Super (Toilet) Bowl

I have to admit that since the Giants knocked off the Packers in the NFC title game, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to this year’s Super Bowl. For me, the unceasing media attention given to Tom Brady (best QB ever?), Bill Belichick (super-genius?) and the rest of the Patriots crew (the dynasty to end all dynasties?) had gone beyond the point of being tiresome to actually making me not-so-secretly wish that the whole crew would eat it at the end.

Who would have thought that it would be the Giants to be the hand that feeds it to them at the end?

To be honest, I slept through most of the first half after downing two beers and a huge bowl of nachos. During the halftime show, the missus loaded up the kids in my car so she could follow me as I dropped off the family grocery getter at the shop for some brake work. (Something told me that a Tom Petty “wardrobe malfunction” would be a forgettable event.) And most of the second half was spent putting the kids to bed.

However, I did get back in front of the TV just as Manning and the Giants embarked on their final, game-winning drive and hung on to drop the Pats like a bad habit. And let’s hear it for Bill (Mr. Sportsmanship) Belichick leaving the field and running down the tunnel before the game was even officially over.

It’s a good thing that the Giants turned it into a game at the end since most of the commercials this year absolutely, positively sucked. If you want to relive the moments, take a quick clickety-click here. And for those who want an enlightened recap of the ad action, check out Ad Age’s Bob Garfield and his vlog analysis of the spots. (Though I think calling the Bridgestone “Richard Simmons” spot “homophobic” is a MAJOR stretch. Apparently, Garfield doesn’t find the flamboyant fitness fanatic as annoying as the rest of the known universe…)

For my money, the best of the bunch was Will Ferrell’s cross-promo spot for his upcoming movie Semi-Pro and Bud Light. Why? Because it’s Will Ferrell.