Tracking a Story

"Poor men wanna be rich,
rich men wanna be kings,
And a king ain't satisfied
till he rules everything."

Perhaps Springsteen should have played "Badlands" in yesterday's halftime show. But that might have been too real - the Super Bowl is all about escaping the world for one Sunday evening, right?

That's what Bank of America must think, anyway.

The Huffington Post headline this morning read: "Bailed Out Bank Spends Millions on Super Bowl Activities." It linked to an ABC News article on Bank of America's corporate sponsorship of the multi-million dollar "NFL Experience," a five-day carnival/midway/bazaar held outside of Raymond James Stadium. This is on top of an estimated $10 million in corporate sponsorship.

Granted, there had to be some contract. But Tom Schatz, president of the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste, notes that:

"The Super Bowl is a big deal, but it's a bigger deal that Bank of America is being bailed out by the America taxpayers," Schatz said. "This is an exceptional year and it's a time to say we're not going to do business as usual. We're going to say no, we're going to show some restraint, and we're going to cut back on something that really isn't absolutely necessary."

The Drudge Report also linked to the article (the headline was about the actual game). A bunch of bloggers picked up on it, but the only mainstream media article linked to is that ABC article. The media were all over that game. Where is everyone else's coverage?

I was confused a bit by NPR's coverage of the game versus the economy. Linton Weeks writes:

At a time when many Americans have to choose between groceries and gasoline, the idea of paying a grown man $78,000 for playing on the winning football team (in addition to the millions he is already hauling in) makes the executives of Bank of America look like pikers.

[A piker (I didn't know this) is one who makes small bets.] That assertion is nonsensical, considering Bank of America received $45 billion dollars in bailout money, $20 billion of which is said to be for problems caused by the purchase of Merrill Lynch. And they are not revealing how that money is being spent. Well, sort of. I suppose some of it must have gone toward a Super Bowl party...or something.

The NPR article continued:

And if you need more evidence, Playboy and Sports Illustrated have canceled their Super Bowl soirees this year. Maxim magazine has trimmed back its party plans. And the Tampa Tribune is reporting that corporate jet traffic may be less than expected.

"No one is immune from the economy," said Reid Sigmon, the Super Bowl host committee's executive director, "not [even] the NFL."

Though according to a Tampa Bay Tribune article, the parties in the corporate suites were pretty nice:

The corporate suites were filled with a "who's who" of corporate America. AT&T, Motorola, NBC and Pepsi. Even some executives from institutions that have received billions in corporate bailout money watched the game from suites. Capital One, Wachovia and Bank of America had suites with all the trimmings.

Today, perhaps it will be back to business as usual, including finding some way to scrape together the $7 million to keep the Carolina Panthers playing in Bank of America Stadium.