The Super Bowl And The Grand Gladiator Stage

January 26, 2015

Sometimes I think of football players as modern day gladiators and the Super Bowl is clearly the biggest event within that space. How does this event compare to the biggest gladiator event of Roman Times? Before Twitter, Instant Replay, Gatorade, Electricity…even before Deflategate…before almost everything!!!

In A.D. 107, the Roman Emperor Trajan entertained the people of Rome with an extravaganza lasting 123 days to celebrate his conquest over King Decebalus. During these 123 days, 11,000 animals died and 5,000 pairs of gladiators fought, according to Dio Cassius 68.15.1. Now that is some real Gladiator stuff.

I’m a football fan but I am not maniacal about it. I love the strategy, the competition and wearing your heart on your sleeve. I don’t understand the pain these guys live through. I also love the visual drama and the art form that football on television has become. Last week, Tony Verna, the man who invented Instant Replay died at 81. Super slow mo replays! Art in motion!

Football is an art form…especially when you consider the magnitude of the stage they play on and the complexity of delivering it in a seamless form to a billion people this Sunday.

Monday, January 26, 2015

Matt Ross

Matt Ross is the Founder of One River School of Art + Design. Since 2012, One River has grown from one location in Englewood, NJ to fifteen schools in six states with a goal to “transform art education” across America. Prior to One River School, Matt was the CEO of School of Rock, where he built the company into the world leader in music education for kids. Prior to his experience with School of Rock, Matt held a variety of management positions in broadcasting, working for diverse media companies such as Clear Channel, CBS and Viacom. He is also active in promoting Autism awareness and supporting emerging artists and is passionate about collecting Contemporary Art with a focus on painting, mixed media and drawing.