The Armed Forces Bowl provides a troubling integration of commercial sport and the American culture of militarism. The game features patriotic displays and symbols that have become increasingly central to sporting events during the 'war on terror,' represents the first time a military manufacturer has been the official sponsor of a college bowl game, and depends on a ubiquitous rhetoric of ''support the troops.'' By expanding the familiar conflation of sport and war, the Armed Forces Bowl simultaneously trivializes the seriousness of war as it emphasizes the seriousness of supporting the American military. This rhetorical division offers a delimited conception of appropriate American identity, thereby normalizing war in general and endorsing the 'war on terror' specifically.
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