Contemplations of the Super(B)owl 2024

I suspect I approach the Super Bowl a bit differently than many people. I don’t follow the national football teams, although I like the college football teams that involve my alma mater, Florida State University, and the University of West Florida.

Big Bowl, Bigger Commercials

I watch the game for the commercials. I usually write during the game, but I watch TV when the commercials appear. My first intense interest in the SB commercials involved the Budweiser frogs. I like amphibians and reptiles, so I thoroughly enjoyed these commercials. I looked forward to seeing the next installment in the frog story each year. Disclaimer: I’m not too fond of beer, so the brand wasn’t interesting to me. Nor am I prejudiced because Bud was brewed in my hometown.

Picking a Team

Despite rooting for the Seminoles or the Argonauts, I don’t have a favorite professional football team. When it’s time for the Super Bowl to be played, I root for the non-human animals. If both teams are animal names, I go with the lowest vertebrate. For example, I prefer a bird team over a mammal team. Despite many animal teams, this year’s Super Bowl had only humans. Very disappointing.

You may not be familiar with the UWF Argonauts. When I attended, the sports teams did not include a football team. That was okay. I was there to get my Master’s degree in Biology. Why spend time in a stadium when Pensacola had the sugar-white sand beaches to enjoy? When it was decided that it was time for UWF to have a football team, the officials conducted a poll: should UWF stay as Argonauts, or should they change to something more familiar? I was pleased when Argonauts was retained. What is an argonaut? As a biologist, I immediately think of the octopuses that live in a chambered shell and propel themselves through the water. My favorite is the Chambered Nautilus. Then, there are the mythical Greek heroes who accompanied Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece. It’s the latter that is used as the symbol for the football team. 

However, the university uses my preferred argonaut.

This year, a friend introduced me to Superbowl, as in Superb Owl, for those not interested in the Super Bowl. I’m thinking of writing a picture book about local owls, and she suggested Superb Owls might be a good title. The owls in the Sonoran Desert are superb. But for now, I do have several other books on animals of the Sonoran Desert, you can find them on my website.