the not so super bowl

Though I really enjoy (and used to play) ice hockey, and enjoy soccer and baseball tremendously, I'm not a huge sports fan. I don't really live or die when teams win or lose, and until recently, I couldn't stand football.

That all changed when I got HDTV. I can't quantify why, but football went from something I just didn't understand to something I felt excited to watch and really enjoyed. Unless someone is playing against the Cowboys, I don't really have a team to cheer for, so I prefer close, hard-fought, exciting games. Games in extreme conditions, especially snow and ice, are also highly regarded.

For this year's superbowl, I didn't really have an emotional investment in either team. Yeah, I get the Payton Manning thing, and who of my generation doesn't remember the Superbowl Shuffle, but I was just hoping for a close, hard-fought, exciting game.

Also, because it was the superbowl, I was hoping for some entertaining commercials, as well.

Man, was I disappointed on all counts. I find turnovers and fumbles to be the opposite of exciting (unless they're made by the Cowboys, in which case they are the equivalent of finding twenty dollars in my pants after they've been washed) and though the game was close until the half, it was pretty clear to me, in my entirely uninformed opinion, that the Colts were just a better all-around team.

But let's talk about the commercials, which media seems to make a really big deal out of hyping up every year: what a pile of crap they were!

I can think of three four* that made any impression on me at all:

1. Rock, Paper, Scissors. Very funny.
2. The Garmin one with the Japanese monster movie theme. Very clever.
3. The Snickers thing. I didn't see that coming, and it made me laugh.
4. KFed. I hate to admit it, but I laughed very hard at this one.

(Incidentally, I wonder what sort of deal SAG has worked out for these commercials being featured and replayed online? One of the big concerns actors have with commercials is getting over exposed by one popular spot and losing work on other spots as a result of it, so those actors in very successful commercials typically get good residuals to make up for the new work they're not getting; I wonder how SAG has addressed this with regard to online reuse? When I negotiated for SAG, the producers were real shitcocks about online stuff.)

Around the end of the third quarter, I observed that I really missed the dot com era, when creative people had stupid amounts of money to spend on creatively risky commercials that didn't care if they offended anyone, or were just too silly or outlandish. You know what I wanted to see? Edgy commercials, and instead I saw commercials that were boring, bland, "safe" and predictable. Why do advertising executives think talking animals and computer graphics are clever? The "user generated" commercials seemed as uncreative as the "ad agency generated" ones, which really disappointed me.

I'm happy for Peyton Manning; he seems like one of those guys who always gets nominated and never wins, but I didn't enjoy the game as much as I enjoyed some of the playoff games.

So all you football fans out there: what did you think? And are any of you going to watch the Pro Bowl? That seems like the most useless all-star kind of game in professional sports to me.

* I missed the Robert Goulet spot, but just saw it at YouTube. I really liked it, because it's that absurd kind of silliness that appeals to me, but do the damn kids today know who Robert Goulet is? And this doesn't get included in the list, because I was so bored by the whole thing by the time this spot aired, I'd walked away from the TV for some reason. Probably to walk away from the TV.

Comments

[Stoner]

If you want some real sports excitement for your HDTV-viewing pleasure, find a rugby or Australian Rules Football match. Those guys hit as hard as NFL players but they don't wear all that padding.

A few years ago, my wife and I were channel surfing (there was nothing on TV, imagine that!) We stopped on an Australian Rules Football match. We knew nothing about the game at all. So, a few clicks in the ol' web browser brought us to the official site, afl.com.au. We read up on a few of the rules and the scoring system - the game made a lot more sense and we loved it! We catch a game every now and then and it is always more exciting to watch than American Football.

[RobAP]

I didn't watch the Super Bowl this year. I just don't like either the Colts or da Bears. I haven't been this disinterested since the Bucaneers & Raiders Super Bowl. Also, I heard the commercials weren't that great this year. How was the half time show? I heard that Billy Joel didn't do that great before the game, but Prince did a good job at half time.

[ldymcbth]

I was glad to see Peyton get a win (old UT Vol fan) but otherwise it was a snoozefest. The commercials were crap, too. Prince was the best part, and mainly because I was wondering about his do-rag the whole time. And also waiting to see one of his dancers (Diamond? Pearl? Who knows what he calls them now?) bite the big one on the rainy platform.

In other unrelated news, Wil PLEASE consider coming to DragonCon in Atlanta, GA (Labor Day wknd). I have always wanted to see you in person and Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes will be there too, thus making it the holy ST:TNG triumverate if you would come. It would make me giddy with delight.

[DemonGarik]

I agree with your assessment about the game, except for one factor- I thought the turnovers and fumbles were actually quite exciting because you never knew what was happening. One minute The Bears had the ball, and then in a flash, The Colts picked it up and ran for a touch down. I thought at least the first half was quite a nail-biter, and I wasn't emotionally invested in the game at all.

About the commercials- I'm an advertising major in college and we have already spent the day examining them. The Budweiser commercials were very entertaining and done well. The rest however were just so bland and pointless! I especially hated the fact that some commercials had been played before the Super Bowl for weeks now. How unoriginal is that? You're paying several million dollars to show the same exact commercial? Damn did that suck! Ah well, if only the dot com boom would come back, commercials would again be worth watching.

[cobracommandr]

As a football fan, the game was entertaining but not at all the knock down drag out we love to see in the championship game.

I'm a Peyton fan and it was great to see him win and to see Coach Dungy finally get a ring was also great. He is as class as it comes in the NFL as far as coaches come and he won with a clean team football always great to see.

The weather unfortunately stole a lot of thunder from the game, being a Miami resident I can tell you that its sunny most of the time but the rule is if you plan a huge event here, you will get wet. Happened to the MTV awards a few years back and now with the Super Bowl.

As far as the ads are concerned, they almost all blew with the exception of the GM Robot Arm, Robert Goulet and the Careerbuilder.com office survival commercials.

As far as Prince, did anyone else catch the silhouette of his guitar looking mighty suspicious behind that cloth? I'm not a pervert I promise, I just make it a point to look for any sexual overtones in the Halftime show since the FCC crackdown.

/pervert

[starshine_diva]

I didn't watch the Super Bowl because I was working at the Canadiens game, and when I got home, my boyfriend was watching an old British WW2 movie, which was loads more interesting.

Football is the one sport I just can't get into - or understand - no matter what.

And that ad is really long! The one on your right sidebar I mean.

[Danielle Ni Dhighe]

The Super Bowl was a good game. Not one of the best ones, but certainly better than average. I have respect for Dungy and Manning, so it was worth it to see them hoisting the trophy. I'm a Seahawks fan, so I also enjoyed watching the Bears get beaten.

I think the bad weather made it a more competitive game. Take away some of the Colts' weather-induced fumbles, and it could have been a blowout instead of a relatively close game.

I won't watch the Pro Bowl this year because I'll be catching up on films so I can compile my list of the top 10 films of 2006. "Letters from Iwo Jima" is on my calendar for Sunday.

Normally, I do watch the Pro Bowl because I enjoy watching the players just having fun out on the field. The Pro Bowl is the one NFL game where it's all about fun.

[AgentMunroe]

I don't really know who he is, but I've seen him parodied in Will Ferrel's SNL sketches, which made the Goulet sketch funny to me.

Actually, I think it would've been funny even without, although I probably would've assumed he was some no-name celebrity from a TV show 30 years go.

[sharladawn]

OH MAN, that KFed commercial was HILARIOUS!!!! LMAO. Actually, though, my fav was the BudLight commercial with the crabs worshipping the cooler on the beach.

[Katrina]

The Coke - GTA ad was one of my favorites too.

I don't watch football enough to root for any particular team, though my office does a pool, done in a grid.... so I had something to cheer for in trying to get numbers that match what I drew.

[Chris]

I enjoyed the Super Bowl primarily because I wanted to see Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy and Marvin Harrison and all those other guys win, because I think they are modest, respectful, but prepare seriously and play hard. Manning has been getting undue criticism for years (going back to his years at Tenn--having them win a Nat'l Championship the year after he left didn't help) and I'm glad for him to finally get the chance to give the proverbial finger to all those critics. Even better, he didn't HAVE to give it--his critics have kinda been giving it to themselves. He continued to show grace and class after winning, never saying "I told you so." Instead, he left it up to his critics to look in the mirror and say, "Wow, guess I have to eat crow now." Good for him.

On the opposite side of the ball, I couldn't stand the thought of the NFL champions being led by a quarterback that admitted that he didn't even prepare for one of his football games (he got a ZERO quarterback rating in that game--gee, surprise.) It reminds me of when a poker newbie calls an all-in against pocket aces and wins when their 7-5 offsuit makes a second pair on the river.

So I was happy with the result. The actual game--meh. Sloppy, boring at times, painful at others (see: Bears offense).

I'm sorry, but that Chevy commercial with all the guys dancing around in their underwear to "It's Gettin' Hot in Here" (and one of the women in the SUV covering her eyes and saying, "Tell me when it's over") was funny.

And cobracommandr, I missed the Prince halftime show but a friend watched it and saw the same thing you did. Yeah, he was playing with his, uhh..."guitar" when he was silhouetted behind that big screen. Good catch.

[justme]

I thought the Robert Goulet ad was hysterical. I have no memory of the product, but having him skulking around on the ceiling was really funny. I must have hit the demographic where making fun of my parents' obsolete idols is amusing. Maybe someday our kids will laugh at Jerry Seinfeld doing that kind of thing ...

The GM robot was so heavily ironic that I didn't find it very funny. I'm sure the people of Flint and the many other GM employees who went on to jobs like the robot dreamed of - if they were lucky - probably didn't like it either.

The other thing I've noticed for the last few years is that many of the Superbowl commercials are very violent. Maybe that's because we're all watching football and it's violent, but that was my overall impression.

I wish people could have gotten the full impact of the Florida A&M Marching 100 - the band accompanying Prince. They are fantastic, and the show didn't do them justice.

And last, but not least ... I will not be watching the Pro Bowl because woe unto me, I am a Browns fan. We don't have anyone playing this year, as far as I know.

[Athol_Wolverine]

Without a doubt the game could have been more exciting, AND the commercials were extremely lame.

Prince impressed me with his guitar work, though.

Just got to say this, Wil. I think it's a riot that you can't stand the Cowboys. I know so many people (me included) who hate them in the same way they hate the Yankees. One of my best friends is a lifelong Cowboys fan and I and some other guys we know give him crap about it all the time. He heard his share of it after Romo mishandled the snap!

[sharladawn]

Oh, oops, it was a Budweiser commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkKZ6Ra0ofM

[Mark]

Wil, the Snickers ad wasn't funny. It was basically a call to violence against gays and lesbians. The Human Rights Campaign has already slammed the company in a press release and it looks like they've already taken the ads down from their website.

[Wil]

I didn't see it at all like that, Mark. I thought it was making fun of people who thought ripping out their chest hair was "manly" instead of totally stupid.

I think you have to go a long way to get from what I saw to it being a call to violence against anyone.

Yeah, I just watched it again, and I think you have to really read into it to get to it being a call to violence against gays and lesbians.

[crazymixedupgirl]

I loved the Rock, Paper, Scissors ad and the Cooler Worshipping one, too! I had a good time watching both (although the commercials were a disappointment) - mostly cuz of good company and knitting.

[phunkysai]

Prince won this SuperBowl! He flat out rocked the ever-loving shit out of the house!

[girlgeek]

I believe the call to violence was more in reference to the 'alternate ending' ads that were on the snickers website. AMERICAblog has a good post explaining all the hubbub.

[Kurt Hunt]

Thank you for the comments about SAG. I'm doing a research project on YouTube and copyright issues, and my wife recently asked me: "what about commercials?"

I couldn't really answer because, although they're obviously copyrighted, I couldn't come up with a reason why a company would actually force YouTube to pull one down since it's just free publicity. Performer residuals isn't something I had considered, and it makes a world of difference.

Of course, now I also want to now what the deal is. So, uh, you should do some Nancy Drew-style digging around and write a detailed, well-cited post about it.

[Mewfymewf]

Yes, HDTV is a wonderful invention. Widescreen TV's were commonplace in Japan over a decade ago, since one of my medium-income friends had one that we watched "Whispers of the Heart" on... a new video release back then in 1995.

Back to the superbowl (I had it on because there just wasn't anything else on and I wanted to see how it looked in HD. I had totally forgotten about the commercials) ANYWAY, what was with all the talking animal commercials?! Talk about flogging a dead horse... or something.

Long story short, the two apes trying to score some beer was funny and really well made. For a talking animal ad. =)

[Liz]

The game felt like a bad high school football game - so many mistakes and fumbles. After a while I decided that the Bears didn't -deserve- to win.

I won't be watching the Pro Bowl. All-star games bore me.

As for the commercials: One of my favorites was shown during the pre-game show, and it was the Combos ad. It was so completely weird and random. I loved it.

I agree with the Snickers ad and the Robert Goulet ad being great. Also, I really liked the GM robot ad, until the end. The end ruined it for me.

The Chevy comercial with the gyrating half-naked guys was just wrong wrong wrong. My so-called friends are threatening to make an animated LJ icon of it for me. Ugh.

[jamenta]

Not only do the commercials suck these days, but did anyone notice how everything seemed ultra rushed? Like you were watching a badly edited movie ... like certain frames were cut out. I kept on getting the feeling that they were taping it all delayed, and cutting out parts whenever they could.

Man ... the end result of out-of-control corporate power in the hands of a relatively few very rich white men.

[erin12]

Agent Munroe: I'm another person (27 y.o.) who had never seen the actual Robert Goulet - just the Will Ferrell version. I'm glad Robert Goulet is apparently getting some mileage out of that (indirect) exposure to a valued demographic.

p.s. I finally figured out how to make words bold! I is so excited!

[eowyn14]

Bears fan here. I was actually excited about this Superbowl, obviously. No animosity for the Colts though. It amazed me this season how the Bears could be truly horrible and still win (see game against Arizona Cardinals). I was also disappointed with the commercials. (I admit it. I asked my parents who Robert Goulet was. Although, at 25 I don’t think I am quite a kid… maybe a little). I did, however, enjoy the goofiness of the FedEx Mr. Turkeyneck commercial.

As far as the Pro Bowl, who cares? The only reason the players go is because the ProBowl pays to fly their wives out to Hawaii too. Who wants to be injured for nothing?