The Super Bowl just ended and, unfortunately, my losing streak continues (and I'm poorer for it, in the most literal sense of the term). Yes, Rex Grossman was awful. Yes, Peyton Manning played a good game. But don't put the win or loss solely on either one of their heads. The MVP was really the Colts offensive line. Those guys were excellent. The Indy defense was better than the Bears defense. Hell, the Colts beat the Bears up and down the field in every way possible.
A couple observations:
-- The commercials were a disappointment, ranging from mildly amusing to stupid (the Chevy truck commercial with all the singing was an abomination). The best was the
Snickers ad with the two comically roughneck mechanics who rip out their own chest hair to show their manliness after an accidental kiss. The Grand Theft Auto take from Coke gets the runner-up, while the rock-papers-scissors ad from Budweiser grabs third-place honors.
-- Prince came through big-time in the half-time show -- easily (EASILY) the best ever. He could have played his usual crap that nobody really likes, but instead started old-school with Let's Go Crazy, showed deference and kept it rocking both by covering Hendrix and Foo Fighters, jammed the ax sweetly throughout, and finished with classic Purple Rain. He pulled off what I thought was impossible -- making a 15-minute spree feel like an actual concert. Put Paul McCartney and the Stones to shame (but then, that's sort of like showing up Grandpa at Thanksgiving dinner).
-- The Game. Had the most exciting first quarter in Super Bowl history, starting with Devin Hester's runback. From there it was average, kind of boring actually. For all the talk of Manning's greatness, three of the four Indy wins this season have been flat ugly, starting with the Chiefs win, then onto the 15-6 victory over the Ravens, and this Super Bowl thing. The Patriots game was the only one where Manning played the role of gridiron God. But he deserves this and he's an all-time great quarterback, no doubt.
