Dear Janet Jackson (Superbowl Edition)

So... Today is the Superbowl, and yet again it is super, as it does feature my favorite team, the New England Patriots. People are not always understanding why that is my team, since I live in a state which has the ultimate of underdogs, the Detroit Lions, but it really is pretty simple. While I moved to the US in 1999, I didn't start watching football until 2001. My first two years, I was busy adjusting to a new life in a new country, getting my associate degree, working a little on top of that, and eventually fatherhood. Then we moved to Michigan in 2001, I had a Monday-Friday job, and some more time on the weekends, so I decided to start watching football. I didn't know much about any rules, but there was this one team, without any superstar whose quarterback got hurt and replaced by someone who barely got drafted a couple of years before. That was the New England Patriots and Tom Brady. So without any real geographic allegiances, I was drawn to this team because of their story that year - and their focus on the team rather than individuals, coming out on the field as one, rather than announcing superstars (mainly because there weren't any). And it stuck. I was hooked.

And no, my favorite Patriot was never Tom Brady - although I can't think of anyone I'd rather have as a quarterback. My favorite Patriot of all time was Tedy Bruschi. To me, he was the heart and soul of the Patriots until his retirement in 2009. He was scheduled to sit out the 2005 season following a stroke not too long after he won his third Superbowl, but he came back to play in a Monday Night Football game against the Buffalo Bills on October 30 that year - and the impact his return had on the team cannot be overstated. After starting the season 3-3, they did win that game, and ended up 10-6 for the season. They lost in the divisional round that year, but this year they are back in the Superbowl - against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Of course, not all Americans watch the Superbowl for the football - watching the ads has long been a sport of its own, and then there's the halftime show. This year's performer is Justin Timberlake. Now he is married and a family man, but back in 2004, he was dating Janet Jackson, and their performance together became quite the controversy - and the topic of a song by Richard Thompson. This is a song that in the Norwegian tradition would be considered a nidvise - which really is a satirical song in the ballad tradition, often mocking the main character. And mock he does. Please enjoy a good laugh as the warm-up to the Superbowl - and the halftime show - with Richard Thompson's Dear Janet Jackson.