Super Bowl 44

The following is a run through of the Super Bowl from my perspective. All of this is what I wrote down at the time (though elaborated, since I didn’t have time to write everything down. Anything added after the game will be between “*”s). Enter my mind as I watched the game.

5:24- Pregame has been going for a while. Interviews of various players, past and present, including one of Plaxico Burress in jail. And just two years ago he was catching a Super Bowl winning touchdown. But the real point of interest here is the Peyton Manning interview. It was normal, nothing out of the ordinary, until they cued up the Jason Bourne theme in the background. At first I laughed, cause Peyton Manning doesn’t exactly make you think ‘super spy,” but the more I thought about it, what other player in the NFL would be more comparable to Jason Bourne? Peyton’s the best. Everyone wants to beat him. Everyone’s after him. Perhaps the position of running back in general would more accurately fit the ever chased Bourne profile, but I maintain that Peyton is football’s Jason Bourne.

5:29- The Super Bowl is known for advertisements, but what had to be the best marketing moment, *and after seeing all the commercials, I still agree* was before all the big commercials started. The add started with famous clips of Miss Teen South Carolina trying to explain American’s geographical ineptitude. All the viewers laugh. Then it shows Miss S. Carolina participating in “The Amazing Race.” Trust me. People will sit and watch that show just hoping someone asks S. Carolina a question. Ratings will skyrocket. Until S. Carolina is eliminated.

5:50- I’ve known a few Australians. Does anyone really have as strong of an accent as the voice for The Outback’s commercials?

5:52- Pregame analyst’s picks go 3-1 in favor of the Colts. I’m going to have to say 33-28 Colts. But go Saints.

6:08- They introduce the Saints, the crowd goes wild, and the players storm onto the field. And Saints coach Sean Payton stands there with a monotonous look on his face that in such an exciting moment could surely only be rivaled by Andy Reid.

6:12- Pizza Hut runs their $10 for any topping, any crust, any size commercial. With that deal, why would anyone get a small?

6:17- Players have taken the field, everyone is ready. All we have to do yet is sing the national anthem and flip the coin, right? Well, wait, first the Man of the Year award. Okay, it’s a nice gesture to do that on such a big stage. Oh, and then Queen Latifa sings “America the Beautiful.” Have we gotten so patriotic that now we need TWO “USA” songs? Our national anthem isn’t enough? But that’s not the outrage. One of the big Super Bowl betting lines was the over/under on how long it would take Carrie Underwood to sing the national anthem. But where were the betting lines on Queen Latifa? What if I wanted to bet the over on America the Beautiful? Nowhere did I see that opportunity. I could have lost 3 different bets before kickoff! (for those of you who don’t know me that well, insert sarcasm)

6:20- Sure, having people signing the lyrics to the national anthem is a nice gesture, but I’m quite certain that if I were deaf, the words to the national anthem are would be last on my list of things I wanted signed. I know the lyrics, it’s the national anthem! Would I like to know what the announcers are saying while a confusing play is being reviewed? Certainly.

6:23- Commercial comparing the design/engineering of golf clubs to the flight of a falcon and a fighter jet. There’s no way golf clubs are that complicated.

6:27- NFC wins the coin toss for the 13th year in a row…and there go the announcers stealing my thunder. Shoot, they even gave you the odds of that happening. Well, they weren’t the only ones aware of the possibility going into the coin toss, I was ready to pounce on that statistic as soon as the coin hit the ground, and I don’t even have teams of people feeding me all kinds of info. Kudos to me.

6:29- Colts cover the opening kickoff well. No Devon Hester repeat.

6:30- Dwight Freeney looks crippled. Don’t expect much from him.

6:33- Classic Manning to Clark across the middle to get the Colts started.

6:42- If people would have just waited and watched the Tebow commercial before making it into a huge controversy, I doubt people would have even realized it was a Pro-life add. No emphasis on Mrs. Tebow going against doctor’s advice to abort, just her saying how she almost lost him so many times. Had I not known the back story, I would have thought it was just a story about a difficult pregnancy. Good idea, Focus on the Family, bad execution.

6:48- Every time they show Manning on the sideline, I can only wish McNabb had that kind of focus and determination.

6:49- Tons of kids dream of playing in the Super Bowl and having highlights of you shown in slow motion. I doubt that when Marcus Colston was a kid he pictured that moment as him being the only player in the screen and letting a pass go right through his hands. He got good reps on the number of replays though.

6:52- CIS commercial. Somebody just made a killing selling the “slap in the back of the head” sound effect.

7:00- Correct me if I’m wrong, but that was probably the first time in Super Bowl history that someone with a last name that means “Boy” scored a touchdown.

7:03- Holding is called on the Saints during the ensuing kickoff, backing them up to the 10 yard line. As they go to another commercial break, the announcer says, “Things just got a little harder for Drew Brees and the Saints.” That’s the kind of analysis that they get paid the big bucks for.

7:06- After returning from a commercial break and only showing the kickoff before showing more commercials, the Saints run one play that takes us to the end of the first quarter. More commercials.

7:09- This really reminds me of last year’s Super Bowl. The Steelers dominated the first quarter to take a 10-0 lead. We’re still in for a game.

7:11- Probably a good call on the late hit out of bounds, but I have to wonder what defenders are supposed to do in that situation. The ball carrier *I think it was Reggie Bush* was turning the corner and diving close to the first down marker along the side line. It’s a race to the side line to pick up the first down or prevent the first down. If the defender pulls up at all, he makes it. If the defender doesn’t slow down and hits him in midair just moments after he goes out of bounds (which in real speed is virtually no time to react) it’s a 15 yard penalty. Seems like a lose-lose situation for the defender.

7:15- Haha. Great slo-mo shot of an official ducking a pass and simultaneously turning to watch the play.

7:20- Can we start a petition right now to not have two commercials in a row featuring guys not wearing pants?

7:28- The just showed Dwight Freeney highlights. I’m wrong already. But in my defense, apart from the sack, none of those highlights would have been shown if he weren’t battling an injury.

7:31- Wide Receiver Reverse: The ultimate second guess plays. The play bombed. A 7 yard loss. So we call it a terrible play call.

7:37- 3rd and goal at the 1 and they’re already talking about whether they should or shouldn’t go for it on 4th down.

7:38- A coach with the guts to go for it on 4th and goal after LOSING yards on 3rd down. I like it.

7:41- Colts make the stop: Manning greatness to ensue.

7:43- cough…ehem…I mean…three run plays and out is great, too…

7:46- the Saints just ran up and spiked the ball, letting a mere 10 seconds or so off the clock. McNabb was watching that, right? Brees didn’t line up behind the wrong lineman, nor did he fake back and forth before trying to spike the ball and end up getting sacked. Watch and learn, Donovan.

7:49- Halftime stat: colts 11-1 when leading at halftime. May I ask how that’s relevant? They won every game they tried to win and lost the games they didn’t try to win. So let’s try this one for size: Colts are 16-2 in games that they reached halftime.

7:50- So I really wanted to make a prediction that defenses would surprise a lot of people, and with a 10-6 halftime score, I would have been right. But alas I didn’t have the guts. Largely because I thought that no matter what the defenses did, scoring would take off in the second half. So offense, bail me out, please!

7:54- Bill Cowher says how much he loved Sean Payton’s decision to go for it on 4th and goal from the 1 ½ yard line, because you have to play to win! Um, Bill, may I remind you of a certain AFC Championship game you coached against the Patriots? The Steelers were down by 13 points with about 10 minutes left and faced a 4th and goal from the 2. Did Bill Cowher “play to win?” Nope. He kicked a field goal! So, Bill, don’t try and act like you would have done the same.

7:58- “The Who” are doing the halftime show. Now think of your favorite current day band. I have good news! They might do the Super Bowl halftime show! …in about 30 or 40 years.

Several times during halftime- Thanks to Andy Hock for pointing this one out. One of the camera men must share my opinion of the halftime show, as several times they showed the lead singer…with a clock behind him counting down the time until halftime ends.

8:20- Onside kick! Who Dat gonna recover dat ball?

8:25- That onside kick really fired up the players. Lots of extracurricular activity going on after the plays. Expect more.

8:26- Screen pass to Pierre Thomas for a touchdown. Wow, that catch and run took me back to the Brian Westbrook glory days.

8:29- Yup, tempers are flaring.

8:34- Thing of beauty pass from Manning to Dallas Clark. Dropped perfectly into Clark’s hands over two jumping defenders. *and a great sideline shot of the play as we headed into the next commercial break*

8:35- 7:30 left in the 3rd quarter, and it happened. I started trying to visualize the post game celebration. My desire to know the future has irrevocably kicked in now. I will now overanalyze each score and lead change into trying to predict the final outcome.

8:36- A Joseph Addai rushing touchdown…and they show the Manning family cheering in their luxury box. Well, they had to show the Mannings at some point, I guess.

8:43- Still waiting for the Saints to go downfield. Apart from the long incompletion on their first possession, everything’s been short.

8:47- In order for my final score prediction to come true, all we need is the Colts to score 16 more points, and the Saints 12. I’d say my chances are zero.

8:50- Very much enjoyed the shot of Jeremy Shockey, who was once one of my most disliked players, getting crunched in slow motion.

9:01- Very impressed with the officiating so far. I don’t have a thing to complain about (apart from the previously mentioned dispute over the late hit out of bounds rule). Hopefully I didn’t just jinx it.

9:05- Visio Droid commercial. Whoever thought to bring back the fat guy dancing to the Numa Numa song is a genious.

9:08- Nine minutes left in the game and it seems like there’s been a whole lot more offense than 17-16.

9:13- That official made the most of his 5 seconds of fame while calling the 2 point conversion attempt incomplete. Drastic incomplete signal, followed by an over emphatic juggling motion, followed by another dramatic incomplete signal or two.

9:16- Upon review, the 2 point conversion is good! If not, a serious rant will follow.

9:17- The official that made the call after the challenge did NOT make the most of his 5 seconds of fame.

9:25- The eco-friendly police take the cake as the worst commercial

9:27- Did not see that interception coming. I’m kinda bummed, though. I expected the Colts to tie it up, and then we’d get to see Drew Brees try to define his career by taking his team down the field for the game winning score with at least less than three minutes left. Instead, we get to see Peyton Manning try to build on his already defined career by trying to score two touchdowns in three minutes. It’ll be exciting if he does it, but if he doesn’t, not so much.

9:35- Long pass play takes us to the 2 minute warning with the Colts in good field position. Three time outs left, and they might make this interesting yet.

9:40- Anyone doubting how great Peyton Manning is, should think about this: What other QB could be down by 14 with 1:30 left and make you think, “Hey, they still have 3 timeouts! If they score here and stop the Saints, he’ll get the ball back with no time outs and a whole minute to go the length of the field. Look out saints!” *of course perhaps I was the only one to think this. And perhaps rightfully so. But it’s an interesting thought, nonetheless.*

9:41- 3rd down from the 4 and they run it? Along with Peyton calling a timeout that he regretted moments later, there goes the theory listed above.

9:42- Impressive win for the Saints.

9:43- Shot of Saints owner celebrating. Good thing for him it didn’t come down to a field goal.

9:44- The Saints know teamwork…except when it comes to not getting in the way of the guys trying to douse the coach in Gatorade. Ah, well, though. It’s their first ever championship.

That wraps up my timeline. Now for some post game thoughts.
This Super Bowl was a lot more bland than last year in that I don’t have any horrible calls to complain about, nor do I have John Madden to make fun of (though I hate to do it, I must admit that I really did miss having Madden ramble his way through the Super Bowl). But there were several interesting moments to comment on throughout the game.

Perhaps the most subtly strange was during an NFL commercial there was a short shot of a kid wearing a Brett Favre Jets jersey. You’d think the NFL would stay up to date on that kind of thing.
The onside kick to start the second half was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It was certainly the “yup, it’s the Super Bowl” moment, as players ignored officials trying to clear up the scrum pile and kept going back in. I’ve never seen a fumble pile take anywhere close to that long to sort out, nor have I ever seen both teams that entirely convinced that they had come up with the ball.

Undervalued play of the Game would have to go to Lance Moore and his 2 point conversion catch. Not only was it an incredibly athletic fusion of the catch and the stretch into one motion, but we didn’t realize he had done anything special until we saw the replays (the game shot just showed his back, and looked like an incomplete pass), and at that point we were all focusing on whether or not he scored. In addition as the Colts started driving back down the field, those 2 points put the Colt’s backs against the wall and gave the Saints breathing room. After all, worst case scenario, if the Colts score, it’s tied. Without those 2 points, a Colts score would put the Saints against however much clock was left to get a field goal. Am I saying that Tracy Porter might not have been sitting on Reggie Wayne’s route quite so much if a touchdown would have put them behind? Not necessarily, the Saints play and aggressive defense, so it’s likely he would have made the interception anyway, however that is something to think about.

The post game interviews are notorious for players/coaches/owners going overboard in proclaiming their fans/city/players/coaches/etc to be the very best. We had that. But the Saints owner took it to a whole new level, saying that the City of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana were “Back and showed the whole world.” Understandable enthusiasm, yet pathetic world view. Sure, a few people around the world watch the Super Bowl to see what American Football is all about, but they were proven nothing. Come to think of it, nothing was proved to me about New Orleans or Louisiana by the Saints winning the Super Bowl.

A long, lingering shot of Drew Brees holding his 1ish son during the postgame celebration led to my favorite announcing line: “That’s the most precious moment that he could share with his son.” Change the word “share” to “have” and I’ll agree. But I’m pretty sure that while it was a great moment for Drew Brees, all that was running through the kid’s head was, “Why is everyone yelling? Hey look, it’s raining paper. I don’t feel this small around most people. Where’s mom?”

So another season is in the wraps. While it’s nice to see a little guy win here and there, it was very enjoyable to see the #1 seeds from both conferences face off in the Super Bowl. They were the best from start to finish, well done by both of them. The game won’t go down as a Super Bowl great, but it was a good game with few turnovers and few penalties. Simply two great teams going at each other, a treat we don’t get in this magnitude very often.
-Ben Herr