katy, super bowl, authenticity, cynicism & deflated fines

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“I’m not self-sabotaging by nature.

If there is news about my performance, I want for all of it to be about the music and female empowerment and that everybody just had a great time.”

=

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Katy Perry

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Today is super bowl day.

The refreshingly open & entertaining <and seemingly smart> Katy Parry performs with unapologetically ‘take me as I am’ Lenny Kravitz at half time.

Oh.
And.

There is a football game.

On one sidelines is a coach who rabid anti-fans cannot type his name without ‘cheat’ in his name <albeit his team has only been fined once almost 8 years ago> and on the other sidelines is a coach who rabid anti-fans suggest cheated in college <and therefore had to leave to become the great pro coach he is today> and both accept the mantle of leadership as the face of their organizations & teams.
On one sideline is one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history who anti-fans label as insincere and pampered as he willing steps up in front of microphones and talks & answers questions any time … and on the other side is an all-star running back who refuses to talk to the press, is skewered in public for not fulfilling his responsibilities as an athlete <yet he shows up every day and every year and plays every game 100%>, is skewered by people for being a thug <yet he donates time & gobs of money to his community outside the public eye> and all the while we take his silence and fill it up with words of our own <and take money from his real work life in the form of fines>.

This all leads me to a semi serious thought.

I’m not sure what ‘trust in someone’ is these days.

Well.

Let me say … I think doubting people and what they say <or cynicism in general> is the flavor of the day.

There is gobs of advice information on how to communicate authentically but, in reality, authenticity comes from the soul … it comes naturally. I imagine every person who dances in the spotlight of fame gets coached and scripted and sculpted for the masses before stepping up to a podium or agreeing to accept the microphone and say something.

And maybe that is where today’s cynicism in people has its roots.

The ‘polished’ aspect of authenticity.

We don’t want the scripted from the people we suggest we want to know about … or just know.

Ah.

‘suggest’

And yet while yearning for authentic we also parse each tone, syllable, gesture, word & thought <although mostly that is speculation on our part on with regard to what they really meant when they said what they said>.

And that is where this whole thing gets slightly odd <or absurd … if not sad>.

While Brady or Belichick or Carroll or Lynch/Sherman <any coach or player> steps up and speaks as earnestly as possible … and share truth and we consistently doubt … Katy Perry <who I admire & adore her personality> steps up in a slightly wacky persona <which you have to know is slightly scripted at minimum> and within the wackiness … seamlessly slides into a serious thought … and no one doubts or questions or is cynical … we accept it as truth & authentic.

Look.

I am not suggesting she isn’t speaking truth … in fact … I am fairly sure she is one of the more truly authentic people out in the public eye today.

I just think it’s a little out of whack that we doubt the sincere and accept the absurd.

I also think it’s a little out of whack how much we listen … or do not listen.

What I mean by that is we listen very very <very> hard for things in which we can turn to and point out flaws & ‘lies’ & things that make the person saying them ‘less than.’

And yet we don’t seem to listen as hard for the nuggets they share in which we can look at them and think ‘more than.’

That s why I opened my super bowl post with the Katy quote I did.

Lost among her zaniness.

Lost among the ‘I am only here so I don’t get fined.’

Lost among the ‘conspiracy to deflate some footballs.’

Lost was the nugget.

Every time she speaks she is entertaining.
Every time she performs she seems to love what she does.

Every time she has an opportunity … she offers up something bigger & more important.

… all of it to be about the music and female empowerment.

Someone wrote in the press the other day that Katy Perry is a pure entertainer, plain and simple. She also seems to have the keen ability to know her audience.

She does.

But maybe more importantly … she has figured out how to get people to understand her sincerity & authenticity … and people believe she is … well … she … and isn’t out there with some agenda or ulterior motive.

Yet.

The price seems to be she isn’t being heard for the really important stuff.

And on the other hand you have people, doing their jobs <playing the game at the highest level>, speaking earnestly & with blinding glimpses of earnest unscripted sincerity … and we not only ignore the tone we attack the integrity <and seek to give some absurd fines and penalties over obscure & meaningless events>.

What a wacky world we live in these days.

Sigh.

But today is the wacky super bowl day.

I will most likely stay up to watch the zany Katy Perry <if not just to see Lenny Kravitz> but also because I hope in all she does that she has a moment to share one of her thoughtful nuggets <and someone will hear>.

I will most likely stay up to watch some of the best football players in today’s game <because it is one of those rare super bowls where two of the most talented teams actually get to play> play the game and hope they share some nuggets of greatness.

I will most likely stay up and watch the game if it stays close. I have no dog in this hunt and would most likely be happy with whichever team wins. Oddly enough … for two of the most hated <disliked > teams in the NFL … I like them both.

I imagine if I write about the super bowl I need to do two things.

Comment on the tv ads and make a Super Bowl winner pick.

The ads.

The tv ads in the Super Bowl will suck <compared to the past>.

We will find things to like … but the key word is ‘find.’

In years past the super bowl was an opportunity to showcase creativity & take risks.

Ah.

Risk.

Kind of not a word in today’s business world. Because risk means … well … a downside.

No business wants the downside … therefore … they sacrifice the upside.

Suffice it to say that the tv ads will be mediocre or suck.

The game.

Yikes.

Let’s say Patriots win 35 to 28.

Brady will win the MVP but Gronk should.

Lynch will be a beast and have a great game but the Patriots defense does what they do which is find a turnover or two when it matters and that is the difference.
I honestly do not care which team wins.

I do think the Patriots are a slightly better team <although this is , again, one of those rare years where both teams are solid from top to bottom of rosters with some stars sprinkled in <c’mon … who can name a Patriots running back or wide receiver? … or a Seahawks receiver?> and I also admit that I think it would be cool for Tom Brady to win one more super bowl as he slides into the twilight of a fabulous career.

Enjoy the game.

And, well, maybe listen to the people who get the microphone shoved in front of their face with a little less cynicism.

Maybe we should seek to find a little more trust that some people truly are trying to tell us the truth.

Remember.

You can only see as far as you think <and only hear as much as you unthink>.