Super Bowl Thoughts

As has been said by many, the Super Bowl is more than just the game.  The Super Bowl has become the biggest day of the year that isn't a national holiday (or is it?).  When the game finally begins, it's not just about the game: commercials and the halftime show certainly play a part.  Let's break it down:


The game:
Once again, the Giants and Patriots put on a spectacular show.  Sure, it's not the shootout we may have seen had the Saints or Packers made it instead of the Giants, but the Giants have been the best team in football for the last two months and cemented that status with another win against Brady, Belichick, and the Pats.  You can ask everyone that watched the game with me: when there were less than four minutes left, Giants with the ball, needing a score, you couldn't help but think that this would be another repeat of the Giants' game-winning drive four years ago.  They even gave Tom Brady roughly the same amount of time (about a minute) to try and bring his team back.  There's really not much to say or criticize about this game: it was a fun, hard-nosed game with big moments and, luckily, no egregiously bad calls to mull over.

The commercials:
Maybe it's just me, but for the most part, I wasn't that impressed with the commercials.  All of the usual elements were there: cheap laughs, cheap attempts to sell sex, and the serious commercials here and there.  That said, save for a few standouts, I didn't feel that this year's commercials were that memorable.  I hope, for the sake of the companies, that their advertisements yielded enough to cover the $3.5 million cost for each 30-second spot.

The halftime show:
Guest stars galore and high production value were the highlights of the show featuring Madonna.  I was not a fan of this halftime show, as at the very least, I would've preferred if she was actually singing those things live, rather than the lip-synching I thought we saw.  Given my own personal bias, I was saddened to see LMFAO make an appearance.  Once again, I have respect for what LMFAO does, as they really make music into entertainment, but that's just the catch for me: I want music to at least have some artfulness to it, but there's nothing about what LMFAO does that I could call "artful".  That said, and maybe this is partially due to age, but Madonna could not replicate what makes her Madonna during this halftime show, and that's why I was not a fan of this show.  The recent halftime show featuring Prince is still one of the best shows I can remember.  If he can pull that off at his age, Madonna should be able to at least come close to it.

What'd you think of Super Bowl Sunday?  I love the comments, so keep them flowing!