On a Monday morning in the fall of 1988, a few of us at BNR-RTP were chatting about the previous day’s games. A co-worker said that football was a metaphor for life. And for the next few days, everything at work was related by him to gridiron terminology. Moving the yardsticks down the field, Hail Mary efforts, fumbling the ball, and so on.
Which brings me to today – less than a week until the big game. Ever since my son’s hero, John Elway, led the Broncos to back-to-back wins in 1998 and 1999, Super Bowl Sunday has been a special day in our household. I have my rituals – the chili gets started percolating at 6am, followed by cooking the wings and whipping up my dipping sauce (equal parts of mayo and various Louisiana-type hot sauces). It has been a ritual for 14 years now. Forget the diets for one day. And hope for weather that permits barbecuing.
If football is a metaphor for life, then the Super Bowl may be a metaphor for Canadian communications policy and regulation. Let’s explore some examples.
The CRTC home page has the Super Bowl referenced at the top of its Consumer Information list. Why are the Canadian ads different? The game this Sunday brings out the ire of many over the issue of Simultaneous Substitution. This discussion can then cascade into the issues of intellectual property rights and overall health of the Canadian broadcast system.
After a beer or two, you can then discuss how concerns about Canadian broadcasting are impacting the liberalization of foreign direct investment in the telecom sector. And that opens up another set of arguments. Some will argue that if we only had more open borders, then the competitive landscape would be completely different. Some might stream a US signal over their internet connection – but then, how could you avoid talking about usage based billing? Or other complaints?
Add another beer and by half time, the talk will certain to turn to that famous wardrobe malfunction of Super Bowl XXXVIII. How would the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council respond to a similar complaint? Emboldened by that segue, can this year’s half time show compete with a discussion about Money for Nothing, the role of the CBSC and the CRTC direction for a national review?
I’m only getting started. Feel free to join in with your contributions. It’s pre-game week and football season is coming to an end. so for one day, ignore the impact on your cholesterol count while you eat and drink in moderation. Don’t miss the roasted salami appetizers! The commercials will be available on-line, without a big impact on your download caps.