even though it was filled with Paul McCartney talking about freedom, four living presidents and one ex-first lady reciting the words of Lincoln and score of former and current athletes reciting the Declaration of Independence, no one in the bar paid much attention to the pregame. People were focused on the usual pregame traditions--guzzling beer, ordering nachos and shooting bull with other fans.
One really cannot blame these patriots for thinking about their Patriots and ignoring the profit-driven patriotism of the pregame. McCartney's post-Sept. 11 anthem is nothing more than a bad rehash of about fifty Beatles songs. The presidents' reading Lincoln's words included cuts to a man dressed as Lincoln, complete with beard. This "Lincoln" was nodding affirmatively as former president Jimmy Carter recited his words--maybe it was to give his approval, or perhaps it was to groove with the Boston Pops' overly ominous music.
Even more disturbing was the reading of the Declaration of Independence. The athletes involved demonstrated a surprisingly high degree of speaking prowess (even former congressman and professional quarterback Jack Kemp!). But three men dressed in colonial clothes--portraying Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and John Hancock--tossing out vacuous comments like "that's a fine declaration" or "let me sign that declaration" was too much. I was waiting for Betsy Ross to show up, looking strangely like Bonnie Bernstein.
The real patriotism of Fox's big show came during halftime, and it came from a foreigner who has largely adopted this country as his own.
That man--Bono, lead singer of U2.
After the first half of the game, with the Patriots leading 14-3, the fans at Gillian's were roaring. Even though every Pats fan has claimed that he has believed in the team's chances, there is no question that they were astonished to be leading the game. I must admit, I said "Patriots by three" right before the game, but that was mostly to appease the Boston fans I was sitting by. I was really there for the U2 half-time show. I feared that the bar's owners would turn the station to NBC's lame "Playboy playmate Fear Factor," in order to keep the good times and the beer rolling.
Thankfully, he stuck with Bono.
The crowd mostly ignored the start of the halftime show, as U2 played the crowd-pleasing "Beautiful Day." The tone changed only somewhat when U2 started playing "MLK" as the names of Sept. 11 victims scrolled up a mammoth screen at the back of the stage. As "MLK" blended into "Where the Streets have No Name," and as the names climbed to the top of the Superdome, the crowd was only slightly more interested in the halftime show. Sure, they were rocking to the music, but there were few of us who were captivated, driven to tears by the emotionally charged song. The bar noise had diminished some and more people were watching, but still it was largely about beer.
And then, the short Irish rocker electrified the crowd with a simple gesture. At the end of the third song, Bono showed off the inside of his jacked. Stitched inside was the red, blue and white stars of an American flag. The bar erupted in applause. All eyes were on that banner of freedom on the inside of the frontman's jacket.
We have been deluged with attempts at patriotism for the past five months--some as hokey as Fox's pregame tributes or the travel industry's tiresome sing-a-long with President George W. Bush. Because of its simplicity, Bono's gesture meant more. At that moment, something clicked. The subtle reference to our challenged nation should serve as a model for our future patriotism.
Patriotism starts simple and waxes complex as we try to find reverential ways to express our great national pride. Americans have begun to turn the corner--the Super Bowl's halftime show was a brilliant expression of the adjustment. As we work to find a way to move forward without forgetting, it is going to be more about subtlety than about patriotic grandstanding. On the largest stage in America, one man found a way to show bigness with a little gesture. May we see more of the same.
Trinity senior Martin Barna is projects editor of The Chronicle and film editor of Recess.
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