Thoughts on Superbowl XLII

It's a few days late, but I've finally written a post about this weekend's Superbowl... or, as Mark called it, SportsBowl Roman Numerals.

Superbowls, like beer and bike rides, are best enjoyed in groups. The experience is that much better when you are with friends who share your snarky sense of humor, to better appreciate the good and mock the bad... and by bad, I mean horrible. Luckily, I got to watch the game with Willis and Milky, and we had just the right ratio of nachos, pizza, and high-A.B.V. beer.

It was great, but I couldn't help but pine for Super Sundays in the fraternity house at the ol' alma mater. It was a more innocent time, each year boasting a dozen pizzas, couches set up as stadium seating, and beer flowing - and tasting - like water. Buying squares in the Pool wasn't about winning money, it was about winning... this resulted in desperate cries towards the end of every quarter, calling for a Hail Mary at the end of the 1st or a field goal on 2nd down.

Understand, this was a group that would set up a "coin-toss" bracket during March Madness just to make the losing gamblers feel even worse. Sports were important. Our Browns never made the Super Bowl while I was an undergrad, nor did they make it past the Wildcard round, but we could at least root against the "bad guys"... usually the Pats.

Fortunately, this Superbowl was amazing. You already know that, so I'll spare you my reaction... except to say that you should watch this video before the NFL issues a cease and desist on this one too.

I wonder what they're going to call it? Will it fit the naming convention of "The Catch", "The Play", "The Drive", etc? J.A. Adande called it "Slip and Grip"... I hope that name doesn't stick.

I will also bite my tongue when it comes to the much-anticipated Superbowl ads. Everyone has already said whatever it is that I might say. Maybe I'll just wonder out loud, are the commercial writers part of the WGA? Because surely they could do better than Ling Ling the Blatantly Stereotypical Panda. For goodness' sake.

If you get nothing else out of this blog post, friends, I hope you'll at least join me in wondering: What ever happened to the FOX Football Robot? That was, in my opinion, the most compelling storyline ever to intermittently appear during sporting events.

There was the unexpected appearance of the Terminator. There was the delightful character arc consisting entirely of violent conflict. There was even a surprise twist to turn the tide in the Football Robot's favor... but then what? Could not the Terminator triumph over a gang of SportsBots? They're programmed to do calisthenics and signal touchdowns; the Terminator is programmed to destroy.

Dammit, I want closure.