Just Super

The stereotype of Super Bowls being blowouts or bores is really a thing of the past. In fact, most of the last 10 have been close, exciting games and tonight's 31-17 final score is misleading about a game the Colts certainly seemed on their way to tying with about 3:00 left.

While I certainly have no argument with Peyton Manning being one of the great quarterbacks in history, part of his legacy will have to be that he lost a whole lot of big games, going back to his college days when Tennessee could never beat Florida until after Peyton graduated and then all the years he couldn't get by the Patriots and Brady. Heck, I still think the Bears should've beaten the Colts in Super Bowl XLI if they didn't have a child playing QB.

Manning actually had a very good game tonight until the interception, but he just didn't get it done. So while I had no money on the game and no real emotional attachment to either team, I'm happy the Saints won. Although I think Saints' owner Tom Benson's victory stand comment about "New Orleans being back" is simplistic and stupid--absolutely nothing really changed for the 25% of the city that is still displaced, nor anyone else who is still struggling--if any city deserves to have an uplifting moment, New Orleans certainly does.

In addition to a great game, watched with friends & family, I really enjoyed The Who's performance at halftime. Sure, Roger Daltrey's voice sounded a bit ragged at first and isn't the amazing instrument it once was, but heck he's almost 66. I thought it was an entertaining performance of some great songs, a bit chopped due to the time crunch, but more good than bad. Call me a geezer, but I'll watch that all day and night before wanting to again see the Jay-Z/Rihanna duet that opened the telecast.

As for the commercials, forgettaboutit. Nothing reminds America of our joy in stupidity like Super Bowl commercials and while a few gave me a chuckle, there are none I really remember. Except maybe the stupidest one of all; if anyone knows why there was a groundhog playing violin in a spot for Monster.com or why that should make me want to use the site, please tell me.

Anyway, the Super Bowl is the king of overhype, but having paid no attention to the coverage for the last 2 weeks and having watched very little of the pre-game crap today, as a game itself and even a spectacle, XLIV was pretty darn good and a lot of fun. Congrats to the Saints and the city of New Orleans. Enjoy a cool Brees all the way through Mardi Gras and beyond.