On Sunday, February 13, we spent the majority of the afternoon and evening watching the Super Bowl, from the pre-game through the post-game. That’s not always the case on Super Bowl Sunday year to year for us. But this year, the Super Bowl came to our town and hosted our local team. I wanted to know everything that was going on during the broadcast.

What an adventure! The game was tense, too close for comfort, and the teams seemed well matched. Young coaches. Star athletes. And all in a brand-new state-of-the-art stadium that looked spectacular.

The only thing more expensive than the tickets were the TV 30-second commercials. And the stars came out in those! So many celebrities played a role in so many commercials. I lost count, but then who’s counting. I really wasn’t.

I enjoyed Scarlett Johansen’s and Colin Jost’s mini-series of commercials for Amazon Alexa. Dolly Parton and Miley Cirus were entertaining in their commercial, but I didn’t really get it. The Budweiser Clydesdale and dog commercial really tugged at me initially, but it didn’t finish strong. The dog never appeared with the horse again, once the horse was going to be OK. It didn’t show them again in a way that showed the bond they seemed to share. And all the soda-flavored seltzer beer company products. What? OK. I’m not the market, I guess.

I have many friends who are Rams fans and have dreamed of a season like this one. I wanted the Rams to win, which made for a very tense game. I am so, so happy for the team and the fans. When time ran out, the Rams ended the game in the lead. Very exciting! The Rams are World Champions of the NFL 2022. Awesome!

Fireworks filled the night sky with explosions in many neighborhoods, including ours. Not sure if all communities do that when there is a big sporting event win, but it is tradition out here. I do not remember that occurring in any of the other communities where I’ve lived, but maybe it is part of the celebration now.

The Super Bowl pre-game and the half-time show had so many elements and messages. I worked hard to stay open and curious. I need to learn more as I pursue my goal to grow in compassion and understanding towards valued people, to know the other stories out there beyond my own.

Halle Berry did a masterfully edited walk-through tribute to famous football movies. The clips were so quick and moved past so fast. I had no time to recognize them to remember if I’d seen any of those movies. Of course, I had, but my rapid fire recall of scenes and quotes took the day off evidently, as the clips rushed by at light speed. And if you didn’t know before, and you watched the pre-game, you know now that the movie industry is big for our area. Very big. That was clear.

The Black National Anthem was so beautifully performed. The hip-hop half-time show was spectacular and meant so much to so many. I am not too familiar with the artists, but the performance was important and the opportunity was a big deal, honoring the 30-year history of hip-hop and some of the local origins. The age range of the performers caught my interest. Dr. Dre (56), Snoop Dogg (50), Mary J Blige (51), Kendrick Lamar (34), Eminem (49), 50 Cent (46), and Anderson .Paak (36) all performed for the crowd and the huge viewing audience who watched the half-time show.

For me, I’ve now been privileged to be part of two great communities in my lifetime that boast the Super Bowl champs. I lived outside of Chicago in 1986 and celebrated the Chicago Bears’ Super Bowl win. Such a good time! Now I celebrate the Rams victory living outside Los Angeles. Fun times. The difference is that many people around here root for NFL teams other than the Rams, which is so different from the Chicago fans. Everyone seemed to be a Bears fan in that community, and that amplified the pride and joy of that season.

Plus, the Super Bowl took place in Los Angeles! Very cool.

Keep cheering for your favorite team, friends!

P.S. Regarding the photos in this post, so many Super Bowl photos are copyrighted by the NFL or news organizations. At the top, I chose to use a photo of my own, the grass, to allude to the field in order to avoid complications. I used my photo of the plane flying up the west coast to close the post. Blog posts with photos are more interesting. Thanks for understanding.