Super
Bowl antics disappoint commercial fanatics
Austin
Lewis
In
many ways, I feel the Super Bowl has
become a parody of itself. Maybe it’s
because the same teams seem to make it
in year after year (which, by the way,
is not a problem for this lifelong New
England Patriots fan). Or maybe it’s
the fact that the idea of watching the
Super Bowl for the commercials has become
bigger than the game itself. Whatever
the reason, many aspects of the largest
television event of the year are becoming
predictable.
First, what is a Super Bowl without an over-the-top musical collaboration?
No, it can’t be one that makes sense—how can it when you have so
many performers that each only has time to sing a verse and a chorus? I know
the network is going for variety, but when you aim for something for everyone
you end up pleasing no one.
While I am not a fan of John Legend or India Arie, at least their performance
with Stevie Wonder and Joss Stone seemed to fit. At this point, any Super Bowl
that doesn’t include a collaboration as wacky as the one between Aerosmith
and *NSYNC in 2001 receives a plus in my book.
Another Super Bowl-related moment that I’m sick of is Pepsi’s use
of the same commercial year after year. Sure, the flavor-of-the-month guest
star and plot are different each time around, but Pepsi’s message that “Coke
sucks; drink Pepsi” remains the same.
Finally, the repeated references to Janet Jackson’s publicity stunt,
excuse me, “wardrobe malfunction,” from her 2004 halftime performance
are becoming more than I can bear. I’m ok with the GoDaddy.com commercials,
as they won’t be here forever, but I wish the networks would stop referencing
the moment as ABC did with a halftime commercial. This can’t become a
regular part of Super Bowl Sunday.
And then, of course, there was the game. I don’t consider myself a fan
of either team, but the Pittsburgh Steelers and the
Seattle Seahawks both delivered a game that was worth watching. It’s
best when the Super Bowl is close until the final minutes, as this one was.
Better clock management by the Seahawks at the end of the first half and in
the final minutes of the game would have kept things closer, but I can’t
complain too much.
The Super Bowl win was the Steelers fifth championship, but the first for Jerome
Bettis and Head Coach Bill Cowher, who has been with the organization for 14
years. There ended up being 4 touchdowns in the game, with Pittsburgh claiming
three.
It’s always exciting to see players perform their best when it really
counts, as it was when the Steelers’ Willie Parker and the Seahawks’ Kelly
Herndon rose to the occasion. Parker’s 75-yard run for a touchdown in
the third quarter and Herndon’s 76-yard interception return are new Super
Bowl records, each breaking the previous record by one yard.
If that wasn’t enough, those watching Super Bowl XL got to see Steelers
running back Bettis play football’s most important game at the end of
an accomplished career, one where he was able to retire on top. He finished
with 43 yards on 14 carries and ended his career as the NFL’s No. 5 rusher.
Now that’s something I wouldn’t mind becoming a Super Bowl tradition.
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