I was glad to see the Giants win on Sunday, just because Eli Manning has more appeal than that darn Tom Brady. Maybe the most remarkable moment, in the game anyway, was watching Ahmad Bradshaw trying NOT to score in the final minute. The most buzz seemed to be about the great Clint Eastwood spot. In general, and I did watch most of them, I didn’t see any commercials that really made me go “WOW”. My favorite was probably the Jerry Seinfeld-Jay Leno one. It was funny, but then I had to go and look up what product they were pitching — Acura.
A lot of folks from around here went to Indy for the game, none luckier that my friend Chris Thieneman, who sent me this photo at a party with Tim Tebow, the most talked-about player not in the game, with the possible exception of Peyton Manning.
I watched the game with friends at John Gilderbloom’s house, and we raised the volume on the TV for the halftime show. I thought Madonna’s performance was awesome, which sparked a discussion about how old she is, and that she really doesn’t look 53 (we had to look it up). Most of us 50-something folks in the room liked the show and were amazed at Madonna’s look. But it probably didn’t do much for a younger generation — one friend said her 13-year-old daughter had just texted that Madonna was terrible. I wondered how our perspectives could have been so different.
Then I remembered previous halftime shows — with the likes to Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney, and figured out that NFL brass has it right, bringing in acts for halftime that more Americans can identify with. No, I didn’t know the younger stars Madonna brought on stage with her, or that someone called M.I.A. would make headlines for giving the finger to the audience.
I’d hate to miss the Super Bowl on TV. As I think back, I don’t think I’ve ever missed one, going back even to the early ones. I can remember how the game wasn’t as big a deal until Joe Namath predicted and won with his upstart Jets in Super Bowl III. I loved watching my Raiders beat the Eagles at my frat house at WKU. Hosting a few parties in my 20s and 30s. I used to have all the history memorized, like I did with Derby winners, to show off all that knowledge at parties. But now 46 is just too many to remember.
If you want to try and remember this one, check out Eric Crawford‘s piece.
