Football is over for the season and that’s just about as depressing as this day being Monday. The 32 teams came down to just two. Then one, the Green Bay Packers, were crowned Super Bowl Champions.
Maybe we’ll see more “Cheesehead Bras” being worn… great googly moogly!
In today’s column I break down all of Super Bowl Sunday from the pre-game shows to the commercials. Enjoy!
The Pre-Game on ESPN:
I started out watching ESPN. These folks were so emotional about the big game that it hindered their performances. There are just too many ex-jocks and many of them cannot string two sentences together coherently. Out of 10, I give ESPN’s performance a seven.
The Pre-Game on FOX:
They kind of lost me when they brought Jerry Jones, Jimmy Johnson, Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, and Daryl Johnston together to talk about their past Super Bowl victories. Why?
I enjoyed the interview done by Terry Bradshaw with Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger has had some problems and Bradshaw is the face of the Steelers past. Roethlisberger has to prove this off-season that he can stay out of trouble. He is saying all the right things. He has to prove it now.
The Fox Pre-game show gets an eight out of 10.
The Obama Interview:
Bill O’Reilly of Fox News interviewed President Barack Obama. Most people who don’t follow politics probably felt O’Reilly was rude and interrupted the President too much. If you watch an Obama press conference you will see he is the master at giving long answers. The interview was only 15 minutes and it was live so if Obama could do some rope-a-dope he would not have to answer that many questions. O’Reilly did a decent job of moving the interview along even if he had to interrupt the President a few times.
I give the interview an eight out of 10.
The National Anthem:
OK, Christina Aguilera messed up the words to the National Anthem. It happens. Leave her alone. It seems like everything was messed up in North Texas this week…
Cowboys Stadium:
Around 400 people did not get seats although they had tickets. Just imagine if you were a father taking your 10 year-old son to his first Super Bowl and finding out you had no seats. This was terrible. It will never be forgotten and is a black mark on the Cowboy organization. Coupled with a strike by the cabbies and the area not being able to handle a little snow, it was pretty much of a disaster for North Texas this week.
The Actual Game:
This is the game that is watched by millions of people many who don’t know the difference between a running back and a defensive back and they would find it hard to name three players on each team besides the quarterbacks.
Besides the game being for all the marbles, it is different. Halftime is longer. It’s been two weeks since the teams played. The whole game just feels different to me.
Although there were 13 penalties called, it seemed to me that the referees were reluctant to make the calls – especially pass interference calls. This game should not be refereed any differently than a regular season game, but it appears to me that Super Bowls are.
Aaron Rodgers played a great game. He was the MVP. Now he and Brett Favre both have Super Bowl rings. Favre was never Super Bowl MVP, but he does have three NFL MVPs sitting in his closet. Just as Favre had to live up to former Packers QB, Bart Starr, Rodgers will always have to live up to Brett Favre. That’s the way the world turns in sports…
Calling the Game:
The Fox Broadcasting crew of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are the number one crew for Fox NFL games. Joe Buck is a great baseball announcer, but he is not even a good football announcer. He lacks passion in his announcing. Sometimes I wonder if Troy Aikman is really in the booth or if a mannequin looking like him is there and a voice-over is done. He shows no emotion. These two fellows together make for a very boring broadcast. Even when they try to joke and have fun, they fall flat.
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman get a five out of 10.
Halftime Show:
There were technical difficulties and the show was just OK. They have about 12 minutes to perform and a few minutes before and after for set-up, so it is a tough show to produce without having problems.
The lights were neat. The singing was not that good. All in all, I give the halftime show a six out of 10. Next year, lets have REO Speedwagon, Styx, and Cheap Trick do the halftime show…
The Commercials:
USA Today has their annual “Ad Meter” and has their winners HERE. They say the Bud Light “dog sitting” commercial and the Doritos “Pug goes for the chips” tied for first.
I liked those, but I also liked the Bud Light commercial set in the Wild West where they sing “Tiny Dancer” which is on my playlist…(not the Tim McGraw version) Tiny Dancer is also featured in the 1975 classic movie “Aloha Bobby and Rose” for you trivia buffs.
I also liked the Volkswagen meets Darth Vader commercial. Cute.
Future Dates:
I sincerely hope that we don’t have a lock-out because that will harm the NFL for years if it happens. Here are some key dates in the NFL:
February 23 – March 1: NFL Scouting Combine
April 28-30: The NFL Draft
September 8: NFL Kickoff 2011 Weekend begins
Have a great off-season and remember our teams all have a chance to make it to the Super Bowl next season! We’re all undefeated!
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