Skip to main content

Why Watching the Super Bowl is a Family Learning Experience

Super Bowl 49 just ended. It was the first time in my adult years that I watched this game with just my family. I normally have my guest list confirmed a year ahead of time. That would be the names of every teenager in my youth group. (Yeah, it gets a little crowded, which is why we added a second TV this year.

But the the Snowpocalypse hit and we were stranded, left alone to celebrate the night together. 


We managed. 

We watched the game. We watched the commercials. We even tuned in to the halftime show, with one finger at the ready, just in case things got out of hand. But one might question why I might be alright exposing my kids to all the media had to throw at us tonight. Well, I have an answer. 

Watching the Super Bowl is a family earning experience. You tell me where else my kids are going to be exposed to the most expensive messages ($4 million is what I heard) while in the safety and proximity of their Bible-believing and discerning parents. Where and when else can questions be asked without fear of criticism? And questions were asked.

When the woman calls 911, pretending to order a pizza. Dad, what is domestic violence?
When the Snickers commercial came on. Dad, who is Marcia Brady?
When the car commercial came on. Dad, what's the blue pill all about? Thanks Fiat!

We engaged the media. They asked questions. I gave them answers. (In case you're wondering, I told them the blue pill was about sex and asked them if they really wanted more information than that. Because of how we are honest and open with them about the touchy subjects, they knew to trust me when I said they didn't really need more info.)

In a single night we talked about the value of a dollar, purity, teamwork and good sportsmanship. None of it would have been had if I had chosen to emulate the ostrich and stick my head in the sand. 

Yeah, some of the commercials made me uncomfortable with little eyes watching. We chose to pause and skip over a few. Some of the commercials made me sad for the state of our culture. Some of the commercials just made me shake my head and wonder aloud where all the funny writers went this year. Seriously! 

But we don't live in a world we wish were true. We live in reality. I teach my kids now how to engage with media so when they are having a Super Bowl party somewhere else, they will know how to respond. 

God came into our world to get messy. I believe it;s time for His followers to stop being afraid to do the same. 

Comments

Anonymous said…
Missed the party this year Rick! Great Article, good thoughts!

Popular posts from this blog

Accountable

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl

Patience

I am more than halfway through the last year of dropping one of my children off at school. It's my eighth grade daughter, for anyone keeping track of my family.  See, next year she will be at the high school, and her brother will drive her. He says that it's not cool for seniors to drive their freshman sister to school, but I bet it's cooler than being dropped off by your mom in a minivan.  So rather than groan about this daily responsibility, I've been reminiscing about what the drop-off line used to look like, way back in elementary school. Once our children were about halfway through their elementary years, the drop-off line became a test of patience.  Do you know which group you do not want to get caught behind in the parent drop-off line at an elementary school? The kindergartners. These little ones are barely able to walk, but now we put them in the high-pressure situation of trying to unbuckle their seat-belt, grab their backpack (which might be as tall as they a

Jury Duty

I was recently summoned to jury duty. I know, groan. Except I didn't. I had never experienced it before and was curious to see what it was like.   When the day to report arrives, they separate you into groups, asking various questions to decide if you will be selected to serve. Do you know the accused? Do you have conflicts that would keep you from serving? Can you stay focused?  I wanted to answer well, if only because my kids kept wishing me luck the day before, telling me they hoped I made the team. After all, who wants to be rejected? It occurred to me that there are things you probably shouldn’t say right away if you’re wanting to serve on a jury. I know, I know, people don’t typically want to serve on a jury. But that list didn’t seem nearly as humorous to me. Here are the things you probably shouldn’t say if you want to be selected for jury. I hold myself in contempt. You can’t handle the truth. We find the defendant guilty. I believe the judge looks pretty in his robe. I’d