Super Bowl Sunday. When I was in middle school, I would have thought that this day was a national holiday. All day long, I would be giddy with excitement for the big game. I remember that ESPN would show NFL Films recaps of past Super Bowls, in order, throughout the day. I would watch every one! The music of NFL Films and John Facenda’s deep voice made everything about the Super Bowl feel larger than life. It did not matter the teams that played, I just imagined that the whole world must be waiting with bated breath, like me, for kick off.
I have written before about the importance of football in my life, so one might assume that I still would be crazy about the Super Bowl. Somewhere between 1985 and the present, however, Super Bowl Sunday lost its shine. I still find time in my schedule to watch, but it is not that monumental day that it once was.
As I was reflecting on this, I was wondering if my seventh-grade self would have believed this to be the case. I am pretty certain that Ricky Johnson of the mid-80s would be incredulous, and probably a little disappointed in the way that his adult-self views the Super Bowl.
This then led me to reflect on the current students at The Beech Hill School. What will they remember with a gauzy nostalgia from their lives in 30 to 40 years only to have its importance fade as they age. Will it be something like the Super Bowl, Harry Potter or maybe it will be an activity that they think defines their life? It is hard to know how tastes, priorities and lives will change through the years.
This I know - I loved those old Super Bowl Sundays, and I am so glad that my family would let me get excited, stay up past my bedtime and have a great day geeking out on football. While there is no doubt that the current group of middle schoolers will change so much in the years to come, I hope that we support their current passions and excitements, even knowing that it could just be a passing phase, so that when they reflect on their middle school years, they too will have fond memories.
As a side note, when writing this, I looked up an old NFL Films video on YouTube. The sound of the music and John Facenda’s voice already made this year’s Super Bowl Sunday a winner for me!