The Collegian
Friday, March 29, 2024

Things that are super about the Super Bowl

Hail to the Redskins! Oh, wait, the Skins have not made the Super Bowl since 1991 in Super Bowl XXVI against the Buffalo Bills.

My, how the mighty have fallen.

But that's OK. Why? Because there are many factors that make the Super Bowl super, even if your team did not make the cut.

The Super Bowl is the culmination of six months of sports marketing and advertising at its finest. What other TV shows feature snack foods, beer, cars, beer, video games, televisions and beer as its main sources of promotional and marketable products? I'm not familiar with all of that fancy, shmancy business jargon, but I know what sells in football: beer.

Televised football took over living rooms around the country for three out of seven nights a week with the obligatory Monday Night Football, all-day Sunday football and the occasional Thursday Night Football. Luckily, the head honchos at FOX knew to tap into another market when they decided to air a new episode of "Glee" post-Super Bowl. That is one thing Packer and Steeler fans could agree on -- that is if they enjoy "Glee."

So, after months of hard-fought wins and blow-out losses, the finale of professional football featured two teams with yellow pants (did anyone else find that a bit confusing at times?): the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Those two names are synonymous with the upper echelon of the NFL. The Super Bowl trophy is named after the Packers' first coach, the legendary Vince Lombardi. And the Steelers were playing for their seventh Super Bowl title. The team names alone give any sports historian and fan chills. That sounds pretty super to me.

A high-scoring game is always entertaining. A high-scoring Super Bowl is even better. When Green Bay scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, viewers knew this was going to be a good game. Personally, I figured that the Steelers were done for at the end of the first quarter. But, I also thought Big Ben Roethlisberger was guilty of sexual harassment. Looks like the Steelers find ways of creeping back up out of ugly situations.

Hope began to fill the hearts of Steelers fans when the team began the scoring in the third quarter with Rashard Mendenhall's eight-yard run for a touchdown. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers proved that his good looks must permeate his passing ability. Rodgers became the fourth quarterback in Super Bowl history to throw for three touchdowns, 300 yards and no interceptions. Super job.

The halftime show: You either loved it or hated it. "I got a feeling" that most of the viewers took to Facebook and Twitter to share their feelings about the Black Eyed Peas performance, with appearances by Slash of Guns N' Roses and Usher. Whether you thought it was the worst performance since Christina Aguliera messed up the words to the Star-Spangled Banner (sounds as if it was a bad night for music), or really wished you got to wear one of those light-up suits, the halftime show still makes the Super Bowl super. Where else can you see hundreds of people wearing light-up suits doing a choreographed dance?

The most super aspect of the Super Bowl is that you don't have to be a football fanatic to love it. There are so many different components that are somehow related to the Super Bowl. The commercials (my favorite was the Volkswagen one with the little Darth Vader), the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet, the food and drink, the songs (I see you Lil Wayne with that "Green and Yellow," and Wiz Khalifa's "Black and Yellow"), "Glee" post-game episode and the general all-around celebration combine to make a truly enjoyable show.

The Packers took home the trophy and the Steelers left empty-handed, but millions of viewers enjoyed an entertaining game, complemented by bellies full of snacks and images of the ridiculous Groupon and LivingSocial commercials dancing in their heads.

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