64 Comments

Too much emphasis on sports in the US. Too many nauseating commercials to suffer to justify watching. Read a book, write a book, climb a mountain, anything but glued to the tube,

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Feb 14Liked by Summer Koester

I'd add: sing a song, write a song, play an instrument, walk a dog, chat(you know, old school, face-to-face) with your neighbor, knit a sweater, cook a meal, fly a kite, make origami, go fishing, plant/tend a garden...

Cheers, Frederick!

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Your reply encompasses more than mine. Perhaps I should have been more succinct and written something pithy, such as: Choose creativity instead of consumption.

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Good one, yes!

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Feb 13·edited Feb 13Liked by Summer Koester

I didn't watch either, except what few clips ended up being reposted in circles I travel.

Football is a pretty gross, but probably accurate metaphor for life in America and you didn't even talk about the repetitive brain injuries!

All in all, it's bread and circuses. It's hard to beat the irony of someone paying upwards of $7 million for those "He Gets Us" Jesus ads, while the same Evangelicals behind it are spending even more of their money to enshrine their patriarchal, misogynist, deeply bigoted, Christo-Fascist agenda into law over the rest of us.

Supply side Jesus is a false idol, and it's easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven... so I guess they better hurry up and buy some more Super Bowl ads. :P

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Ha! 💯

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Great essay, Summer! ☺️ I'm not as fond of the whole game of football just because of the toxic culture that seems to permeate it and become amplified by it. I try not to begrudge others their entertainment but it just seems so savage and the injuries the players are afflicted with are gruesome and downplayed way too much by most people. I'm looking forward to reading more of your writing. ☺️

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Thank you 💙 🐱 🐱

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Holy shit Summer!! I read this; laughed, cried and made me wanna dislocate some shoulders!! The whole Superbowl spectacle just sums up America (more; what’s wrong with it) in just about every possible way. I thought the Killa-T-Girl Datie (or whatever he calls himself) outburst at the trophy award was sadly perfect: be the loudest, biggest, chest thumping, hipster beard wearing, rock anthem slinging, disembowling, warrior monster dick….and you’ll get the chick!! Hello America!! 💪🤘

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You hilariously summed up so well so many of our thoughts! Which reminds me, I need to YouTube his speech!

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Feb 13Liked by Summer Koester

spot on! a stellar writing… & thanks.

truly th super bowl is the cultural barometer of america.

(i have not watched a super bowl in over twenty years…)

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Wow! And thank you! “The super bowl is the cultural barometer of America.” Well put.

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Feb 15Liked by Summer Koester

Interesting piece.

Off topic: I truly don't get the love for Swift. At all.

On topic: listen to the Dead Kennedys' 'Jock-O-Rama', a perfect- and perfectly funny - summation of the American attitude to sports and how that carries over into society as a whole (though if you're into Swift you may not like it)

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I love Dead Kennedys! Will Listen now. And for the record, I love Taylor Swift, and I love what she’s doing for people by offering free accessible therapy, uniting & empowering girls etc, but I dont choose to listen to her songs 😂 not enough bass! Too much treble, breathy vocals, pop sound etc.

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Yes it is my dream: taylor swift to fall in love with a climate scientist. Heavenly dream.

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Seriously 🥰 🌈

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Just love the last two pieces. Keep up the excellent work

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Thanks so much, Sue! 💕

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Great post. I mean, that there is always only win or lose is such an important message, right!? Bwa ha ha. My condolences for the sickies. Hope you all feel better soon!

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I HATE that binary

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It’s the worst!

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Thank you!!! 💗

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Feb 14Liked by Summer Koester

Yes, write a book. That’s what I’m pondering.

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Do it!

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Feb 13Liked by Summer Koester

I’ve never watched a game and didn’t see this one but I’m from Australia and Aussie Rules Football is everything here (don’t watch it either!). The players are hero worshipped and can do what they like because they’re walking gods. I guess it’s like a modern version of gladiators, humans love to watch blood spill!

Hope you’re recovering well - I love the Spanish blessings - my son usually sneezes 6 or seven times in a row - a lot of blessings! 🤧✨✨✨

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Haha! Yep, a lot of blessings! Interesting its a same sort of culture down there in Oz….

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Thank you for the write up.

Football, any football, isn't my cup of tea.

The McFly scene reminds me of Mississippi Burning :

https://youtube.com/watch?v=a2XTXHKcUPY&si=RybGgNcPQur7fT_v

Not much has changed, despite these past sixty or so, enlightened years 😱

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Off that scene and that whole movie is brutal and true. Not too long ago that was 💯 out in the open. Now its just gone a little more underground and to dark corners of the interwebs. Bigotry, racism, ruling by fist. Might makes right. Blech. What more to expect from a country founded on violence?

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Meant to say oof not off

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Feb 14Liked by Summer Koester

*Raises hand*👋🏽

It's waaaay above ground. Just check out the Orange Comb-Over Clown's rallies and all the phuck-wits in the Republican party who champion, as another commenter here called it, the "christo-fascist" agenda. It's💯 out in the open...

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I’m afraid you’re right, Mark. It’s terrifying. Up here in Alaska I’m in a bubble. But yes, what you say is true. 😞

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Thanks for the football rant (I agree), the lionesses photo, and the 3-sneeze custom in Spanish, which I once knew but had forgotten. Time to reclaim it!

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Yes! Esp this time of year, ha! 🤧

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i am not a "sports" person...the way our culture "mainlines them" (is that the correct term?) like a drug. so no superbowl for me. but i got a good chuckle out of "OK, so if football is sacrosanct, then the Super Bowl is the Eucharist." good one Summer. hope you and your family are on the mend soon. sending hugs.

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Ha! 🙏 gracias!

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I'm from Buffalo and a Bills fan. I've had night sweats and have been in therapy and on heavy meds for 40 years because of the Bills. I watch the Super Bowl for the commercials and the pleasure of childishly believing the Bills may just be there next year.

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Sounds to me, like the Bills owe you one! Go Bills!

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I'm from over the border, and to switch the chat to my preferred blood sport, I'm a long suffering Leafs fan. So I feel your pain, Bills fan. In fact there's overlap between fan bases "eh"? Setting aside your Buff Sabres of course.

P.S. due to the climate apocalypse outdoor shinny hockey and skating has been cancelled until the next ice age.

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Nooooooooo!!!!! in Southeast Alaska. We haven’t had our lake slash nature’s skating rink freeze over once this winter!

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That just ain't right! Hmmm, what's this new "climate normal" doing to our psyches? With the seasons themselves under siege, one can only imagine.

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Yes, yes, yes! And that polar bear photo is just So Soft.

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