Is the Super Bowl game a diversion from the pop culture it spawns?
Viewers are still ruminating over a two-and-a –half minute Star Spangled Banner by Alicia Keys which seemed longer than the 34 minute ‘lights-out’, and here comes PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is slithering their way onto the headlines.
In a rebuke of Beyonce’s costume in her half time show, they claim it included python, paneled iguana, trapunto-pick stitched leather, nylon, metal, plastic and silk, among others. To every viewer it simply looked like leather. We hope they weren’t wearing leather shoes when they issued the press release.
Didn’t they know we’re in the middle of an open season on pythons here in Florida? The hapless creatures, at the top of the food chain in the Everglades, have not engendered much sympathy from the local populace but are revered by PETA.
The hunting season is on until February 10th and this is Miami; if there was a lot of python in her costume, wouldn’t someone have taken a pot-shot at it? Thankfully not; because we weren’t really focused on the material, we were dazzled by the over-all spectacle.
A PETA spokesperson said “Today’s fashions are trending toward humane vegan options, and Beyonce’s outfit missed the mark on that score.” Would they have forgiven her if she appeared dressed like a carrot?
It’s entirely possible that her costume which reportedly took a team of 14 workers over 200 man hours to complete cost more than the entire PETA budget.
But is the Super Bowl game of any value? Yes! It gives us to figure out those pesky Roman numerals.