By Bill Simons

The Super Bowl has become a national holiday. On February 11, Super Bowl LIX attracted nearly 128 million viewers. Another 65,719 fans paid big money to watch the game in person at New Orleans’ Caesars Superdome. President Donald Trump and musical phenom Taylor Swift headed the in-person celebrity list. Even non-fans attended home and formal Super Bowl parties.
Yet, highly anticipated commercials turned out to be strangely bland. Rapper Kendrick Lamar’s halftime performance proved more controversial than entertaining. And the expected close game between the Philadelphia Eagles’ gigantic line and quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs, seeking a three-peat, turned out to be a blowout. Ahead 24-0 at halftime, the Eagles won 40-22. 
Although there were no Jewish players on field this year, media, history, fans and management ensured a Jewish presence. Pre-Super Bowl, quarterback Sid Luckman led the Chicago Bears to a 73-0 rout of the Washington Redskins in the 1940 NFL championship. History records the four consecutive appearances of Buffalo Bills Coach Marv Levy; New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman was Super Bowl LIII MVP.
Through commercials, Patriots owner Robert Kraft called out bigotry, and Billy Crystal returned to Katz’s Delicatessen to riff interfaith romance. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro was there to collect on a bet with Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe. General Manager Howie Roseman built Philadelphia’s championship team and owner Jeff Lurie funded the assets needed by the Eagles. 
From our hilltop home in Central New York, my wife Nancy indulged me by warming up frozen pizza as we watched the game. In Greater Boston, our cheerleader granddaughter Hannah and her younger brother Dan, who harbors quarterback dreams and wants Madden NFL 25 for his birthday, rooted for the Eagles, while munching wings with their parents: their siblings Lily, Isaac and Eva showed little interest in the gridiron. My sister Jo Ann took satisfaction in the outcome of the game: “All true New England Patriots fans, and I count myself among them, were rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles. Not for our great love for them, but to preserve our beloved Patriots in the record books.” 
Checking in with several Jewish friends and readers concerning their level of interest in Super Bowl LIX, brought forth varied responses, several conveying little enthusiasm. Retired editor and sportswriter Sam Pollak, who covered Super Bowls III and V, reported, “Now… the only football fan in my household, I watched the game by myself and did crosswords. As for the non-competitive game, it was like watching a lion eat.” Ron Feldstein, formerly director of the student union at SUNY Oneonta, retorted, “The best part of the annual Super Bowl is that its conclusion marks the beginning of the baseball season.” Emeritus physician Rich Cohen found it dull, while conjuring up nostalgia for games past: “My current lack of interest was not always the case… I remember the heartbreak of KC defeating my Vikings also in New Orleans in 1970. The halftime show was a re-enactment of the Battle of New Orleans. Bodies all over the place!!” 
The game also elicited a memory from my cousin Robert Benson: “It was Super Bowl Sunday, 1976. My first wife and I… stop for breakfast in Marietta, GA. As the waitress approached our table, she looks around to make sure she can’t be heard, leans into us, and asks in a deep Southern whispered drawl, ‘Excuse me, are ya’ll Jewish?’ I answer softly that yes, we are Jewish. The waitress looks around the restaurant again to check that no one can overhear, and then she leans further into us and… whispers, ‘Me, too!’” 
Barney Horowitz, adult education chairman at Congregation B’nai Sholom in Albany, confided, “I did… watch three quarters of the Eagles’ beatdown on Sunday night at my friend’s house – the highlight being getting to eat the delicious baked wings he made.” In Philadelphia, Reconstructionist rabbi and scholar Rebecca Alpert battled COVID, although she was happy the Eagles won. New York City social studies teacher David Lonborg pointed to political intrusion: “We went to the annual Super Bowl party at my brother-in-law’s house… a pretty lackluster game with a rather disappointing halftime show and certainly not the most creative commercials. Plus, our illustrious commander-in-chief found a way to make it all about him.” 
Nor did former SUNY Oneonta Psychology Chairman Steve Gilbert prioritize the game: “I turned on the game at the exact instant of the first kickoff, thereby avoiding endless hours of hysterical hype. At the end of the first half, I declared the game over and turned it off.” Physical educator Susan Puretz literally found the game a snoozer: “I think I saw maybe five or so minutes of it before promptly falling asleep.”
Other Jewish respondents found more engagement with the Super Bowl. Still a prolific author in his 90s, Larry Ruttman proclaimed the Eagles’ victory significant: “Patrick Mahomes is a great player… But when the spirit is aroused in a team by all saying they will lose to the talent, marvelous things happen, like the lesser team winning big over the talent, proving yet again the power of the human spirit.” Adam Cohen, media coordinator and broadcaster for baseball’s Tri-City Valley Cats, also deemed the Eagles’ triumph notable: “It was exciting and historic to see the Eagles take down the Chiefs. Not only did they prevent the first ever three-peat in the NFL, but their win impacted the legacy of Mahomes.” 
Attorney David Wendel wanted a different result: “I was rooting for a KC three-peat. From the days of Bednarik/Gifford, throwing snowballs at Santa Claus, the Fumble, the ‘Miracle in the Meadowlands II’… and the ‘Big Dom’ incident a few years ago, not to mention the violent Eagles fans… they are the football team I will always root against.” Jeff Katz, Community Foundation of Otsego County (NY) executive director, savored the ambience more than the outcome: “I’ve watched every Super Bowl since the Jets! Our routine is pretty simple – lots of snacks! For a few years, we hosted a party for the Rotary Exchange students. It was a perfect ‘American’ experience.”’ 
I think Jeff, who named his youngest son Joseph William after Namath and did a stint as the mayor of every American’s hometown, Cooperstown, NY, is right. For Jews and their fellow fans, the Super Bowl, animated by glorious excess and collisions, has become the quintessential American experience.