Personally, I’ve never been a football fan, and usually don’t even know who’s playing in the Super Bowl. Yes, I realize it’s the Great American Holiday but I just can’t understand the entertainment value in eating pizza while watching a bunch of huge guys smashing into each other But that’s just me. My own Mother is looking forward to the game (although I think in her case it has more to do with being a Beyonce fan than anything else) and so are a lot of my friends, even the literary ones.
However you feel about the Super Bowl, here’s my advice on how to make it an opportunity for artistic endeavor. If you dislike it and don’t even want to watch the commercials and have managed to avoid committing yourself to being present at any parties, well fine. Consider the day to be your own Art Holiday, and spend the day undisturbed and free to work on your stuff. No guilt.
If you are for any reason watching the game, use it as an opportunity to sketch the human body in motion. Since these are very large bodies, this exercise should be especially helpful to those of you who aspire to be comics artists specializing in superheroes. You can also practice delineating a veritable panoply of emotions, as you watch faces expressive of hope, despair, joy, rage, etc. etc. If you are aspiring to be a commercial artist, take note of the memes being used in the extra-special advertisements so that you can avoid what they’re doing (after all, you want to establish your own Brand, yes?).
Have a good time, football fans, and whatever you do, try to avoid any discussion about the huge amounts of money football players get paid. Those same muscle-bound hunks you see tearing around the field like gladiators today might easily wind up in wheelchairs in their fifties. They’re making a sacrifice and a compromise to keep the Great American Holiday going, and I hope they’re also making some good investments.
How to Be a Starving Artist 