If you want permission to skip that Super Bowl party, here it is

Super Bowl Sunday has become something of a national holiday in the U.S. According to surveys, somewhere around 75 percent of Americans say they’ll watch at least part of the game.

Here’s the thing, though. The vast majority of those people don’t really care who wins the game, so why are they watching?

Some say it’s for the ads. Some have other excuses. For most, though, it’s simply because that’s what everyone else is doing. It’s become expected. Many people will turn the game on — for at least part of it — and many of those people will be watching at “Super Bowl parties.” Why? Because that’s what they’re expected to do.

I honestly don’t care whether you watch this game or not. I don’t care whether you want to see the ads or not. (The ads mostly seem terrible to me these days, but that’s another issue.) I’m concerned about something else.

I’m terrified that such a huge percentage of people are on social auto-pilot — simply doing something because their culture dictates that it has become “normal.”

There are definitely some people who care deeply whether the Seahawks or the Patriots win this game. (I’m not one of them.) There are also some people who simply love pro football enough to watch almost any game. I have absolutely no objection to those people enjoying the game.

I don’t hate sports. I’m a big college football and basketball fan — especially games involving my alma mater, the University of Alabama — so I understand why some people are going to have a rooting interest in the game. And I understand why others would simply enjoy the sport.

But you can’t tell me that nearly 75 percent of Americans suddenly care about these two teams when a Super Bowl rolls around.

All I’m saying is that we need to be far more intentional about how we spend our time. We don’t need to just routinely do whatever marketing has told us is normal. We don’t need to do things just because “everyone else is doing it.”

I was in a grocery store Saturday afternoon for just one item. The parking lot had been packed and the store was full of people as well. I asked the cashier why it was so much busier than normal.

“It’s the Super Bowl,” he said. “Everybody has to get ready for the game and all the parties. That’s what everyone’s going to be doing.”

He looked at me as though I was missing something that seemed obvious to him, so I didn’t pursue it.

If you care about the Patriots or the Seahawks, I understand why you’ll be watching. If you’re a die-hard football fan, I guess I understand your interest, too. And if you just attend every party where someone offers food and booze, I suppose you’re a lot more typical than I am.

But most of us don’t really care about this game. Most of us don’t care about the ads. Most of us don’t care about the halftime show.

Most people are just watching because it’s the thing to do in this culture. I think that’s dangerous and dysfunctional, because it’s indicative of all the ways that people simply comply with whatever is expected of them.

I won’t be at any Super Bowl parties. I won’t be watching the game. Not because I object to the game or to people enjoying socializing together. It’s simply because the rest of my normal life — the things I’d be doing anyway — are more interesting to me.

So if you find yourself realizing that your own life is more interesting than participating in a manufactured media spectacle — and you’d like permission to stop following the crowd — here’s your permission.

Read a book. Play cards. Go work out. Talk with your family. Whatever you do, make it an intentional choice. Don’t just go along with what the culture tells you has become normal. Doing that is dangerous.