Sunday is the Super Bowl and Monday is Valentine’s Day. Alas… no romance for me—at the moment. And I have never been a football fan. No interest in chicken wings & chips when I went food shopping. And I don’t need a holiday to remind me to indulge in chocolate. I usually have a little chocolate every day. But I wonder if there is there something wrong with my internal calendar? I never enjoy the hype about the big game, the “clever” commercials that debut during it, the halftime show, and all the hoopla that goes with it. And this year the romantic V Day restaurant offers and ads for chocolates, flowers, lingerie, and jewelry are leaving me with zero response. Not even a touch of jealousy.
Perhaps it’s simply that I, like many other people, are out-of-sync with the popular highlights of the annual calendar. Anyone who is Jewish, Hindi, Moslem, Buddhist, agnostic or an avowed atheist can feel like an outsider at Christmastime. This is a little like that. I know I’m not alone, but it can still feel lonely when I can’t share the excitement. My lack of enthusiasm for the sometimes-kitschy holiday of romance and the intense interest in all the side shows for the big game—cooking shows with game night suggestions, the excitement about the line-up of musical talent, and speculations about the commercials—has me a feeling left out. I like Mary J. Blige, but I’m sure I can watch a video of her half time performance. I don’t have to watch the game.
Do I?
Is there something wrong with my calendar? Or is there something wrong with me?
Being part of something bigger than yourself is a seductive experience. Getting up early and going to vote in a close presidential election is exciting. Joining a protest march for an important cause can be thrilling. Attending a one-of-a-kind concert and sharing it with an audience of fellow fans is intoxicating. Recalling where you were when HUGE historic things—both good and bad—happened, can be a bonding experience, bringing strangers together.
But there’s always someone on the outside looking in—not with longing, but with a sigh of confusion or mystification. Good thing I’m a writer—that outsider’s point-of-view is valuable for narrators and can be a reality check when a story is incredible.
I just sighed my way through a NEWS REPORT on a survey of the most popular food for Super Bowl parties (chicken wings) Oh, well… my calendar doesn’t hinge around the big February events.
Good thing I enjoy Halloween.
Hail fellow Outsider. 🙂 I’ve always hated Valentines Day and the AFL Grand Final – our equivalent of your superbowl. Christmas doesn’t do much for me any more, now that the kids in the family are grown. Ditto Easter. Halloween is foreign here and I hope it stays out. Fat chance.
I am so SICK of all the hyped up rubbish we’re bombarded with. It’s all become a commercial grind with no soul. I’m saving my $$ and my sanity by ignoring it all. Well, except for Christmas. The Offspring and I are both non-believers but some old habits die hard. 🙂
Yes… the role of the outsider can be lonely, but also——sometimes——fun. My mother and I would go to Macy’s Department store to people watch on Christmas Eve. Frantic shoppers and us! It was a lark.
But sometimes, I do feel very LEFT OUT when everyone is excited about something that leaves me cold. Am I missing something that fun? Not usually but…