"Never underestimate the stupidity of people in large groups."
- George Carlin
Hearing about some nutcases who seem deep into a complex plot to sway an election through the entire National Football League plus a world-famous pop star plus her tight end boyfriend... and a dramatic endorsement of a candidate at halftime of the Super Bowl... well, let's just say it's about as over the top as I could imagine.
But there we are. The good news (and I know I'm supposed to be looking for the positives in 2024) is that the entire fantasy will end on Feb. 11... when nothing at all happens at the Super Bowl other than a mind-numbing parade of commercials and what normally is not a very close game.
There could be some dramatic pronouncement at halftime, but I have nickel bet that it won't.
I do hope there are some terrific commercials and that the game comes down to a final play... though I don't really care much about who wins. There are former Hawkeyes on both teams, which feels like a personal connection, though it contains its own fantasy elements. After all, I never saw any of those ex-Hawks play in person while they were at Iowa and don't know much about them.
A selfish reason to hope for some excellent commercials is that I want to incorporate some of them into my Metro State Composing Argument course. After all, a commercial is an argument, either pushing us to spend or to vote or to act in some way, and Super Bowl commercials tend to appeal to a broad audience (with over 100 million watching worldwide).
Students tend to enjoy first watching a quick video and then analyzing HOW the commercial made its case. It's a nice way to "trick" people into doing some rhetorical analysis and I am not above using whatever tactics I can find to nudge my students in that direction.
Of course, it is only occasionally that the "learner" takes the rhetorical strategy to heart and incorporates it into an upcoming essay. But when that does happen it provides just enough motivation for the often-frustrated professor to try again, to create more such opportunities.
Plus, there is the comfort found in simply trying to raise the rhetorical level of students who may spend hours a day scrolling TikTok (which, of course, possesses its own rhetorical strategies). Were I younger and hipper I would certainly find some way to add TikToks to my inventory of rhetorical models... but that seems exhausting to me now. If I were back in a high school classroom? Oh, yes.
Firing up some TikToks would cement my position of fun teacher who is tied into the zeitgeist.
But then I would likely ruin it all by insisting that those students use spell check and complete sentences.
"Oh, Mr. Kennedy. You're so last century."
Someone who is definitely not last century is Taylor Swift, who is a global phenomenon. She is idolized by millions, and she is #1 among a magical run of famous and talented young women who dominate their fields.
Iowa basketball player Caitlin Clark is one of those incredible young women, adored by many though not across the globe (yet). She is just 22, with so much basketball ahead of her, but she seems to transcend the sport much as Ms. Swift transcends music.
But I read that Caitlin ("may I call you Caitlin?") may get squeezed out of the 2024 Women's Olympics team due to sheer numbers, returning starters, etc.
It will be tough for a coach to deny America and the world such a dynamic player on a world stage. In the same way, it is a lock that Ms. Swift will be in Vegas on Feb. 11 for the Super Bowl after flying from Tokyo after a concert and that millions will be thrilled to catch a glimpse of her in a luxury box during the broadcast.
The biggest thrill for me, however, will be when she rushes onto the field and grabs the microphone from Usher and commands the world to vote for Joe Biden. I just hope someone nudges Mr. Biden awake for that moment.
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