PLATFORM : Football and War

There is no doubt that this war is being marketed far better than Vietnam and, like the Vietnam era, the language of football folds neatly into the language of war. Marketing the war and marketing the Superbowl are similar enterprises with similar styles, emphasizing male virility and a kick-ass attitude, with a strong dose of patriotism thrown in--think of the American flag decals on helmets about the time the playoffs started.

What is significantly different about the ’91 Superbowl halftime show and those of the Vietnam era is a more clever manipulation of symbols. We still have the flag, but we also have rainbows and doves. The message this time is that we are really making peace by making war and killing people--that if innocents are killed, it’s in the name of peace and the “new world order.”

I had been through these feelings before as a player and had protested the NFL using myself and my teammates to promote the Vietnam War. The Superbowl is a contest to determine professional football’s champion. It should not be a propaganda vehicle for the government.

(The players) are being used in an attempt to create the chilling notion that pro football is war and war is pro football. War is horror, killing, maiming and destruction. Pro football is tough, even brutal at times, yet also ecstatic and ultimately life-affirming. The public spectacle we witnessed in this year’s Superbowl obscures the gravity and reality of war, and trivializes the men and women who are fighting it.