Rootin' for the Saints

I am going to be watching the Super Bowl with a couple of friends in a bar in Pasadena. I've watched the Super Bowl with these friends for the last few years. They're pretty clueless about football, but they like watching the Super Bowl. It's a little odd being the sports expert in the crowd, but it's a good feeling.

I am, along with probably 90% of America, rooting for the Saints. Partially because of Reggie Bush, who is a famous USC grad. But also, of course, for the underdog factor. Bill Plaschke of the LA Times explained this country's desperate need for a Cinderella story:

As our country lurches and heaves through the ankle-deep sand of its economic recovery, it has not helped the national psyche that every time we turn to our national pastimes for assurances that the little guy can still survive, we run smack into Goliath.

The New York Yankees won the World Series. Gee, that was fun. The Lakers won the NBA championship. Loved here, hated everywhere else.

North Carolina won the Final Four. Bear Bryant's old team won the Bowl Championship Series. Jimmie Johnson won his fourth consecutive NASCAR championship. The Connecticut women's basketball team has won 61 consecutive games.

And now Peyton Manning is getting ready to win another Super Bowl?

No thanks. Not now. Please. America needs to believe in the impossible again. America needs another dose of revival.

As a Yankees and Lakers fan, I was thrilled with both of those victories, although my otherwise great sports year was tempered by the dismal failure of USC's football team this year (they went 9-4, which was very sad). But I understand his point.

Of course, the greatest Cinderella story in America right now is playing out in the White House, but I suppose as soon he was inaugurated, Obama stopped being the underdog. Of course, the whole point of the Cinderella story is that she is the one who marries the handsome prince.

$100,000 a second

That's how much an ad cost in this year's Super Bowl. I have no commentary, I just think that's an amazing statistic.

Best and worst Super Bowl ads

As everyone did, I watched the Super Bowl partially for the ads. They really have become a touchstone for conversation, haven't they? Yahoo rounds them up.

Some people didn't like it, but I loved the Troy Palomalu ad for Coke Zero, which so clearly referenced the classic Mean Joe Greene ad. Ripping off a classic isn't really an issue, because it's Coke stealing from itself. What made it work for me was the last few seconds, where Palomalu tackles the guy in the suit, rips his shirt off, and then throws it to the little kid. That was hysterical.

I also loved the Doritos "Crystal Ball" ad. That was just wonderful, and I think that's a universal reaction. Who wouldn't love to vent a little frustration like that? I also liked the ad because it was very cheap and easy to produce, unlike some of the other ads, which clearly cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions. I liked the production design of the Doritos ad. Note that in the first scene, the left and right sides of the screen are filled with bland colors - the guys are wearing boring shirts and ties - while in the middle are the very colorful Doritos. Nice touch. I didn't think the ending was that funny, because I thot it was a little cliched, and I could see something like it coming - oh, great, a guy gets hit in the nuts. Never seen that before! But that's minor. Still a great commercial.

I liked the Jason Statham ad for Audi, I thot that was clever (it was also shot about three blocks from my office), although blatantly unfair to the competition. Let's see, what happens if we drive a very old Mercedes Benz, an ancient BMW, and other crappy but once-expensive cars? Oh, yes, we don't get away from the bad guys. And yet, when we drive a brand new Audi, voila! We are a great action hero. Clever, and well done, but a little silly.

I was also very impressed by the Will.i.am Pepsi ad, which I didn't even realize was a Pepsi ad. Absolutely loved the juxtaposition of Baby Boomer and contemporary images. That was stupendous. And Will.i.am was the perfect person to do it, since he made that great Obama video way back when. I might even buy a Pepsi (I don't drink Pepsi willingly). Only could have been better if his bandmate Fergie was in it.

In the interest of fairness, I also liked the Coke "Avatar" ad. That was cute, although not as good as the Pepsi Will.i.am ad.

Geekdad at Wired thinks this was a terrible year for the ads, and particularly cites the sexism of some, notably the GoDaddy ads and the Carl's Jr. I thot the GoDaddy ads were tasteless and puerile, as well as stupid and counterproductive. Do you really want to associate yourself solely with horny teenage boys? I like Danica Patrick, and I don't blame her for making money off her image. And, let's face it, she's a race car driver - she already sells advertising all over her body. But what exactly does she have to do with selling domain names? Shouldn't you be letting the world know about whatever technical expertise you have hosting Web sites?

I completely agree about the Carl's Jr. ad, tho. That was by far the worst. OK, there's a beautiful woman getting dressed, showing some cleavage. That's normal for advertising. Sometimes that turns me off, because it's so sexist, but sometimes it can be funny, like the Danica Patrick ads. While I didn't think they were effective ads, they also weren't meant to be taken seriously.

But I really did not get the point of the Carl's Jr. ad. OK, I'm supposed to want to go out with this beautiful woman. Fine, no problem, that's normal advertising. A little tacky, maybe sexist, but normal. But then she's disgusted by her date, who is a stupid, insensitive slob. Am I supposed to identify with this guy? Am I supposed to think that pissing off a woman who has spent hours getting ready for a date is a good thing? As it happens, I went to Carl's Jr. the night before the Super Bowl and had exactly what they were advertising - some new steak sandwich. It wasn't very good, and I woke up the next morning with a headache. As if that experience wasn't bad enough to turn me off, this ad clinched the deal.

The movie trailers looked fairly standard. I paid particular attention to Race To Witch Mountain, because I have positive memories of the original, from back in the '70's. I'm not excited about it as an action adventure movie starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. I thot he was decent in Get Smart, and he seems to have a good sense of humor about himself, but my vague memories about the original is that it was charming to watch kids with special powers. It's made by Disney, which does family films well, so there's hope in that respect.

Ending on a positive note, the Bud Light ads were generally good. Conan O'Brien's was funny, as was the guy being thrown out the window. Going to a meeting and being able to drink all the beer you can? Now THAT'S escapism.

Steelers win the Super Bowl

I watched the Super Bowl at Barney's Beanery in Pasadena, the same place I watched it last year. It's turning into a tradition, which is nice. I watched it with my friend Peter, who knows very little about football, but likes the Super Bowl. What a game! We decided to root for the Cardinals, because they were the underdogs - no other reason. There are USC players on both sides, although Troy Palomalu, who is a safety for the Steelers, is more well known at this point than Matt Leinart, quarterback for the Cardinals. Leinart was a star at USC, but he hasn't been that good in Arizona. He might come back, but he does need to come back.

Palomalu was also in a great commercial, mimicking the famous Coke ad from the '70's starring Mean Joe Greene. It helps that Palomalu is apparently smart enough that the NY Times can run an article called "The Tao of Palomalu."

This was a great example of why we watch the Super Bowl. A nailbiter to the end.

On a sad note, a former player for the Detroit Lions, John Berry Gordy, recently passed away. Apparently he was famous as a leader of the player's union. A union leader from Detroit - my kind of guy. He was a rookie in 1957, the last time the Lions won a league title (this was before the Super Bowl). This is particularly sad - on the day of the Super Bowl, the only way a Detroit Lion can get a mention in the paper is by dying.