Maggie McNeill on the Mythical Invasion of the Super Bowl Hookers

Major events such as World’s Fairs and the
Olympics always provide an excuse for governments to “clean things
up” in the host cities before the guests arrive. Police sweep
people the leaders consider undesirable, embarrassing or just plain
unsightly out of public view. The victims vary with the time and
place: the poor, the homeless, unpopular minority groups, drug
addicts and gay people have all been among them. The list
always includes sex workers; even in countries where
prostitution is legal the moralists feel compelled to purge the
most visible manifestations of the sex trade from areas where
visitors might encounter them. Xenophobia is also heightened by
such events, as those so predisposed fear the prospect of strangers
coming to town, bringing with them outlandish and alien forms of
sin and crime. Together, writes Maggie McNeill, these two factors
may be the origin of one of the stranger (yet more persistent)
myths of our time: the idea that some Lost Tribe of Gypsy Harlots
wanders about the world from mega-event to mega-event, unimpeded by
the usual logistics of transport and lodging which should make the
migration of such a large group a daunting task indeed.

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