I know it’s a little late and feels like old news, but here goes: nine days ago the 60th Super Bowl was played: the Seattle Seahawks vs. the New England Patriots. I confess to not being particularly excited about it; though that would have changed if the Kansas City Chiefs were playing.
The Super Bowl has become big; something like a secular holiday. There seem to be three parts to it, all have become huge entities: the game itself, the commercials and the halftime show.
The game. It is, arguably, the greatest single sporting event in the world. But the game this year was pretty boring. The Seahawks dominated throughout, and it was quite a while until the first touchdown was scored.
The commercials. These are supposed to be the cream of the crop as far as commercials go. But I thought they were pretty un-impressive. It seemed to me like they tried to mix celebrities with attempts at humor, but the quick cutting between the scenes rendered the brief storylines incoherent. There were also commercials for NFL online gambling. Opening the floodgates to online NFL gambling and advertising that gambling during this most-watched event…what could go wrong? How long until enough money is waved in the face of the right referee/coach/player until one of them tries to throw a game, or at least hone the score by a point or two? We would like to think that all will resist temptation. But human nature tells us that when a lot of money is at stake, someone is likely to falter. To put it mildly, it will not be good for the game. And without even considering the possibility for corruption, what about the misery and devastation caused by gambling addiction?
The half-time show. This was a big controversy. We heard about the choice months ago: Bad Bunny. He was known for singing in Spanish, raunchy lyrics and wearing dresses.
An alternative half-time show was planned and announced, sponsored by Turning Point USA. But since we did not watch the Super Bowl at our house I did not have control over which half-time show was watched. To be honest, I’m not sure I would have watched the alternative. I may have wanted to see the controversial one just out of curiosity. In any case, that was the one we saw.
It was pretty bad. Immediately there were women dancing suggestively. There were images of both homosexual and heterosexual grinding. Did the NFL not preview the show? On this biggest of all stages, did they really not know what they were in for (and what viewers, including children, would see)? And then there was songs themselves. People did research on the original words of the songs and it was reported that they were vile and pornographic. I read today that the FCC did an investigation and found that the worst words from the songs were omitted during the half-time show. But the original songs indicate how Bad Bunny chose to entertain people.
This was not the halftime show that should have been aired for this huge audience with children present. If the NFL wanted to choose another Spanish speaking singer, there were others available.
The NFL knew what they were getting, counted the cost, and allowed it anyway. They figured this choice, however controversial, would expand their market. It was about money.
But the NFL didn’t need the money. The NFL was already swimming in money. The average cost per ticket to a game in 2025 was $279. They were a success story if ever there was one. Why did they resort to this?
I think this is an example of an institution that had so much going for it, and still does, but lost its way.
This brings to mind two scriptural truths. One is: “The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil,” (1 Timothy 6:10). The NFL should have been satisfied with its considerable success, but it wasn’t enough.
The other is from the words of Jesus: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded,” (Luke 12:48). The NFL has been given much. It has become king. They didn’t need to resort to online gaming or hyper-controversial half-time shows. Earlier in the same chapter where Jesus made the just-mentioned statement, He told the parable of The Rich Fool, where a wealthy farmer gives no thought or praise to God for his wealth, but instead just builds bigger barns. One day it would all end, and not in a good way. The barns were not the problem (sometimes barns are needed), but the problem was an attitude of amassing more and more without thought of God, the One who made it all possible in the first place.
Success can be a great thing. but there is a risk in it; it can make you want more and more, and then comes the temptation to make partnerships you shouldn’t make, to say yes to things when you should say no. Some might even try to make a moral case to you: “Think of all the good you could do if you had more money.” But it’s bad advice if you lose your soul to do it. At some point one needs to ask, “What is this doing to me?” The world’s way is to expand at all costs and then do philanthropy (and brag about it) to cover up any bad publicity. But God’s way is to remember Who made the wealth, where it comes from, and to be grateful you get to enjoy some of it during the time you are here on earth.
I believe that the pursuit of ever more wealth (more markets, international expansion, gambling, merchandizing, etc.) has led the NFL astray. But what happened to them can happen to anyone.
It seems like it’s rare that a person can get wealthy and maintain their faith in God. But it’s possible. And it’s a beautiful thing when it happens.