Super Bowl IV

I always wait and watch after the Super Bowl has ended for the part when they interview the losing coach. Usually it is simply him and the reporter standing in some anonymous hallway. there is no noise like there is in the winning locker room or in the stadium. In fact, it's very quiet. The reporter asks what went wrong; the coach gives some sportsmanlike answers.

There's something about this moment which I find particluarly captivating. The Super Bowl is an exercise in ritual, in many ways: the slow filling up of the stadium, the moments when it's after 5:30 Eastern time and the pre-game hosts have to yell into their microphones to be hear above the crowd which is getting anxious; and other moments.

This year, that moment is the one I will look forward to the most. Strange, I know, but it's how I feel.