a really good mid-winter sporting extravaganza
The mid-winter sporting extravaganza commonly known as the Super Bowl
happened yet again yesterday. It was a really good one, and I’ll remember it
fondly for the image of Giants’ running back Ahmad Bradshaw falling ass first
into the end zone to win the game.
Bradshaw was supposed to stop just short of the goal line to eat up more clock
and give Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady less time to retaliate. However, he
met no resistance from the Patriot defense, and gravity let him down.
Jude and I were pulling for the Giants, reasoning that the team that kept our
49ers out of The Big Game should further prove that it belonged to be there.
I was wearing my Niners shirt and Jude her (San Francisco) Giants top.
We were joined by Fred and Sheri, who turned out to be perfect guests. Not only
did they cheer for the Giants with us, they came bearing goodies. Sheri had
made a savory spanakopita, and Fred brought some home-made liqueur and
store-bought beer.
We watched the NBC feed out of Seattle. After a few commercial breaks, we
realized we weren’t seeing any of the new, elaborate ads that are often more
interesting than the game itself. We switched to the Boston feed, but it too
was showing a lot of Canadian commercials.
We saw a polar bear hugging a guy because of his choice of cars, and another
car personified as a French woman, but that was about it. No Ferris Bueller,
no Star Wars cantina scene parody. I’ve watched many of them on the net
this morning, but given the slow download speed of rural delivery and my
tendency to distract easily, I’m not out of the first quarter yet.
I wanted to post before it gets too late. I have a cantankerous micro-hydro
system to attend to yet. Besides, I can always go back and finish lists like the
Since we were denied the instant gratification of all those ads, we anticipated
the half-time show all the more. I must say that Madge delivered, even though
she’s lost a step. She was shrewd to surround herself with younger talent and
a spectacular stage show that included a spectacular stage.
It used the same technology used in the opening ceremonies of the Beijing and
Vancouver Olympics, where the floor is as important as anything happening
on top of it.
So with all that eye-popping dancing and ear-popping singing, the Parents
Television Council, an advocacy group for family programming, opted to
focus on a brief bird flipped by hip hop artist M.I.A. The group was worried
that she had flipped off millions of families, but expressed no concern for the
hundreds of millions of individuals who also were scarred forever.
Council president Tim Winter pointed out that NBC and the NFL “chose a
lineup full of performers who have based their careers on shock, profanity
and titillation. Instead of preventing indecent material, they enabled it.”
I dream of the day when no one frets about small parts of the human body.
