Some quick (completely unorganized) thoughts on the SuperBowl:
- As most people who know me or read this site know, I was rooting for the Bears. I posted earlier that I thought that a 7-point spread was way too big, and I even had a feeling the Bears would win. But I can admit I was wrong about that. That should’ve been obvious when Lovie Smith refused to bench Grossman.
- People also know that I don’t like Manning… I think he is always willing to take credit for positive results but never willing to take responsibility for negative results. Also he has terrible body language… when he walks on and off the field between plays and between possessions, his head sags as if his helmet weighs 60 pounds. He looks like a sulking Charlie Brown. But that’s not the reason I think it’s a crock he was named MVP. His stats were good, not great. But the Colts won the game thanks to their running backs. They kept the Bears D on the field, and if you take away the passes to the running backs, Manning was only 14-27 for 173 yards. Hardly MVP worthy. I would’ve given it to Rhodes (or split it between Rhodes and Addai).
- Also, it took 14 seconds of gametime for Manning to make his first Manning face. That’s gotta be a record.
- Prince gave a great performance during the halftime show, and while I think he did a good job with the covers (who knew he was such a Foo Fighters fan?), isn’t his catalog deep enough that he could’ve played 12 minutes of original material?
-Billy Joel, not such a great job, especially the first verse. Maybe get back on the sauce, at least before performing.
-Teams should stop running the opening kickoff back for touchdowns during title games. Ohio State did it and lost to UF, and the Bears did it and lost to the Colts. Just an observation.
- Just when I thought David Spade couldn’t get any uglier, they show a shot of him sitting in the crowd wearing a plaid shirt and a clear plastic dry-cleaning bag to protect himself from the rain. What a doofus.
- Give karma a high five for paying attention. Cedric Benson fumbled on his first touch of the game, and a few minutes later he’s out with an injury. Teach him not to protect the football during the biggest game of his life.
- The turning point of the game came with about 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, when the Bears called a pass play on 2nd and 1. Grossman trips over his own feet and falls for an 11-yard loss, knocking them out of field-goal range in the process. Why not run on 3 straight downs? You can get 1 stinking yard! That call KILLED me.
- My favorite line of the whole night came during the pre-pre-game show, when Shannon, Boomer, and Dan all picked the Colts to win. When they asked James Brown (the NFL commentator, not the dead singer) who he liked, he sat on the fence. Shannon called out, "He likes the caterer." Always nice to make fun of the fatties.
- The worst part of the night was the Cirque de Soleil number during the pre-game. It made no sense whatsoever. Basically it looked like someone’s box of Crayolas exploded onto balloons and towels, and the choreographers told them to grab the stuff and run around the field like idiots for 6 minutes. Plus, I didn’t appreciate their representation of South Florida men: there were all fat and sweaty and wore wife-beaters and ugly board shorts. That’s not accurate at all. Well, maybe a little. The routine also brought to mind a few questions: Did players have to agree to let the performers wear their jerseys during the number? (I didn't see an Urlacher out there, and I can just imagine him laughing at it being used in such a sissy way) Would Gloria Estefan get a round of applause like that anywhere outside of Miami? Does she even perform anywhere outside of Miami? Hmm…
- Did anyone else notice, when Nantz and Simms appeared for the first time, on the field behind them a bunch of people were re-enacting the Raising the Flag on Iwo-Jima? Why were they doing that? And didn’t anyone who produced the show see the movie Flags of our Fathers? The people involved in the real flag-raising HATED re-enacting that in public. So random.
- Why did they call it the "Built Ford Tough" Kickoff Show and not just the Ford Kickoff Show? This is a serious question.
- As much as people (myself included) despise K-Fed, I liked his SuperBowl commercial. Give him credit for being able to make fun of himself. As for the other commercials, most of them were disastrous. But my dad loved the GM one with the suicidal assembly-line machine.
I guess that’s it. I’m so full of KFC, ribs, and beer, I can’t even really think straight anymore. But start the clock… 7 months until football begins again (no, the ProBowl doesn't count as football one bit).