It was nice to have a Super Bowl in which I had no stake in the outcome save for a few squares on a grid. Lately it seems I am more of a supporter of one team or the other because I despise the opponent.
This year was different. I would be satisfied regardless of winner. I just wanted a game. We got one.
I have played fantasy football for a few years and Peyton has always been my starting quarterback. Several years ago I picked up a youngster with a lot of potential just leaving San Diego to make room for Phillip Rivers. Drew Brees starts occasionally for me, but Peyton is my go-to-guy. Having Brees on my bench means he isn’t scoring or anyone else, know what I mean?
I have already discussed the halftime show. I will kill two birds with this one post; the game and the commercials.
COMMERCIALS.
eh. It seemed if Madison Avenue was having nightmares of men in underwear.
I liked two of the three Doritos commercials I saw. Hated the one with the samurai dressed in Doritos. Loved the one with the kid, “keep your hands off my Doritos and my mama.”
Bud Light was just ok. If they throw enough crappy commercials out there, some are bound to hit.
The Google French girl ad was pretty good, but mostly the rest were either very boring or just recycled jokes and gimmicks.
But there are some that just have to go, not unlike sexagenarians at halftime.
Go Daddy, seriously? Like anyone is going to check out those ads on line any more. There is a reason we don’t see “WASSUP!!?” or “Where’s the Beef?” anymore. Move on, Go Daddy.
The eTrade babies were funny in the past. The joke is played and this batch was not funny enough to sustain the notion. Time for something new.
The McDonald’s Jordan vs. Bird game of H-O-R-S-E was a classic. Some magic just can be re-created. The LeBron-Dwight Howard(?) dunk contest was a big FAIL, at least until Bird showed up to steal the sack.
All in all, the Super Bowl commercial hype seems to be fading. Either that or the dismal state of our nation has dampened our appreciation of crass commercialism.
THE GAME.
Compared to some of the playoff games, this one was well-played and, even better, well-officiated. There were no BS pass interference, illegal contact, hands to the face calls. The players got to play. The game flowed like the Mississippi River. It really was a pleasure to watch.
If you are like me and have been exposed (intentionally or otherwise) to sports talk for the past fortnight, you have heard it all. I am going to dwell on but the three aspects of this game I believe made the game interesting.
1. 4th and Goal.
Hindsight is not relevant to this decision by the Saints.
It was a gutsy move and I wholeheartedly agreed with it at the time, make it or not. The Saints had held the ball nearly the entire 2nd quarter up until then. If they are successful the game is tied, if not the Colts take the ball near their own goal line with just a few minutes left before halftime. They failed and the Colts, not wanting to do much to risk a late half turnover or give the Saints more than enough time by throwing an incomplete pass or two, ran three times and punted. The Saints ended up with their field goal any way, and trailed 10 – 6 at the half.
Had they kicked the field goal, they would most likely have given the Colts the ball with more than two minutes and much better field position. If they score a td, the game is now 17-6 at half and probably the Saints do not kick onsides to start the second half. Colts get the ball to start the half and score again? If the Saints would have kicked that field goal, there is a chance, and not a bad one at that, that the Colts would have been up 24 – 6 by the time the Saints got the ball back after that field goal.
I am not saying the Colts would have scored. That part is not important. What they did by pinning the Colts back was to force them to run three meaningless plays for a total of 6 offensive plays for the quarter. Six plays. No first downs. Peyton Manning cannot beat you from the bench.
Make no mistake. The Saints won this game in the second quarter by keeping the Colts defense on the field. Most people will think that they won because of . . .
2. The Interception.
Obviously the play of the game. The interesting thing is that I have heard no one say anything disparaging of Peyton. The most negative thing I heard was from Ron Jaworski who said in effect, Peyton no doubt wishes he had that one back. Well, duh.
It decided the game, but it is not how they won.
3. The Onsides Kick.
When scrutinizing this decision, hindsight means everything.
Call it the anti-Bellichik play. Enough said.
I like it for one reason and one reason only. The Halftime Show. No, I am not going off on The half-Who again. But this halftime is an eternity. The Saints had scored on the last play of the half. They remembered. The Colts probably thought, they’d just get the ball, push it down the field and game over.
The Saints came out to play. The Colts came out as if they had taken a Red Bull-induced nap.
Even though the Colts came back to take the lead, the seed of a Saints victory was already germinating.
This was a great Super Bowl! Maybe the best since the Rams v Titans barnburner after the ’99 season. Sean Peyton really earned my respect. He kept these guys together and made some of the guttsiest calls i’ve seen in the big game. I’m with you in the respect that i really didn’t care too much who won. i respect both teams, but didn’t really have a “horse in the race”. It made it nice to just sit back and enjoy the game.
i think you need to have a fourth play listed – the fail that was pierre garcon’s drop that would have kept the colts 2nd quarter drive going, would have kept the momentum in their favor, and could well have put the colts up by 14.
it was a super game and certainly felt like the two most deserving teams. i have not checked but i woud be certain that indy’s longest play was … what … 25 yards – they probably had a longer play in every other game they played this season. i also think that ironically, addai’s early success was actually a hinderance to the long term game plan of the colts.
snicker’s deserves a whole lot of credit for dragging out betty white AND abe vagoda – comedy genius can save a lame script!! at least 30 seconds worth.
I thought Wayne drop in the end zone as the game wound down was far more egregious.
As for the pass you speak of, Manning put a lot of mustard on it and it was a bit of a stretch for the french waiter.
I agree that it was key, but I would say in the general scheme of things it was a mediocre pass with too much velocity.
As for snickers. I liked the commercial but the old celebrity trick has been around for awhile. I also liked leno and letterman on the same couch with oprah.
Tim – what would you say about Sean Peyton if the Colts recovered that kick (i.e. the player’s whose chest it hit pretended for a moment he had hands and caught it)? I would not ridicule him either way because I find games much more fun, whether this works or not. I am in favor of the unexpected onside kick. My suspicion, like the Patriots game earlier this season, is that if the kick did not work 75% or more of the people praising Peyton would be knocking him.
Commercials – I didn’t watch too many, but enough to catch the drift. The Google one was by far the best ad I saw because it was very well put-together, unique, and today we still remember it was Google. Which company paid Brett Favre? Which beer was it? Or soda? I like the E-trade babies because everyone remembers it is E-trade, and they are funny. The rest are just a comedy act, the most expensive comedy act every year (at $93,333.33 per second).
I do find Gus’ play the fourth most important play in the game. He could have caught it. The second quarter has been the key for the Saints all year; if the Colts hold the ball more, the game is much different.
I’m not sure what you’re watching if you haven’t heard people ridicule Peyton. The last two weeks were filled with talks of him being the best quarterback ever (just a conversation to waste time). Immediately after the game it was about how he isn’t Tom Brady, and he isn’t Ben Rothlisloser, or Montana, or Bradshaw. Losing a Super Bowl doesn’t make you a bad quarterback – he lost one game this year; ONE. Tony Cornheiser(?) says the Colts are the old Braves, just 7-7 in the playoffs. Hey Tony, if the Colts are the best team in their conference, as they are almost every year, they have to make it to the Super Bowl every year in a league where the champion changes almost every year. Having a .500 record in the NFL playoffs is not bad.
How about a fifth play: though down two touchdowns, why run the ball on third and goal with two timeouts and more than a yard to go when you have a great quarterback?