A cable news network (which I will not name) has been making a very big deal out of the fact that President Biden did not participate in an interview on Super Bowl Sunday. According to the network, it is traditional for the president, whoever he may be, to participate in such an interview.
When I watch the Super Bowl, I watch it for the football game. I do not hog the TV for hours and hours of pregame hype, interrupted by an endless cavalcade of commercials. I tune in at the time when I expect the kickoff is about to take place. And I do not watch the halftime show. My taste in halftime shows runs to marching bands and the Kilgore Rangerettes, and the NFL decided many years ago that I was totally out of step with the viewing audience they want to reach. So, since about Super Bowl II, I have left the room during the halftime show and tried to time my return for the time when I expect the second half kickoff.
That being the case, I was completely unaware that a presidential interview has ever been telecast on Super Bowl Sunday. If this is a tradition, I do not know how long it has been a tradition. I do not know whether the interview is supposed to air sometime during the pregame show or during halftime, how long the interview is supposed to last, or whether it is supposed to include questions of any national interest more pressing than "So, Mr. President, which team are you rooting for in today's game?" The last time I remember seeing any president on TV on Super Bowl Sunday was the year President Reagan, standing in the Oval Office, tossed the coin to start the game.
Can anyone enlighten me as to when this supposedly traditional presidential interview is supposed to take place? Is it during the pregame or during halftime? If during pregame, how long before the scheduled time of the opening kickoff? For how many years has this been a tradition?
And does the fact that I don't know the answers to these questions mean that I am shamefully unaware of something which the vast majority of Americans eagerly anticipate every year, or does it simply mean that I stand with a great majority of fans who don't give a hoot about such an interview and just want to watch the football game?
When I watch the Super Bowl, I watch it for the football game. I do not hog the TV for hours and hours of pregame hype, interrupted by an endless cavalcade of commercials. I tune in at the time when I expect the kickoff is about to take place. And I do not watch the halftime show. My taste in halftime shows runs to marching bands and the Kilgore Rangerettes, and the NFL decided many years ago that I was totally out of step with the viewing audience they want to reach. So, since about Super Bowl II, I have left the room during the halftime show and tried to time my return for the time when I expect the second half kickoff.
That being the case, I was completely unaware that a presidential interview has ever been telecast on Super Bowl Sunday. If this is a tradition, I do not know how long it has been a tradition. I do not know whether the interview is supposed to air sometime during the pregame show or during halftime, how long the interview is supposed to last, or whether it is supposed to include questions of any national interest more pressing than "So, Mr. President, which team are you rooting for in today's game?" The last time I remember seeing any president on TV on Super Bowl Sunday was the year President Reagan, standing in the Oval Office, tossed the coin to start the game.
Can anyone enlighten me as to when this supposedly traditional presidential interview is supposed to take place? Is it during the pregame or during halftime? If during pregame, how long before the scheduled time of the opening kickoff? For how many years has this been a tradition?
And does the fact that I don't know the answers to these questions mean that I am shamefully unaware of something which the vast majority of Americans eagerly anticipate every year, or does it simply mean that I stand with a great majority of fans who don't give a hoot about such an interview and just want to watch the football game?
