The game will go down as one of the best ever played. It had everything you could ask for. Need a world record to hold your attention? I think that 100 yard pass interception should keep you happy. Need a solid game on both sides of the ball? You got it in spades yesterday. Both teams came to win, not come close. Need drama to keep your fat butt on the couch? Well, I give you the last 35 seconds of the game as Example “A” of drama writ large.
Need heros? How does former drug dealer turned Suprebowl MVP, Santonio Holmes, work for you? If you have a minute, check out RICK TELANDER’S article about him. He says everything better than I could, so I hope you give it a read.
While I was rooting for the Cardinals, mostly due to their Chicago history, I didn’t really have a pick in the game. When the Bears aren’t playing that is how it usually works for me. I just want to enjoy the game itself and, yesterday, I did just that.
Nevertheless, I did make some predictions about what would be worth watching yesterday and I guess we should look at how I did.
The ads, of course. They are usually worth a chuckle now and then.
Today, I feel sorry for media critics who have to come up with best and worst lists for Superbowl ads. I was in a room with over 100 people and the best ad going (Bud Light’s Swedish ad with Conan O’Brien) got smiles. Not laughs, not chuckles, just kind of a grin here and there. So, I grossly overestimated this year’s crop.
And, the pre-game events that usually leave people misty eyed, over things they never think about normally, will get plenty of play.
Well, the twenty minutes of treacle focused on the history of the Terrible Towel certainly qualified. Yes, it is nice that the money goes to a specific charity, but this could have been done in a one minute story and then everyone could have moved on. Instead, we get interviews from former players, the legacy of Lynn Swan, lots of shots of autistic children who are receiving the benefits of sales and on and on. It was clearly designed to yank heart strings and accomplish nothing. They did not ask fans to support the cause or anything. They just tossed cliche after cliche into the fray until your brain went numb. There was also the history of the Gatorade dump. Well, that was originated by the Chicago Bears, so I watched like a stupid puppy, but even that was pretty lame.
Of course, we will get the annual lip service to patriotism and the token member of the military trotted out for reasons as obscure as can be.
They got an active General to host the coin toss. Obligatory shots of our men and women in uniform watching a tiny TV were also populated throughout the broadcast. And, while they did mention that the troops each got one personal pizza and 2 cans of beer, they neglected to mention that it was, Chicago’s very own, Lou Malnotti’s that donated the pie and Schlitz that donated the beer. I guess they can’t give away those Superbowl plugs. Also, as a side note, not one recruiting commercial was given to the armed forces. If they wanted in, they had to pay just like PETA would have had to.
So, I get to stand by this statement;
I’ll tell you what; if the NFL & NBC took 10% of the ad revenue generated by this event and gave it to the front line troops to be used for the supplies they are sorely lacking, then I won’t care if they line up 30 Special Forces Commandos to do the Bunny Hop at halftime.
Bruce Spingsteen? My wife summed it up best. “He thinks it is an honor. Look at him smiling. He doesn’t know that he was just the safe pick and that no one will care about this tomorrow.”
My last prediction?
This is going to be, in the immortal words of John Madden (who, much to my surprise, is still alive); “A snot knocker.”
I feel pretty confident that I got that one right.