Two Views of the Superbowl

Ace at Polipundit points out this piece from the State Department explaining the Superbowl to the rest of the world. (Your tax dollars at work!)

Notice the little jab at individualism, as this bureaucrat identifies what he thinks is most important about the Superbowl: it is a collective experience.

The Super Bowl, which determines the championship of American football, is most of all a shared experience. In a nation where the individual so often does his or her "own thing," Americans disproportionately choose to spend this day in the company of friends. For some, the game is the reason, while others enjoy the pageantry that accompanies the game, advertisers’ efforts to gain attention or simply the company of old friends and new.

As Thomas A. Bowden explains, the Superbowl is not “most of all a shared experience.” It is a display of self-interested goal-achievement. The fact that Americans want to share the fun in Superbowl parties is great, but it is not the essence of the experience.