NationStates Jolt Archive

Who else is watching the Super Bowl? I'm not the biggest fan of American Football, but as a piece of television production the thing never fails to impress. This year particularly NBC is pulling out all the stops, trying to get as much exposure as possible for all of its assets. Even Maria Bartiromo was doing her market wrap-up from the sidelines (it looked like; she was definitely in the stadium.) I don't recall SNL cast members appearing as important to the NBC brand as they appear this year.

More TV weirdness:

Gen. David Petraeus taking a break from his CENTCOM duties to toss the coin.

Jennifer Hudson singing the national anthem. Last year, she was just former-American-Idol-contestant Jennifer Hudson. This year, she's former-American-Idol-contestant-whose-family-was-just-murdered Jennifer Hudson, so the gospelly/bluesy inflection she gives the Star-Spangled Banner reads entirely differently. It's hard not to hear more pain and maturity in her voice, whether that's actually there or not.

Sideline reporter (B-squared? Gillian Barbieri? Didn't see) just used the first pretentious sports-broadcasting cliche of the actual game*. "F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote that there are no second acts in American lives. He never met <insert name of athlete experiencing comeback, Kurt Warner in this case.>" Seriously, that gets used at least once per year per major league. Someone find another quote already.

*Bob Costas already resorted to quoting poetry but that was in the pregame broadcast.

So, anybody else up for an afternoon of cultural commentary, with football thrown in? Or are y'all too cool for school?

I'm at work, I get to not only enjoy missing the super bowl but hopefully not put up with too many people asking for requests for that stupid "Pittsburgh Going to the Super Bowl" song.

I'm at work, I get to not only enjoy missing the super bowl but hopefully not put up with too many people asking for requests for that stupid "Pittsburgh Going to the Super Bowl" song.

I had no idea there was one. Worse than "The Super Bowl Shuffle"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bquB9hXvebc

I need to wash now :(

I'm just in it for the ads.

Missed the first half of the GI Joe ad because I was checking in on the puppy bowl. Land of the Lost looks ridiculous. I hate that I might actually go see both of those movies but haven't seen Doubt yet...

Potato Head ad was alright, if a little reliant on some pretty old stereotypes.

Maybe it's made of Kryptonite, and that's why it's Super?

I'm watching anything but.

I'm just in it for the ads.

Missed the first half of the GI Joe ad because I was checking in on the puppy bowl. Land of the Lost looks ridiculous. I hate that I might actually go see both of those movies but haven't seen Doubt yet...

Potato Head ad was alright, if a little reliant on some pretty old stereotypes.

The GI Joe ad had the following response from me: "Dear god, this looks like the stupidest movie ever. [title finally appears] Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, okay then!" I kinda want to see it just because it positively oozes MST3Kability. :tongue:

I didn't really like the Potato Head ad, but Conan O'Brien writhing around pitching Bud Light in Swedish was fairly amusing.

Well, my friends might be packing a super bowl tonight. That's probably the most involved I'll get.

The Bridgestone Potato Head ad was the second ad to rely on "awful nagging wives" as a setup -- the other one was last year's Budweiser referee spot -- and, being a wife, I don't find either particularly funny. It was well done, though -- showed off the product's assets without distracting from the story.

Come to think of it, I'm less disturbed by that Budweiser spot than by the dog-and-Clydesdale ones that seem to be aimed at kids. Probably because kids are the only ones who are going to believe that Bud's any good.

Well, my friends might be packing a super bowl tonight. That's probably the most involved I'll get.

Yes.:hail:

signs that I am a dork: I have the required 3-D glasses for the halftime ads. Interestingly, they are blue and yellow, not red and green.

WHAT?! 100 yard interception for a TD?! WHAT?

And from the replay it looked like he was risking spinal injury in that last tackle. DANG.

I liked the grease monkeys ad, maybe just because "I bought a case of castrol and they just showed up and made me their king."

I would have liked the grease monkey ad better if it featured monkeys. My scientific pedantry beat out my sense of humor on that one, but that was a good line. :tongue:

I would have liked the grease monkey ad better if it featured monkeys. My scientific pedantry beat out my sense of humor on that one, but that was a good line. :tongue:

Yeah, I was actually thinking that right before the king line and he adjusted his air-filter crown...then they had me.

For the lolz
http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=582034
:0

Geez, first they blow Jack up, now they hit him with a bus?

You know, those Chuck commercials are stupid anyways (like the show, but those are dumb commericals), but when he does that whatever they are in 2D not 1D.

You know, those Chuck commercials are stupid anyways (like the show, but those are dumb commericals), but when he does that whatever they are in 2D not 1D.

Yeah, that made me grumble, too.

The Heroes football ad was fantastic, though.

I'm pretty sure it's not even possible to see one dimension only. Closest thing I remember from school was that a straight line could represent one dimension. So yes, that quote is annoying to me too.

Wait, did this just turn into a good game?

Wait, did this just turn into a good game?
Yeah, it turned into a GREAT game, and I'm really glad I paid more attention to it than to the stupid commercials. :D

Yeah, it turned into a GREAT game, and I'm really glad I paid more attention to it than to the stupid commercials. :D

The ending kinda sucked though.

The ending kinda sucked though.
Not for me. :p EDIT: Though I have to admit, my mom and I were on the phone for those last few plays and we did acknowledge that the drama would be less enjoyable if one of "our" teams was in the game.

Oh, and I should also admit that one of the ads did have an effect on me.

I NEED!!! a Nerf sword. :D

Whew! They had it, lost it, then got it back again.
*has heart attack*

Kurt "fumble fingers" Warner drops the ball for the second time in the game with 15 seconds left on the clock and gives it to Pittsburgh. Kind of a shitty ending.

BTW, Santonio Holmes for MVP is my call. I didn't watch a second of the game but the jocks in the rock station are, and its not hard to get quick easy stats from NFL.com

Kurt "fumble fingers" Warner drops the ball for the second time in the game with 15 seconds left on the clock and gives it to Pittsburgh. Kind of a shitty ending.

BTW, Santonio Holmes for MVP is my call. I didn't watch a second of the game but the jocks in the rock station are, and its not hard to get quick easy stats from NFL.comI'm not sure. He did have that TD, but he didn't do much before that.
Roethlisberger was really the only one who made plays consistently all game.
Harrison's TD was also pretty impressive.

Edit: Oh well, I was wrong.

Oh, and I should also admit that one of the ads did have an effect on me.

I NEED!!! a Nerf sword. :D

I must have missed that ad, but a Nerf sword sounds pretty awesome. I used to bopsword in college, which is probably a slightly more painful version of the same thing. :p

Whoo! STEELERS WIN! STEELERS WIN! YEA!

And the Cardinals will spend the rest of franchise existence languishing in the shadows of mediocrity and faded dreams of a Super Bowl victory.

Just like the Cowboys. "Got Five?" is going to be hurled back in their faces now, heh.

I'm not sure. He did have that TD, but he didn't do much before that.
Roethlisberger was really the only one who made plays consistently all game.
Harrison's TD was also pretty impressive.

Edit: Oh well, I was wrong.

Santonio recieved 9 passes for 131 yards and 1 TD. Thats more than any other Pittsburgh reciever contributed today. Kurt Warner had a better game overall then Roethlesberger did, so I think that will keep Big Ben from MVP.

I must have missed that ad, but a Nerf sword sounds pretty awesome. I used to bopsword in college, which is probably a slightly more painful version of the same thing. :p
Courtesy of Target: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/180-1574430-7387413?asin=B001GIYA7Y&AFID=become_df&LNM=Toys_+_Hobbies|Costumes|B001GIYA7Y&CPNG=toys&ref=tgt_adv_XSE10001

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31woZwtvQ1L._AA260_.jpg

Oh, and I should also admit that one of the ads did have an effect on me.

I NEED!!! a Nerf sword. :D

Damn, how did I miss that?

Courtesy of Target: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/180-1574430-7387413?asin=B001GIYA7Y&AFID=become_df&LNM=Toys_+_Hobbies|Costumes|B001GIYA7Y&CPNG=toys&ref=tgt_adv_XSE10001

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31woZwtvQ1L._AA260_.jpg

*covets* :)

What was so super about this Super Bowl? What about the bust of epic laughter amongst me and my friends when Bruce Springsteen accidentally slid nuts first into a camera. :D

What was so super about this Super Bowl? What about the bust of epic laughter amongst me and my friends when Bruce Springsteen accidentally slid nuts first into a camera. :D
Yes, this Superbowl did have some memorable moments.

I quite liked the Hulu.com/Alien commercial.

That steelers player that decided to hit someone after the play was over repeatably should be charged with something.

All and all there were some decent commercials and quite a few plain dumb ones. Ok we get it your horses are cool, but you don't have to show 5 different ones about the same bloody same. stupid budiswer

The trailers shown were ok, though Star Trek still looks meh, though Transformer 2 looks to be ok.(still need to see the first one...)

You know, those Chuck commercials are stupid anyways (like the show, but those are dumb commericals), but when he does that whatever they are in 2D not 1D.

No, no. Chuck is a good show.

But I digress. There weren't nearly enough of the good commercials though. I did like the one that was a homage to that famous Coke commercial with the Coke Zero guys thrown in, and the MacGuyver Pepsi one. I really liked the one where the koala kept getting punched, probably because it felt so out-of-place, etc.

But yes, I truly loved the "...and made me their king" line. I feel like I've heard it before though, and I can't figure out where.

This was a great game. Either side had the opportunity to win, and to lose. If Arizona hadn't comitted suicide with all those silly fouls...

Good win to the Steelers, though. They earned it.

I take solace in the fact that the Cardinals beat the spread. Lots of Steelers fans lost money.

Good game, though.

Did anyone see the 1-second commercial some were talking about?

I don't know what makes it "super", but 90.7 million viewers (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/06/superbowl/main1288104.shtml) (estimated) is pretty ridiculous.

Hell, even if they lost 50% of their viewers from that time, that's still 45.35 million viewers.

I was playing Call of Duty 5.........

I was playing Call of Duty 5.........I was...at work. :D

Did anyone see the 1-second commercial some were talking about?

Yup. Miller.

I believe that the 1-second Miller High Life spots were only in some markets. You should feel special.

How odd that the football game turned out to be interesting. Someone should publish an over/under on that.

What was so super about this Super Bowl? What about the bust of epic laughter amongst me and my friends when Bruce Springsteen accidentally slid nuts first into a camera. :D

Yes, this Superbowl did have some memorable moments.

http://www.boomspeed.com/looonatic/bosscrotch.gif

Bruce Springsteen violated us all without ever entering our homes. :eek:

1. Televised sport is overrated.
2. At least it wasn't "The Patriots Win - Again!!"
3. If the highlight of sport is wacky commercials and old has-beens pretending to be entertainers again, then the sport is moribund.

3. If the highlight of sport is wacky commercials and old has-beens pretending to be entertainers again, then the sport is moribund.

All professional sport is entertainment. The NFL is just more pragmatic about its relationship to the media than other leagues.

Was it just me or was there a serious surplus of unsportsmanslike behavior in the Super Bowl? There was a lot of nonsense like punching, etc. Some of it was flagged and a lot of it was not. It was like a bunch of prisoners were given uniforms and put out on the field.

Wait a few years, then they'll call it the Hyperbole... bowl...

Unless the Seahawks are in it, I never watch a Super Bowl anymore.
Friggin' Steelers, stealing Super Bowl XL:upyours:

At least there haven't been any complaints about the officiating...

Unless the Seahawks are in it, I never watch a Super Bowl anymore.
Friggin' Steelers, stealing Super Bowl XL:upyours:...Well, to be specific, about the officiating of this Super Bowl.

Congratulations to the NFL Officiating Crews, who just won their second Super Bowl in four years.

I had a super bowl. It got me super h-- oh, wait, you're talking about sports...

http://www.boomspeed.com/looonatic/bosscrotch.gif

Bruce Springsteen violated us all without ever entering our homes. :eek:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/02/superbowl-porn-arizona

Go Cardi... O_O

That steelers player that decided to hit someone after the play was over repeatably should be charged with something.
I believe it was the same guy (Harrison?) who ran the interception from goal line to goal line.
Did anyone see the 1-second commercial some were talking about?
HIGH LIFE! Yeah, it was in my area.
Whew! They had it, lost it, then got it back again.
*has heart attack*
Well you know, on any given Sunday any given team can hire any given fat lady to sing, "It Ain't Over Til It's Over." So you can throw that record book out the window, because this is a must-win, for both teams, and they came to play, 110%, one game face at a time. And if you're going to win a gut-check like this one, you're going to have to play all four quarters, and put some points on the board.

Well you know, on any given Sunday any given team can hire any given fat lady to sing, "It Ain't Over Til It's Over." So you can throw that record book out the window, because this is a must-win, for both teams, and they came to play, 110%, one game face at a time. And if you're going to win a gut-check like this one, you're going to have to play all four quarters, and put some points on the board.

Additionally, someone should take something to the next level.

The commercials are the super part.:D

Additionally, someone should take something to the next level.

The Steelers, with their team effort, took it to the next level, by focusing on the task at hand, and grinding things out with their blue-collar work ethic in a game that went down to the wire.

Also: Momentum shift.

/cliches

What was so super about this Super Bowl? What about the bust of epic laughter amongst me and my friends when Bruce Springsteen accidentally slid nuts first into a camera. :D

I watched the Puppy Bowl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puppy_Bowl) rather than watch the actual halftime show.

Also, this is by the best commercial of the night (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F66nURf8TBQ).

"Goodbye, old friend"

Someone brought up the Boss' balls-first slide into a camera up in my political thought class today.

That was a great game, but nothing can rival the drama and tension of the Giants-Patriots last year. That's the one to beat.

But this one was the greatest "game of the century" we've had all year!

I can see why people get excited about it, but it's such a silly sport. It seems like they kept adding to the rules but never bother to trim the fat or fix the defective ones.

I mean, there was one point where they was a loose ball, and a player ran up to it and just stared at it on the ground. What the hell is that?

I don't know what makes it "super", but 90.7 million viewers (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/06/superbowl/main1288104.shtml) (estimated) is pretty ridiculous.

Hell, even if they lost 50% of their viewers from that time, that's still 45.35 million viewers.

It's not that impressive. The World Cup final had 715.1 million viewers. 300 million watched the draw.

I mean, there was one point where they was a loose ball, and a player ran up to it and just stared at it on the ground. What the hell is that?
It was a punt return. That was the team that kicked it ensuring that it died where it was and one of the Cards couldn't pick it up and get yardage.

If you don't understand the sport or the rules, it seems silly to criticize them.

It was a punt return. That was the team that kicked it ensuring that it died where it was and one of the Cards couldn't pick it up and get yardage.

If you don't understand the sport or the rules, it seems silly to criticize them.

Even if I understood it, it wouldn't make sense. Not playing the ball in a ball game. I mean, American football is rooted in rugby, and in rugby, you play the ball.

Besides, you Americans talk about sports you don't understand all time time. Soccer?

Even if I understood it, it wouldn't make sense. Not playing the ball in a ball game. I mean, American football is rooted in rugby, and in rugby, you play the ball.

Besides, you Americans talk about sports you don't understand all time time. Soccer?

Oh please tell me I don't understand soccer. The game I played for 12 years and refereed for 6. Please.

They didn't play the ball because they didn't have possession of it.

Oh please tell me I don't understand soccer. The game I played for 12 years and refereed for 6. Please.

I thought you were a conservative. Conservative Americans usually consider soccer to be a communist invader.

They didn't play the ball because they didn't have possession of it.

Doesn't make sense to me, sorry. I understand the rule, it just seems like an illogical rule.

I thought you were a conservative. Conservative Americans usually consider soccer to be a communist invader.
I grew up in suburbia. Soccer is like the most popular sport out in the burbs - fits middle-to-upper-middle-class white people's idea of a good time, I guess. And no, I'm quite independent. Of the disguised partisan variety.

I've always loved that "communist invader" bit. Soccer is so much more capitalist than Americans sports it actually stopped being funny.

Doesn't make sense to me, sorry. I understand the rule, it just seems like an illogical rule.

The sport has more than its share of weird ones. Think of it more like some kind of messed up medieval battle than a sport.

Oh please tell me I don't understand soccer.
You don't understand soccer

The game I refereed for 6.

QED:tongue:

Even if I understood it, it wouldn't make sense. Not playing the ball in a ball game. I mean, American football is rooted in rugby, and in rugby, you play the ball.

Assuming all goes well, when Pittsburgh punted Arizona would then take over possession of the ball.

However, if the kicking team manages to get down the field fast enough that they get to the ball before the receiving team does, then they're able to form a "wall" of sorts that keeps the receiving team from getting to it. Even though they're not able to move the ball themselves, by doing this they can keep the receivers from gaining extra yardage, since if the ball stops moving on the ground it's dead.

Also, even if the receiving team gets the ball first they may elect not to handle it (as was the case here) because if its path is such that they don't think they'll be able to catch it cleanly, they don't want to risk a "muff", which is when the ball touches a member of the receiving team without being caught. If this happens, and the kickers get to the ball after it touches a member of the receiving team before the receivers can, then the kickers can indeed take over possession of the ball.

It really does make sense, if you understand the situation.

I grew up in suburbia. Soccer is like the most popular sport out in the burbs - fits middle-to-upper-middle-class white people's idea of a good time, I guess.

Indeed. In Midland, Michigan, which is a very white, middle class town fueled by Dow Chem money, there are what my friends and I refer to as the Great Midland Soccer Farms, numerous fields that are constantly filled all summer with soccer leagues. I think in 20 years, when places like the Midland Soccer Farms are harvested you'll see the US doing much, much better in international competitions. I also think that when the US wins a World Cup you'll see interest rise dramatically.

Assuming all goes well, when Pittsburgh punted Arizona would then take over possession of the ball.

However, if the kicking team manages to get down the field fast enough that they get to the ball before the receiving team does, then they're able to form a "wall" of sorts that keeps the receiving team from getting to it. Even though they're not able to move the ball themselves, by doing this they can keep the receivers from gaining extra yardage, since if the ball stops moving on the ground it's dead.

Also, even if the receiving team gets the ball first they may elect not to handle it (as was the case here) because if its path is such that they don't think they'll be able to catch it cleanly, they don't want to risk a "muff", which is when the ball touches a member of the receiving team without being caught. If this happens, and the kickers get to the ball after it touches a member of the receiving team before the receivers can, then the kickers can indeed take over possession of the ball.

It really does make sense, if you understand the situation.

See, to me, the logical thing would be for the Pittsburgh player to grab the ball and run for a touchdown.

See, to me, the logical thing would be for the Pittsburgh player to grab the ball and run for a touchdown.

Only because you don't know the rules of American football. That's like saying it'd be more logical to grab a soccer ball/football with my hands and run with it to the goal.

Only because you don't know the rules of American football. That's like saying it'd be more logical to grab a soccer ball/football with my hands and run with it to the goal.

Y'know, there'a a legend about that.

Y'know, there'a a legend about that.

Do tell.

Do tell.

The legend runs that William Web Ellis did such a thing at Rugby school, and a wonderful sport got an origin story :wink:.

i fail to see why it is even mentioned, let alone watched.

now a good bowl of 'terryakki', THAT'S a "super" bowl!

What was so super about this Super Bowl? What about the bust of epic laughter amongst me and my friends when Bruce Springsteen accidentally slid nuts first into a camera. :D

This.

Old or not, the guy put on a good show, even if his songs' tempi were about 20 clicks below the recordings and a few semitones lower.

Ferrous? Yeah, the kicking team can't advance the ball unless it's been touched by a receiving team member and then remains loose (a "muffed punt") or becomes loose during the return (a "fumble").

Why not just say you don't understand the game because you've never really tried to instead of trying to impose your own logic on a game that's fine the way it is.

Also, having played soccer in leagues and in school, you can't play the ignorant American card on me. I guess I'm just asking that you not act like a typical American about things you don't understand. I love me some World Cup. I dig UEFA and EPL as well. I also like US football. Sorry to not fit the stereotype you seem to love inflaming.

Why not just say you don't understand the game because you've never really tried to instead of trying to impose your own logic on a game that's fine the way it is.

I GET it, it just doesn't seem to suit logic for me. It's like saying "In order to take possession, the player must stand over the ball and fart on it". I UNDERSTAND that, it's just not logical.

I GET it, it just doesn't seem to suit logic for me. It's like saying "In order to take possession, the player must stand over the ball and fart on it". I UNDERSTAND that, it's just not logical.

It's perfectly logical, you just don't think it is. That's fine, but you can't think that and then conclude that your interpretation is THE interpretation. In US football, possession can be a fluid thing. Punts, for example, are dead balls to the kicking team unless touched by the receiving team. How is that in any way not logical? Kickoffs are live once they go 10 yards. Simple.

Far simpler than how a sponge can magically cure an "injured" soccer player.

It's perfectly logical, you just don't think it is. That's fine, but you can't think that and then conclude that your interpretation is THE interpretation. In US football, possession can be a fluid thing. Punts, for example, are dead balls to the kicking team unless touched by the receiving team. How is that in any way not logical? Kickoffs are live once they go 10 yards. Simple.

In my mind a sport should flow. A rule like that seems... artificial.

This.

Old or not, the guy put on a good show, even if his songs' tempi were about 20 clicks below the recordings and a few semitones lower.


I don't know what that means. But my assessment was I couldn't hear him singing.

In my mind a sport should flow. A rule like that seems... artificial.

Because you're comparing it to a sport that DOES flow. Soccer's set plays don't stop the clock and don't involve a "battle front" kind of a line as US football does. That kind of "small-battles" game, by it's very nature, cannot flow like soccer does. You must stop trying to think of the one in terms of the other. They're simply not that closely related.

In fact, the only difference is that soccer's set pieces, when they occur, do not involve stopping the clock to set them up. So even your "flow" is a bit artificial. Play does stop, it's just not as obvious or as organized as the time between plays in US football.

Once again, these are very different games. Soccer is akin to real-time strategy, whereas US football is more like turn-based strategy. You can't say that Civilization 2 doesn't flow like Starcraft. They're different concepts.

Soccer is more like basketball than it is like any other major sport. Basketball has plays and set pieces, but it also has the fast break and transition plays, and the clock only stops for fouls or timeouts or at the quarters/halves. With regard to "flow", then: soccer > basketball > US football > baseball.

I don't know what that means. But my assessment was I couldn't hear him singing.

Slower and in lower keys than the classic recorded versions.

See, to me, the logical thing would be for the Pittsburgh player to grab the ball and run for a touchdown.

Which is why they made that rule, to keep one team from running up the score.

I'm at work, I get to not only enjoy missing the super bowl but hopefully not put up with too many people asking for requests for that stupid "Pittsburgh Going to the Super Bowl" song.

Don't knock the song SaintB!

We gotta feelin'! Pittsburgh going to the Super Bowl!

Don't knock the song SaintB!

We gotta feelin'! Pittsburgh going to the Super Bowl!

Do you work in radio? Do you have to listen to that song 22 times a day? I don't think so.

Do you work in radio? Do you have to listen to that song 22 times a day? I don't think so.

When I used to live outside of Pittsburgh, that was all they played. Well that and about a million different other fight songs. Hell, I used to play that song throughout the house.

I love that song!!!! So there :p

That's ok, you still remind me of Mclovin!

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/mclovin.jpg

Ok I guess I am not getting the reference. Nor is it relevent. This was one of the greatest games ever played and I am glad that I watched it from opening kick to trophy presentation. Hell I even watched the victory parade over the net.