In honor of said event, which was rather dull, I have some bulletized thoughts on the game, the ads, and the moments. The Super Moments. I actually took notes on all this stuff, but I accidentally left them at home this morning, so these will be a little seat-of-the-pants. Damn you, Mondays!
Wow, did Big Ben overthrow another receiver? Great. I'm going back to bed. This is not really me.
On the game:
1) At the very beginning of the second quarter, Seattle had a third-and-two (and some momentum) in Steeler territory, and Shaun Alexander was on the sideline. Wait, what? For all his talk about hitting the bully in the mouth (scroll about halfway down), his sitting out on that down really set the tone for his day. I understand that people get tired, but come on. Him or someone else over there didn't think the league rushing champion belonged on the field on third-and-two? Please. The Seahawks tried a pass, it fell incomplete. Punt. And in that sequence, Seahawks, you punted away my respect as well. You punted it away.
2) To me, the biggest non-trick (I call them "trick plays" - feel free to call them "gadgets" if you want, but that means you are probably a jerk) game-changing play came on third-and-five at about midfield. Big Ben shook the rush and shoveled it, total improv-style, to Hines Ward for the first. A few plays later, Ben completes the long pass down to the goal line to set up the first TD. The Seattle D was firing on all cylinders up to that point, and that one play started the leak in their balloon.
3) The Seahawks' clock management at the end of both halves was piss poor. I don't think Mike Holmgren is a very good coach.
4) Speaking of piss poor, I really miss the days when NFL games were well-officiated. Last night's officiating was disgraceful. That was like watching a Duke or a Michael Jordan game. It ALL went against Seattle. A phantom offensive pass interference call erased a Darrell Jackson TD. Later, Ben R. gets tackled before he scores on a goal-line plunge, but they give him the TD anyway. Then, later, a phantom holding call erased what would have been 1st-and-goal for the Hawks. Then, after a Hasselbeck INT, Hasselbeck gets 15 yards for cutting out the legs of the guy returning the ball. The only problem is, that's perfectly legal! It's only illegal on a block. I tell you - the NFL needs a full-time squad of refs who are under the age of 60. They make too much money for them not to do this, especially when it's hurting their product on the field. The Hawks didn't play well enough to win, but without all those bullshit penalties, who knows?
5) Trick plays and one Willie Parker run aside, this game wasn't that good. I agree with what Steve Young said in the post-game - that Pittsburgh really won the title against Indy and Denver, and had just enough left to limp through this one. You could tell after the game that both teams just kind of wanted to get off the field. It reminded me a lot of Maryland the year they won the basketball championship. The real championship games came against Kansas and UConn, with the final Indiana game being almost a formality. It was klunky, mistake-prone play, followed by an exhausted team awkwardly celebrating the championship despite knowing they just played like crap. But whatev. It's still the Super Bowl, so big ups to the Stillers.
On the Commercials:
1) Ah, they all pretty much sucked. Especially all the Bud Light commercials in which all those "regular dudes" will do anything for Bud Light, including taunt a bear, tackle co-workers, worship furniture, etc. So, is the message that Bud Light drinkers are idiots?
2) The most effective one was actually an ABC promo for "Dancing with the Stars." It showed a lot of the female dancers prancing around and showing skin. Then the screen flashed "Wardrobe Malfunction?" "You Wish!" And that was it. See, it was an effective commercial because it knew its audience, knew what it was selling and who it was selling it to, and sold it. It was a good way to get "regular dudes" to watch that show, in addition to its regular soccer-mom demographic. That's what a commercial should do - it shouldn't make me laugh, make me think, make me squirm, re-affirm my faith in life, etc. It should, in 30 seconds or less, convince me why I need to consume a specific product. And that's it.
Miscellaneous:
1) Just hung out with the wife last night to watch the game. We had many delicious snacks, but one that didn't make the grade was the brie cheese we had purchased. When your brie cheese is good, it is truly delicious. But when it's bad, it tastes a little like Palmolive dishwashing liquid. Errr, no thanks.
2) The Rolling Stones sucked. I think I've heard them do the old "Start Me Up" into "Song Off the New Record" into "Satisfaction" medley about 400 times. But hey, give them props for still getting out there at this age, and what a great rock and roll band, and blah, blah, blah. Someone should take away their pickling liquid and end this once and for all.
2 comments:
The Fed Ex commerical with the cave men was the best.
I don't remember the Hybrid ad...must have made quite an impact on me. Or maybe I was just in the kitchen.
The wife got choked up at the Budweiser ad where the little horse is pulling the beer cart, and then you see that the big horses are secretly helping from the back. Someone's clock is ticking...
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