With a Superbowl game looming I must reflect again that this event is about as far from a sporting event as it could possibly be. Professional football today is big business, a media event, an entertainment extravaganza. The whole process is more akin to the production of a blockbuster movie (a work of fiction). There is nothing sporting or sports related about it, except for the fact that a ball is involved.

We have a bunch of over paid, over privileged actors (referred to as football players) who have publicly stated that they feel their most important roll is political activism and that being a football celebrity is simply a means to achieve that end. How can we call that sporting? And what are the big media stories surrounding the Superbowl; it is, who are the most politically correct entertainers to employ for the halftime show.

For us who live in the Atlanta area, the next biggest story is the unprecedented level of security that will surround “game” week. Atlanta will be an armed camp with security greater than a maximum security prison. I certainly understand that this level of security is necessary in today’s political environment. But it does underscore the fact that Superbowl is more like a rock concert than a sporting event.

Of course, after the event there will be lots of hype about which of the rich and famous people attended the event to be seen, as well as to see. Then again, the rich and famous people are the only ones who can afford the cost of attending.

I am all for calling things what they really are. Professional football is a group of commercial enterprises who are in the entertainment business (like movie studios). There is a single goal in any of the events; to make money, just like any other successful commercial enterprise. It is time to quit referring to Superbowl and other professional football events as games or sporting events.