What a display of militarism at the Super Bowl - Beyonce' Knowles escorted arm in arm on to the field by a general, while attack helicopters similar to or identical to those which killed thousands of people in Indochina and in the Middle East, hovered ahead. It was like a festival of death. Apparantly the macho display was intended to implant in the minds of young working class men the idea that the military is cool, that pop singers and football players love it, and wearing a uniform makes you some kind of celebrity yourself rather than a serf who is insulted and ordered around at will by some brain damaged, sadistic non-commisioned officer and then sent off to kill peasants and to have his legs blown off. Not a word of criticism about this appeared in the commercia media, though, just hysteria from hypocrits who claimed that they were shocked by the sight of Janet Jackson's breast. Incredible.

That being said, the performance was a bad idea. The dance routing Ms. Jackson and her partner went through was supposed to portray a man pursuing a woman who was hard to get or at least pretending to be hard to get. He solved the problem by ripping off part of her blouse. Now, what kind of message does this send to teenage boys - a big part of the audience? Probably that women who say no are really saying yes and that they really like you to do things like rip their clothing off. Nothing like encourageing rape, sexual harassment, and 17 year-olds winding up with prison sentences and ruined lives. Janet seemed to be having a good time playing an irresistable woman pursued by a younger man, but she should have considered the message this was sending - that was the problem, not the bared breast.

Meyer...you are simply a buffoon and an embarrassment.

Is there any part of your soul that isn't quaking and moaning in fear and hyperbole?

How right you are Meyer! This is one reason why I categorically refuse to EVER watch the Stupor Bowl. It really does glorify violence with all the military hardware it usually showcases, and totally treats killing and rampant militarism as just another macho sport, like football! Good analogy comparing the fuss over the Janet Jackson gaffe to Ashcroft's covering up the statue's breasts. But yes, I agree the whole theme of that performance was wrong too. Rape fantasies to go along with the macho militarism - yeccch!

There was a great interview a year or so ago in the Advocate with Gale Harold, the actor who plays Brian Kinney on Showtime's series Queer as Folk. Harold mentioned how he figured out very young that some competitive team sports, especially football, really ARE a way to whip up the emotions of young men so that later on this "team spirit" thing can easily be exploited by the military and its brainwashing techniques.

I'll be sure to send your article out to friends. You rock!

Thanks, Val. There are two great books on the topic of football culture - Meat on the Hoof and Friday Night Lights.

Would either of you two please give some examples of this rampant militarism in past super Bowls.

I'm curious why I've missed all this military hardware you two claim is clogging the Super Bowl broadcast.

Get over it Meyer. The helicopters were there to honor our military personnel, or maybe it just wasn't obvious enough for you.

Further, your comments about what military life is like are clearly the comments of someone with exactly ZERO military experience. Do you always go on half cocked rants about things you know absolutely nothing about? What's next, a rant about quantun field theory?

Get over yourself and your hyperventilated sensitivity. I'd recommend getting a job. There must be a Marine Corp recruiting office somehwere in your area.

Damn. I missed it. My friend said Jackson was wearing a tassel, so, I will just assume it's a publicity stunt.

The militarism's no suprise. There were plenty of pro-USA things on the commercials too. MoveOn was right about being shut out for their politics. At some level, they probably expected it. The big media, especially the top people, support the military occupation, as usual. They're pretty much completely into the idea of imperialism and expansion, as usual. When have they been otherwise? If it bleeds, it leads.

But I digress a whole lot. I just wanted to point out that football is a military sport full of war metaphors. That's why people like it -- it reminds them of battle: armies marching down the battlefield, securing territory, delivering payloads into enemy territory.

Granted, it's more like the old style of battlefield contests, and not the high tech remote control war, or the guerrilla war that we fight today. You don't have plays named "the leftover land mine" or "cancer from depleted uranium" or "shoot the bystander" or "round up the minorities" or "install the dictator". Nor does the victorious team remove the sod and sell it to the people in the luxury pavilion, but, we never really think about those aspects of the real war either.

Did you ever wonder how the beer companies get exclusive rights to an entire stadium full of thirsty football fans? Maybe someone at Halliburton knows.

"There were plenty of pro-USA things on the commercials too."

Imagine that!

Now how the hell did that slip through?

Oh, the horror! The horror!

hockey, boxing, rugby, murder ball are all "hammer the enemy" sports, head on, and grind their bones up, for the fans. Makes good entertainment.

George Carlin: In football you have the bomb, the blitz, the Offence&Defence, the GridIRON, and in baseball you have the sacrifice.

Go to any parade and most community events, you’ll see the little kids in army establishment garb, junior style. You’ll see the old Vets marching through the past to the “good war”.

Nothing else can explain how we follow an idiot like Bush.

"you’ll see the little kids in army establishment garb, junior style. "

As well you should.

Would you prefer they parade around in soccer garb or Alan Alda t-shirts?

We should stage battles during parades. The JROTC should divide into two armies, and then go at each other with bayonettes and stab each other. The bands can provide the music.

It would save us the millions of dollars it takes to ship people out and have them killed.

A lot of very good writers have written books about baseball, both fiction and nonfiction. It seems to be a game that appeals to intellectuals and field hands, classical musicians and street sweepers. The only good books about football, like the two I mentioned, seem to denounce it for promoting conformity, militarism, sexism, authoritarianism, brutality, aggression, reactionary politics, or just plain mean-spiritedness. Do you think that maybe the writers are on to something?

they called him "Wild Thing". chubby, longhair and enjoying every min. said: "I'm not an athlete, I'm a baseball player."

That comes pretty close.

That was John Kruk who said that. He played first.

The "Wild Thing" was Mitch Williams, the closer for the Phillies in '93. He gave up the walkoff homer to Joe Carter in Game five which lost Philly the series.

That was the end of his carreer for all intents and purposes.

I have to say that, for onece, I am happy to say that I agree with Meyer.

Baseball is without a doubt the only intellectual sport we have, and I'd argue anyone on that.

I can watch pretty much any sport during a Championship but that's about it.

Maybe I just don't get the others but they all seem sorta mindless.

Don't even get me started on basketball.

I could write forever about baseball, my true passion.

But then, Meyer would undoubtedly rethink his whole, "baseball is for intellectuals" idea. LOL.

Williams almost lost his life, btw...death threats, forced to move, etc.etc., sheesh--1 pitch...like playing soccer in S.America or Iraq.

But it's fun going to a Dodger game. Tickets are pretty cheap, the food is okay, and the crowd is mellow. So what if they lose.

Minor league ball is fun too.

Basketball is the most fun to watch on tv. WNBA is cool too.

Football lags, and is too technical.

I hate to admit it here, but I like boxing, mostly the lighter weight classes. Haven't watched it in ages though.

The most dramatic sport is sumo, because it looks like nothing is happening.

I hate sports fans.