A look at the Super Bowl

On Sunday night, I, like the rest of America, will be watching the Super Bowl. Tom Brady… On Sunday night, I, like the rest of America, will be watching the Super Bowl. Tom Brady will lead the Patriots to their second Super Bowl in three seasons. As for underdog Carolina, they beat the Eagles, so that is good enough for me as far as the game and the teams involved go.

I really do not have a favorite going into Sunday’s game. To be honest, football is not my favorite sport, so, needless to say, I am easily amused by the entertainment value of things like the unforgettable commercials and halftime shows.

With approximately half the population being of the female gender, there are going to be quite a few ladies out there watching the Super Bowl on Sunday night.

You’ll have the football fan and the sports fan watching because they genuinely want to. There are more of these out there than we all realize sometimes.

Then there are the girls who watch just because of their boyfriends. I am sure you know the type; they sit there and ask what is going on the entire game.

Then, since the world stops for Super Bowl Sunday, there really isn’t anything else on TV to watch anyway.

So with that being said, out comes my major gripe with the Super Bowl and all sports in general: Why does it seem that sporting events cater only to the viewing desires of men.

Granted, without making a generalization to offend anyone, I do understand that, for a lot of guys out there, beer, sports and girls are the only things that can hold their attention. Making commercials with any or all three of these items keep the male population happy.

Girls in bikinis drinking beer, half-naked women engaging in pillow fights, American Chopper spots, halftime Lingerie Bowls on Pay Per View, NFL Hall of Famer Mike Ditka proudly discussing erectile dysfunctions in Levitra commercials, big trucks and cars — it’s all so very phallic in nature.

So as I sit down Sunday, drinking my beer — or beers — I am going to ask myself, as I do when I watch any sporting event on TV, besides the love of the game, what is in this for me?

I guess maybe asking for some male eye candy from the advertisers that spend millions of dollars for a spot during the Super Bowl is just too much.

Just once, I would like to see a handful of Paul Walker look-alikes bare-chested in tight jeans, drinking a beer or selling a car.

Or why can’t Josh Duhamel seductively guzzle down a Pepsi for us or John Mayer play his guitar and sing a song for Ford?

The guys watching the Super Bowl have to make a trip to the bathroom at some point in the evening, and it certainly won’t be while half-naked women are on the screen or during the actual game. We need a compromise here.

I will give CBS some credit though. They did yank a racy advertisement submitted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The commercial featured a girly pillow fight, sexual references to “sausage” and “melons,” and a close-up view of the male anatomy in all its glory.

Although sexual appeal for women during sporting events seems to always be limited to the tight pants worn by the players on the field, at least the Super Bowl has a lineup of musical entertainment that pleases everyone.

Beyonce Knowles is slated to sing the National Anthem for the Super Bowl, and MTV is coordinating the halftime show. This year’s festivities will feature Janet Jackson, P. Diddy, Nelly and Kid Rock. The last time MTV produced a Super Bowl halftime show, it featured the memorable Aerosmith, *NSYNC and Britney Spears act.

So the ladies watching the game on Sunday do get some consideration when it comes to the half-time show, with Nelly and P. Diddy performing. As for Kid Rock, I guess that’s just a matter of opinion.

I do realize that guys are the target audience when it comes to football and all sporting events, but as a female, it would be nice to have some perks. Because when you think about it, compromise is all that girls really ever want.

Shaunna Stuck is a staff writer for The Pitt News and believes in compromise, only if she gets her own way.