With The Super Bowl approaching, I can’t help but think of one thing from last year’s Super Bowl. Is it the Patriots winning? No. Does it have anything to do with football? Of course not. When I think of the Super Bowl, I will forever think of the “Wardrobe Malfunction” that took place during the half time show last year. Ok so maybe it was an accident. Can we really blame the television stations for that? Maybe not. However, the commercials are almost as bad. One of last year’s most popular commercials comes to mind. At the beginning of the advertisement there are two very attractive women sitting at a table. They begin arguing about why Budweiser is their favorite beer. Push comes to shove and soon they are both in a water fountain tearing each other’s cloths off while wrestling. This is just one of many ads that air during sporting events, many of which have the same sexual content.
Not only are the advertisements the problem but also cheerleaders. How can we expect a father to take his son to a game while there are women dressed in almost nothing, dancing in a sexually provocative manner?
This issue has gotten so bad that it is almost to the point where sexuality and sports go hand-in-hand. Take Sports Illustrated for example. Every year they produce an entire issue dedicated to women who have nothing except a skimpy bikini. The magazine is full of photographs of these women. What does this have to do with sports? Also if you flip through pretty much any sports magazine you’ll probably be blown away by the sexual content in the advertisements.
Not only is the sexuality a marketing scheme, but athletes themselves are participating in such sensual material. Several of our women athletes, who are supposed to be our daughter’s role models, are beginning to pose nude for magazines such as Playboy. In addition, one of the NFL’s top wide receivers, Terrell Owens, recently participated in a commercial for the T.V. show Desperate House Wives, in which one of the women cast members, was in the locker room of the Philadelphia Eagles and had just got out of the shower. She has a towel wrapped around her; however, at the end of the ad she drops it and gives Owens a hug.
With the Super Bowl approaching, I can’t help but ask myself one question. Should I watch and run the risk of falling into the sin of lust? On the other hand, should I miss one of the nation’s largest sporting events? The answer is simple, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” Philippians 4:8