Super Waste of Money

When it comes to the Super Bowl, money is typically no object. You have people shelling out thousands of dollars for tickets, parking, memorabilia and just about anything else you can think of when making the trip to the biggest football game of the season. Then, of course, you have the fans at home who throw Super Bowl parties, throwing down uncharacteristically large amounts of money on food, alcohol and, for some, new wide-screen televisions. However, on game day, the most extravagant spending of all is revealed during the in-game breaks – commercials. While companies spend millions upon millions of dollars to get their product advertised during what has become the most anticipated commercial day in history, there are some ads that leave the masses disappointed.

Among the most talked about Super Bowl commercials this year were the Volkswagen "Force" ad with the kid dressed up as Darth Vader and the Bridgestone "Carma" commercial with the life-saving beaver. Personally, my favorite commercials this year were those that featured Doritos namely the "Pug Attack" ad when the guy is taunting the dog with a chip and eventually ends up on the business end of a glass door. Regardless, the people in this country have come to know and love Super Bowl Sunday for, not only the game, but also the entertainment value of the commercials and big-name performances. While I admittedly think this year was lacking in the performance department with the Black Eyed Peas, that wasn't even one of my biggest concerns.

Remember after Christina Aguilera butchered the National Anthem (sadly, she could have saved herself some embarrassment by just lip-syncing), there was a flyover of the stadium by four F-18 Hornets? While there are many people out there wondering why the fly over even took place since the roof of Cowboys Stadium was closed, the United States Armed Forces have been doing those flyovers for years, even at domed stadiums. It doesn't make a lot of sense in that regard, but, for me, the cost for our military to perform these ceremonial flights is what makes me question their necessity. That whole five-second flyover of the Dallas Cowboys' new stomping grounds reportedly cost the government $450,000. While no one in the stadium was actually able to see the jets, part of the intent of the flyover was to entertain the at-home audiences. Now, I don't know about everyone else, but I could have gone on with my life just as well had I not seen the jets soar across the sky before kickoff. And now that I know how much it cost, the entertainment value is lost on me.

After being called out on the cost, the military rebutted, saying that the Super Bowl flyovers are figured into the Navy's annual budget and deemed training exercises. Don't get me wrong, I understand the purpose of training exercises, but I have a hard time accepting the fact that the government spent nearly a half a million dollars on fuel, personnel and who knows what else to fly the jets to Arlington, Texas, from Virginia Beach, Va., to perform said training. I mean, just imagine the hundreds of different ways that money could have been used to better the nation and the economy. On second thought, don't. It might make you sick to your stomach.

Jennie Oemig
Staff Writer
Trempealeau County Times