The Superbowl ... too much?

[Henry]

Is it the 8 beers, or does this halftime show suck?

The National Anthem was a disgrace, commercials were marginal, and the halftime show was awful. To be honest, wish they would put all this entertainment crap on another network. Then those who want to see this can turn to that station and I can sit and watch football.

I was going to respond to these in the OF thread but I think it needs a new one.

Is the superbowl becoming too much? Are we all making too big a deal over this game?

I mean, I like the superbowl. I watch the superbowl. But ... I dunno. The hype has just gotten insane, and the intro with Michael Douglas comparing the superbowl to MLK's 'I have a dream' speech, JFK saying 'the only thing we have to fear is fear itself' and the iconic image of the flag being raised at ground zero was so far over the top my head was spinning.

I like the Black Eyed Peas ok, but yes, the halftime show seemed completely over-indulgent, over produced and way too long.

On top of that, they charged people $200 to hang out and watch the game OUTSIDE the stadium? 400 people who paid for tickets didn't have seats?

I love football as much as the next guy. I think the superbowl is the single greatest playoff game in all of sports. But I think the importance being placed on the event is getting way out of hand.

But maybe that's just my opinion.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

I like the Black Eyed Peas

And the number one thing I thought I'd never hear Henry say is...

 

[Lanky Livingston]

As to the OP - I don't watch any of the pregame nonsense, so I didn't see that stuff. If they really compared the Superbowl to the things you say they did - then yes, its way over the top.

 

[Henry]

And the number one thing I thought I'd never hear Henry say is...

What can I tell you. I'm a man of many tastes.

As to the OP - I don't watch any of the pregame nonsense, so I didn't see that stuff. If they really compared the Superbowl to the things you say they did - then yes, its way over the top.

Seriously.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdDNkh98XZE[/media]

 

[Goaldeje]

I thought the Michael Douglas thing was ridiculous and borderline offensive. Very strange.

And yes to the original question. I think it has become too much of a pageant. Way too much.

 

[riggins44]

To the true football fan I believe the NFL and the networks have added too much extra stuff. The Super Bowl has become an event to where Hollywood stars attend just to be scene or promote latest show/movie.

I heard a couple interviews "on the red carpet". Many didn't really care about the game, they were there cause they were told need to be there.

Fox spent 4 hours for a pre-game show. ESPN did a 4 hour pregame show just before Fox started. I don't need 8 hours of pregame nonsense. Where the football is made, listening to bands, and Strahan trying to interview stars
was too much. Adam Sandler and Jennifer Anniston were interviewed by both Networks. Don't mind seeing her twice, but what did their new movie have anything to do with the game?

I don't thing the game has gotten to be much, but all the other stuff has.

 

[Sarge]

It's a good thing the game itself was good, because the rest just sucked. And yes, it's gotten way out of hand. When you start the "pre-game" 9 hours before the game starts and fill it with stuff like a third string players favorite hamster color, it's too much. The commercials blew, the no talent hack that tried to sing the national anthem ****ed it up and blew (And yes, even had she gotten the words right I hate when people try to add their own "flourish" to the song) and halftime absoulutly SUCKED laarge donkey dong. And people were dogging The Who last year? There's more talent in Roger Daltrey's left nut than there was on stage collectively at halfime last night. Bring back the geezers. They may be a 100 years old, but at least they have some talent

Damn. Hang overs make me cranky

 

[McD5]

I love Fergie's legs. But yes, it's already beyond ridiculous. It's turned into a huge marketing ploy.

 

[servumtuum]

It's a good thing the game itself was good, because the rest just sucked. And yes, it's gotten way out of hand. When you start the "pre-game" 9 hours before the game starts and fill it with stuff like a third string players favorite hamster color, it's too much. The commercials blew, the no talent hack that tried to sing the national anthem ****ed it up and blew (And yes, even had she gotten the words right I hate when people try to add their own "flourish" to the song) and halftime absoulutly SUCKED laarge donkey dong. And people were dogging The Who last year? There's more talent in Roger Daltrey's left nut than there was on stage collectively at halfime last night. Bring back the geezers. They may be a 100 years old, but at least they have some talent

Damn. Hang overs make me cranky

Don't blame the hangover, Sarge, I didn't drink anything stronger than coffee and gingerale and agree with most of your comments. When I saw how much tv time was going to be taken up by pre-game programming I thought "are you kidding? What are you gonna fill that much time with?". I watched enough of it to realize that the answer to that question was simply-crap.


The commercials were lame, the music lamer, the amount of non-football inert ingredients mind-boggling. As you said I'm glad it was actually an exciting game to watch-but I can't help if the NFL might be risking going "overboard" with the "pageantry" aspect of it to the point that it actually might start discouraging people from watching. The Superbowl is a cash bonanza like no other and, IMO, they might be heading in the direction of killing the proverbial golden-egg-laying goose.

 

[Lanky Livingston]

Interesting take on SB ads, and the Star Wars VW commercial in particular:

http://www.badassdigest.com/2011/02/07/lets-talk-about-that-volkswagonstar-wars-commercial

 

[Henry]

Interesting take on SB ads, and the Star Wars VW commercial in particular:

http://www.badassdigest.com/2011/02/07/lets-talk-about-that-volkswagonstar-wars-commercial

Good grief. Someone wasn't hugged enough as a child.

 

[Boone]

Honestly, except for the actual football, the 'Puppy Bowl' had more entertainment value. They even threw in some kitties

 

[Jimbo]

Not a big fan of Sally Jenkins but she's been better lately and absolutely NAILED IT with this piece.


It's a rough morning-after for the NFL. The Dallas Super Bowl was a bender, but now that the confetti has fallen, it looks like litter. The hangover has hit, a splitting headache and a sour stomach from the $19 margaritas and the $12 wine and the $10 beers and the rest of the fiscal insanity. Is this really what the NFL wants to become? A divorced-from-reality debauch?

I don't know about you, but I don't want to live in Jerry World. In Jerry World, a $1.15 billion stadium looks like the Taj Mahal on the outside, but inside some of the seats violate the fire code. In Jerry World, the state of Texas spends $31 million to host the Super Bowl, even as deficits force public school cuts. In Jerry World, it can cost $900 just to park. In Jerry World, fans pay hundreds of dollars to stand outside the stadium.

Click link for the rest

 

[Goaldeje]

God, that was nauseating, Jimbo. Great piece by Sally, absolutely crushed it. Know Snyder has this on his radar, only a matter of time.
Posted via BGO Mobile Device

 

[servumtuum]

Wow.


How absolutely freakin' ironic is it that the first Superbowl in that ego-monument to The Jerruh and "Look at the Future NFL, folks, ain't it grand?!?" showcase was won by the only NFL team actually owned by its community, fans and supporters?-the last remaining of some of the small town teams that were in the NFL 90 some years ago?

I made a comment in another thread about how I thought the NFL might have pushed things too far in the direction of carnival/pageant/circus/variety show and it was partially meant as a tongue-in-cheek comment but after reading Sally's article I may have to delete the tongue-in-cheek part.

My opinion of Goodell as NFL commish has been on a downslide for some time now-this just accelerates it.

 

[Elephant]

Well, the unfortunate part is that as the highest rated TV event in the history of television with over 100 million viewers, none of the pre-game and the pageantry will change!

I watched the O'Reilly interview. Great chance for both men to increase their ratings. Bill lobbed softballs making himself look more credible everywhere and Obama knocked them out of the Park. Self-serving on both sides!

I did not watch a single minute of anything else for the pre-game. After watching ~37 Super Bowls that I can remember and this being on Fox, this was expected before the game. Who cares what Michael Strahan has to say?!?! He is the worst analyst in the history of NFL broadcast!

When I finally turned on the game at 6:28, I was slightly disappointed because I saw whoever she was just finishing what I thought was the Star Spangled Banner. I have to say I was a little excited to see I didn't miss it and was even interested in listening to Aguilera because she does have a decent voice. Then the very first note, "OooOoooOoooOoooooooO say can you seeeeEeeeeeeEeeee... I just shook my head! STFU with your bull**** version! Just sing the song how it was written!!! How am I supposed to sing along? And yes! I do sing the National Anthem even at home when it's sung on TV!

Commercials sucked! Half-time show, perhaps the worst I have ever seen! Even when they used to have marching bands! Everything I have heard about the Dallas area and their lack of hospitality during the week leading up to the game.

All this adds up to one of the worst Super Bowl experiences in a while with a damn good game.

You know what I like most about the Super Bowl this year? When other cities go through preparations, Jerruh World's experience will be looked upon as the example of what not to do!