Wasn't that a hell of a game?

     The early estimates for viewers of the super bowl are 111.3 MILLION people. The super bowl is big business and a big event. Hell the game didn't come on until 6:30 p.m. but the pre-game mess started at like noon. Big deal. Big event.
     I'll be honest about something. I don't watch sports. I'm not interested in any of that stuff. I hold no allegiance to any team or club. The Super Bowl does not impress me. Last time I watched any part of it was when Prince did the half time show. I only did that because YES I am a long time old school before Purple Rain Prince fan but that's another blog that I will probably not write.
     I want to break down somethings I found out about the Big Event. Tickets to the Big Event are about $1500.00 each. Parking at MetLife Stadium cost in the range of $150.00. Some of those spots were sold on ebay for $400.00 each. A 30 second spot cost $4 million dollars. THIRTY SECONDS! That breaks down to $133,000 per second. Big Event equals big money! The players of the game make BIG bank. They get a straight out grip of money. Think about this: There are 53 players on each team, no there are not 53 players on the field at one time, and each player gets paid as a bonus $19,000 each for the wildcard game, $21,000 each for the division playoffs, a $38,000 guarantee for the title game and for the winners of the Super Bowl they get $92,000 ( Losers get $46,000) each for a grand total of $170,000 for the entire deal. That averages out to $45,250 per game. Look at Peyton Manning who makes a staggering $15 MILLION a year plus all this extra. Rookies in the NFL average $405,000 a year or $23,800 per week. Big Money for a Big Event.
     You can also add in what they will get in endorsements AND you get a Super Bowl ring valued at $5,000. Big Money for the Big Event. Did you also know that the NFL is registered as a NON PROFIT organization and has not paid taxes since 1966? Red Cross is a non-profit which makes sense, Salvation Army is a non profit which makes sense, March of Dimes, American Heart Association, Cancer research fund and a host of other human services organizations are non-profits but the NFL? That's a little senseless to me. But it is a big Deal.
     Know what I think is a really big deal? Congressional Republicans cut $8 BILLION dollars in food stamp assistance and then gave a $83 BILLION dollar subsidiary to big banks. AND America turned the corner on a legitimate BIG DEAL. In this nation, one of the richest on Earth, we now have one million homeless school children. ONE MILLION children who go to school and when they leave school they walk into the woods and that's where they live or they live in abandoned buildings or in cars with their family or in the park or who knows where. That's a 38% increase from 2006-2007.
     In 1987, the federal government enacted the Mckinney-Vento Act, which requires that every school district provide homeless students with equal access to public education. Districts need to count homeless students and have a homeless liaison to serve their needs.
     A Homeless student is defined by law as those who stay in a hotel/motel, a shelter of some kind, or no shelter or are "doubled up" with friends or family. This "double up" accounts for 71% of Homeless Students.I ask if we took all the damned hype surrounding this game which is just a distraction from what sits right in front of us, and used a tenth of that energy to bring attention to what is happening to our children what could we change? When most think of homelessness they think of people wandering aimlessly or suffering under addiction and bad choices. When I think of the children I can't attach any of those excuses to them. I think of sex trafficing in order to survive, I think of what these children, I mean OUR children because as Original People we know from our teachings that each of has a responsibility to our collective community to help and raise OUR children. This goes so far beyond color and ethnicity. I mean what if you ttok you parking fee of $150.00 and your ticket of $1500.00 and skipped The Big Event and spent that $1650.00 on some food and clothing? Would you not better YOUR community? At least give the kid a chance where there is none? Think that these kids who have to sell themselves in order to survive and have a WANT to go to school for an education deserve a damn break. I'm not dogging those of us who watched the game and got our friends over in front of the big screen, ordered our pizza and hot wings and beer and cheered or moped depending on who won and lost. I am trying to point out what is for a real a big deal. I came home grabbed two grocery bags and filled them and will take them to the food bank tomorrow. It's my part, it is my community. I am an Original Man and I follow the precepts in our teachings to the best of my ability. I just don;t get distracted by "entertainment" that is purposefully designed to keep me oblivious to the world around me. I wonder how many of us even knew that we as a nation passed the 1 million mark on homeless students? How much better would the amount of money be spent on uplifting and supporting those in need than paying some dudes to smash into each other for our "enjoyment"?
     One million homeless school kids and untold misery that follows to me is a Big Event for real.