The Super Bowl gets in touch with its "softer" side

We were having a very productive and enjoyable Friday here in the nation’s capital, until the moment we happened to stumble across this gem of a news story. It seems that the NFL has tabbed do-it-all, metro-sexual Ryan Seacrest of American Idol fame to emcee a red carpet event at this season’s Super Bowl. Apparently producers at Fox Sports are working with the NFL to funnel all celebrity arrivals through what is sure to be a vomit-inducing red carpet extravaganza during the network’s pre-game show.

Generally, we have nothing against red carpet shows when it’s tied appropriately to the Golden Globes or the Oscars, but the Super Bowl does not need a freakin’ red carpet and celebrity watching! The Super Bowl is a bellwether event for manhood and it doesn’t need to be “prissied up” by Seacrest and a celebrity red-carpet show. We understand the motivation to jazz up the generally snooze-inducing pre-game show with new ideas and segments, and the apparent need to appeal to a broader audience, but let’s try other options like more behind-the-scenes access with the players. Or, perhaps recruiting a comedian like Chris Rock (I’m sure he’s not very busy these days) to take a tongue-in-cheek look at the rules of the game, its history or its most outrageous characters. That’s what football fans want, not Seacrest.