There was a moment in tonight’s football practice when a kid turned to one of the coaches and asked, “Why aren’t you voting for the Seahawks if you are wearing green?” Just like that this boy of 8 yrs reduced the complexity of watching and rooting for particular football teams into a laundry room scenario. Still, the boy wasn’t far removed from the truer philosophical questions: Why do we cheer at all, and how do we signify our allegiance?
Over the past week I’ve heard people take sides. It is Montague v. Capulet, Sharks v. Jets, Dukes v. Hoggs, Broncos v. Seahawks. It always boils down to the insider v. outsider/good v. evil binary understanding that we seem to have of human existence. What bugs me is not the level of investment in these symbols of our sameness and difference, but the very idea that the two cannot be united and thus mutually grow from the competition.
We have a binary understanding of how the world works. If we believe in X, well then Y has to be wrong, because somehow it challenges our perceptions of X. Thusly tribes are sprouting up around the idea of these two teams. Seattle is the #1 defense, so their identity is carved out of toughness and willpower. Not coincidentally, this is the team name I originally requested for my 6-7 football team, a squad of never-played-before kids who exude the will to overcome. Denver is flash and dominance; an overwhelming passing attack headlined by a once-in-a-lifetime quarterback who was clearly born to the position. Not coincidentally this was the team name I originally requested for my 8-9 squad, a group of speedy and sure-handed boys led by a pair of QB’s that ache to fling the ball downfield. So, even from the start of the season I recognized the binary nature of these things and fought to unite them in some way.
When the Superbowl kicks off this sunday I’ll be cheering for the Broncos and I’ll be cheering for the Seahawks as well. Both teams are the best at what they do. Both teams earned the right to be there, and both have their extra-orbital superstars that make the competition one of the best ever. I am more interested in watching the cerebral Manning deal with the Legion of Boom than I am in any one team carrying away the show.