The Super Bowl

Lots of explosives, glittery expensive competition.

Who knows hard it is to make it into that place?

Everyone shaking their hand towels,

Showing they gang sign

But it never gets as rough as those European matches you see where if your team wins, you destroy the stadium; if they lose, you destroy the stadium. The ads are as important as the spectacle itself. Being associated with young , rich athleticism tends to coast well with the sponors.

NBC’s ads are cut out of this stream to some extent. There are very expensive ads directed at the Canadian people, ads for the upcoming Olympic participants. All over this stuff is that slight Canadian tinge. Petro-Canada has an ad where the announcer pronounces “again” as in rhyming with “feign.”

Another ad beseeches Canadians to conserve water and “do some good in their community/ lead the way so everyone can see.”

There is an ongoing tribute to Walter Peyton (sp.?).

Faith Hill is singing the national anthem. What is it with NBC’s association with this singer? The players are looking on, good mustaches. This service, cric7.com, usually shows soccer matches. NBC is showing footage of soldiers crowded onto risers. It’s fascinating, the juxtaposition of the ad-sponsored physical competitors associated with each other.

“God bless America!” and Faith hill finishes the song.

The people who helped rescue passengers on the New York Hudson River crash last month are being thanked at middle field. The national anthem is coming up. Wait, wasn’t that already done by Hill?

Here comes Jennifer Hudson, a singer of whom I know not. I wish they had a live orchestra. This still feels like an old school ball park. Shots of kids, guy with his hand over his heart, sentimental shots of the flag. Ah, time for ultrapatriotic reflection. Some of the players have their heads down.

Hudson is reaching the high point of the song. She can really sing.

The players are standing around looking pump. It is very hard to get to that point. Surely, it’s a ton of ambition. The other day I had a talk with a bus driver about how the NFL is what Monday Night Raw really wants to be, but with talking.

Cue bomber flyover.

Donald Sutherland is doing voiceovers for pro-Canadian Olympic ads. It’s really quite stunning. For this streaming service, I am already rooting for them in the Winter Games. Sure, let me be focus-grouped right here. Subway has an expensive new ad with monkey cartoons. Now, it’s ads for old shows, not tremendously interesting.

CIBC is running ads with the song “Low Rider” Cheech and Chong movie. Super classic. What I truly enjoy about the Super Bowl is the production value of the ads. It’s really a site for sore eyes. There is simply so much ugly repetitive television out there.

What is TSN2? Wow, I really don’t watch sports very much. Of it, I am willfully ignorant at times.

Oh, yeah, there’s John Madden, wanted to comment about this guy. His face is literally drooping the hell off. His nose droops. His jowls droop all over themselves like the surface of butter running down the side of a counter. An aide combed his hair just so to the left with that floating/hovering cumulonimbus appearance of the top piece. That man made an amazing football game for the PS2.

The coin toss ceremony on its own is overhyped. There is a super strategic square going down just to flip a coin. There’s David Petraeus, cheered on repeatedly by the players, as NBC is directing the camera.

The players seem to be shaking hands. Let’s make it nice and clean and fun, yes. The referee, for souvenir marketing purposes, is identifying both sides of the custom coin. Arizona wins the toss. “Pittsburgh will receive,” says the ref.