Super Bowl 48 goes off on Sunday and no one seriously doubts security will be a big issue. Those guys and gals will be everywhere. There will be local cops, county cops, and state cops swarming around. This Sunday in East Rutherford will not be a good place to be driving around while smoking dope or having a few beers. Bad idea.
But there will be much more. Throw in the FBI, the Justice Department, Homeland Security, the Secret Service, and probably a few spooks from the CIA.
SWAT teams will be geared up and ready to storm whatever is necessary at a moment's notice. The closest Air Force base will no doubt have a squadron of fighter jets pre-scrambled, fully armed, and with Top Gun types already sitting in the cockpits. They'll be more than happy to seek out, locate, lock on, and destroy whatever target they are assigned.
The Coast Guard will be patrolling the East River, just in case those channel cats rise up out of the water and mount a surprise attack.
A Marine strike force will likely be nearby in full combat gear. You never know when the jarheads might come in handy to invade something again, so best to be prepared.
I wouldn't be a bit surprised if an aircraft carrier, replete with all support ships, and a Navy SEAL team on board that's been drilling for just such an occasion, hasn't quietly sidled up a hundred miles or so off the Atlantic coast. And where an aircraft carrier goes -- nuclear subs aren't far behind with all those pesky warheads.
So yes, one could fairly say the Super Bowl will be covered from a security standpoint. Anybody that gets out of line will be shocked and awed indeed.
Just one problem. This is New Jersey, not some country our genius politicians have deemed to be hostile on the other side of the world.
So that begs the question..... Why the massive show of force and ridiculous amount of security at the Super Bowl? After all, it's still just a football game -- right?
Sure, it's the climax of the NFL season and supposedly features the two best teams squaring off against each other. Also, millions of people will be tuned in to see it on TV. But just because it's a big game doesn't make it that different from a lot of other games. Most NFL stadiums are sold out every week for every game during the regular season -- let alone the playoffs. It's still the same amount of players and coaches at any given game. The only difference in the playoffs is the cha-ching. The prices go up.
Same goes for the Super Bowl. Besides another whopper cha-ching for the fans lucky enough to score tickets, it remains two teams playing a big game in a sold out stadium. So it's the Denver Broncos taking on the Seattle Seahawks. Do you think for one minute all the massive security procedures would be any less had New England and San Fran advanced to the Super Bowl instead? Of course not. Peyton Manning and Pete Carroll are no more important than Tom Brady and Jim Harbaugh in the eyes of those giving the orders to the countless thousands of those with uniforms, guns, badges, tasers, planes, missiles, torpedoes, nukes, and God knows what else at their disposal assigned to "keep order".
So why indeed does all the manpower and serious hardware they possess get put on high alert for the Super Bowl every year?
Because this game isn't about the true fans anymore. People that have held season tickets for decades find themselves in a lottery stacked against them to even be able to sit in their own seats if and when the Super Bowl comes to their stadium. Celebrities and politicians routinely displace them from their seats so they can get a few photo-ops. When the cameras turn away from them -- often before the game even starts -- they leave. Throw in the usual assortment of filthy rich executives, with an unlimited expense account, and they're going to buy their way into a bunch of seats and suites as well.
And that's why the security is so over the top for the Super Bowl. It's not about the teams and coaches. Nor is it about TV and their almighty ratings. And it certainly isn't about the fans. John and Jane Doe football fanatics ceased to be important a long time ago -- except for the money that could be squeezed out of them for $8 nasty hot dogs and $10 watered down beers.
But put a bunch of one-percenters, be they Hollywood glitterati, politicos, and/or other movers and shakers in the same place at the same time for something as simple as a football game -- and the powers that be will kick into full force with all their might to protect them.
If it wasn't so outrageous, it might even be funny.
But it's really not, because we common folks have to pay for all this over the top nonsense with our tax dollars.
And I don't find that the slightest bit amusing.....
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