"Billie Joe Armstrong belting out American Idiot during the pregame show under his motionless meringue of fogey-blond hair: were they a sign? A New England Patriots team who were neither favored to win nor widely reviled, then promptly repaid a grateful public by losing: was this the Super Bowl which proved that history really can move on, that America is not fated to remain hostage to the tremors and hatreds of the past?"
"And yet, the absent autocrat still weighed on proceedings, his curdling influence turning every moment and gesture on Sunday into a referendum on the prospects for a post-Trumpian sporting future. Could football be normal again? The Seahawks and the Patriots did their part by offering up a game of punishing defense and attritional offense that had all the carefree charm of a medieval torture procedure. Can football be normal again?"
Roger Federer, Adam Sandler, Jon Bon Jovi and Billie Joe Armstrong appeared at the Super Bowl amid questions about symbolism and cultural direction. A New England Patriots team lost despite not being heavily despised or favored, prompting questions about historical change and national temperament. Donald Trump was absent and the scheduled F‑22 flyover was withdrawn, amplifying speculation about political calculation and residual influence. The game itself was dominated by punishing defense and grinding offense, emphasizing a grim, attritional spectacle. Moments and gestures across the event continued to read as tests of whether sport can return to normalcy after political entanglement.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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