Peyton Manning just missed an opportunity of a lifetime. He had the chance to cross the threshold that separates Hall of Fame caliber quarterbacks. There are those quarterbacks who hold all the major records, people like Brett Favre and Dan Marino, and there are those who win multiple championships, people like Otto Graham, Bart Starr, Roger Staubach, Tom Brady, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman, John Elway, and Joe Montana, and Peyton Manning had the chance to be both. Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints had different ideas though.
Don't worry, I'm not just talking about football. If that does not interest you, I will also be discussing the halftime show and the commercials.
It was great to see Drew Brees, the Saints QB who is five inches shorter than his Indianapolis counterpart and has spent most of his career overshadowed by other talent around the NFL. It was great to see the city of New Orleans with something to cheer about. After Hurricane Katrina and forty-four mostly forgettable years of Saints football, there is finally something to celebrate on Bourbon Street before Mardi Gras. Manning had a great season, one of the best in history, but his only critical mistake was in the biggest game of the year at the most crucial time. Tracey Porter's interception showed the world that even Peyton Manning, the four time MVP, considered by many to be the greatest QB in football history, is human.
Now, back to the other stuff.
The Who in the halftime show:
I know that they have been trying to get older musicians because they are more tame and family friendly ever since the Janet Jackson incident, but this is starting to get bad. Sixty-Five year old men should not be the headline event in the halftime show. Since Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake in 2004, they have had Paul McCartney (pretty good), The Rolling Stones (pretty bad), Prince (can't remember), Tom Petty (the Pats were in the Super Bowl so I ate during halftime and didn't see it), Bruce Springsteen (awesome), and The Who last night. For the most part, these older guys can't really bring a whole lot of excitement to the event especially when the games themselves this past decade have been better than usual. A lot of the people who listen to classic rock will be watching the game anyway. The NFL could appeal to a larger audience if they got more relevant musicians. They had an Arcade Fire song in the NFL Network commercials last night. I think Arcade Fire would be a really cool halftime show. The Who came across as old and tired. Their best concerts are a few decades behind them. It is time for something new.
Commercials:
I really liked the McDonalds commercial with Lebron James and Dwight Howard. The best part was when Larry Bird came in at the end. It was a great tribute to a classic commercial that starred Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. I had no idea that today's NBA stars were too ignorant to know who Larry Legend is. It's a shame.
The Budweiser human bridge commercial was great. They always do good work on Super Bowl Sunday. The Bud Light ads on the desert island and the asteroid lab were also funny.
It was great to see the Griswolds going on vacation again.
The Super Bowl shuffle remake was a bit of a disappointment. It just isn't the same without Walter Payton and Mike Singletary. Ditka's cameo was good but they, like The Who, just looked old and tired.
The Etrade babies are starting to get boring.
The commercial that really bothered me was the ad for the Late Show with Dave Letterman. It just seemed forced and awkward (I get that that is what they were going for but it didn't make me want to watch the show) to see Leno and Letterman on the same couch with Oprah keeping the peace. It didn't help either of them. I do not understand why Jay Leno agreed to be in the commercial. Oprah seemed like the only one who has any sense of empathy or humanity anymore. Clearly, these two old talk show hosts only care about themselves and "their" network rivalry. They think that everything is about them just because of the Tonight Show replacement controversy 17 years ago. It is unfortunate that a classy guy like Conan O'Brien is off the air and America still has to see these tired old timers battling it out for a few more years. What do I know? I guess I am not the typical viewer seeing as all my favorite shows are on 4th place NBC.
All in all, Super Bowl XLIV was a good night of football surrounded by an okay night of ads and a bad night of music. It will be interesting to see what the next Super Bowl will bring.
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