A travel writers' Super Bowl special: Pico Iyer and Rolf discuss NFL football from the global perspective

“My life has often forced me to watch the Super Bowl in unusual circumstances. The first Super Bowl found me in boarding school in England, huddled under my bedclothes with an illegal transistor radio.” –Pico Iyer

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Pico talk about the novelty of two travel writers talking about the Super Bowl, and Pico’s NFL fandom (4:00); how sports can be a therapeutic diversion from the more serious aspects of life, and which players are Rolf and Pico’s all-time favorites (13:00); Pico and Rolf’s old articles for Sports Illustrated, and how narratives attach themselves to sporting contests (21:00); and what Pico’s plan and predication is for the 2025 Super Bowl (32:30).

Pico Iyer (@PicoIyer) is a novelist, essayist, and author. His newest book is Aflame: Learning from Silence.

Notable Links:

• A personal history of being a lifelong pro-sports fan (Deviate Super Bowl special 2020)
• The Native Americans that beat the NFL Giants (Deviate Super Bowl special 2023)
• Sports, superstitions, and sacraments (Deviate Super Bowl special 2024)
• Pico Iyer on solitude, stillness, and silence (Deviate episode)
• Pascal’s wager (philosophical argument)
• Edgar Allan Poe (American poet)
• Wichita North (high school in Kansas)
• Sports Illustrated (magazine)
• Eton’s Brutal, Incomprehensible Wall Game, by Pico Iyer (1995 article)
• Murder of football player in Kansas shakes town, by Rolf Potts (2012 article)
• Ralph Henry Barbour (early 20th century sports fiction writer)
• Notes On the Narrative Conundrum of Baseball Fandom, by Rolf Potts (article)
• Vin Scully (sportscaster for the LA Dodgers)
• Chick Hearn (sportscaster for the LA Lakers)
• Bill Simmons (podcaster)
• Nick Wright (sportscaster)
• 2014 American League Wild Card Game (Royals-A’s baseball playoff game)
• Wesley Morris (media critic)

NFL football links:

• Baltimore Ravens (NFL football team with literary mascot)
• Derrick Henry (NFL running back)
• Tony Romo (retired NFL quarterback and commentator)
• Chris Collinsworth (retired NFL wide receiver and commentator)
• Jared Goff (NFL quarterback for the Detroit Lions)
• Josh Allen (NFL quarterback for the Buffalo Bills)
• Super Bowl I (first AFL–NFL World Championship Game)
• Max McGee (former NFL end for the Green Bay Packers)
• Super Bowl LI (2017 Falcons-Patriots Super Bowl)
• Super Bowl LV (2021 Chiefs-Buccaneers Super Bowl)
• John Brodie (former NFL quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers)
• Brock Purdy (NFL quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers)
• Barry Sanders (retired NFL running back for the Detroit Lions)
• Joe Montana (former NFL quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers)
• Saquon Barkley (NFL running back for the Philadelphia Eagles)

The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.