My Thoughts on Super Bowl XLV

So let me start off by saying that the most important thing about the Super Bowl is the game itself. And it was a great game.

So let me say congratulations to the Green Bay Packers! I am thrilled for Aaron Rogers for finally getting the monkey off his back…

But you can’t deny that the Super Bowl is also about the spectacle and the commercials. So let me start with the spectacle…

I feel SO sorry for the players who have to stand there for what seems like forever during all the pomp and circumstance. I’m as big of a patriot as the next person, but is it really necessary to do both “America the Beautiful” and “The Star Spangled Banner”? And while we’re discussing that, why didn’t they just let Lea Michele do the National Anthem? Her rendition of “America” was flawless (although it may have been lip-synched) and I’m sure everyone knows by now what happened with Christina.

As someone who gets major stage fright singing in front of people, let me defend Christina a little bit by saying I can see it being entirely possible that she would get so caught up in the moment that she would lose her place (as she said in her post-anthem statement). The problem is that she was making such a bold statement with the whole a capella vocal acrobatics that she was almost daring people to find fault. And boy, did she give them one. Vocally, I thought it was just okay and WAY too long…

There has been A LOT of discussion about The Black Eyed Peas halftime show, but allow me to still add my two cents. My problem was not with The Black Eyed Peas (Except that I really wish they would stop trying to make “The Time” happen. Some songs you should never mess with!). I happen to be a fan of theirs and have seen them do a number of electric TV performances. The problem was with that sound mix. will.i.am’s microphone was ridiculously loud and then when Fergie’s didn’t work they turned it up extra loud to where she was almost shouting—and off-key at that! You couldn’t even hear the music!

The most electrifying part of the show—Usher—didn’t even attempt to sing because he knew there was no use. If the NFL is going to make such a big deal out of the halftime show, then it needs to be good. The technical problems, in my opinion, were inexcusable…

As was Fergie’s terrible Axl Rose impersonation on “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” I’m sure I’ve heard her sing better than that live, haven’t I?...

All of this raises a question. If the NFL was looking for a family friendly artist that would appeal to younger people, why didn’t it just go with the cast of “Glee”?...

Now, on to the commercials. “USA Today” can give the crown to Doritos and Bud Light if it wants too, but all the talk I’ve seen/heard today has been about two ads—Volkswagen’s “Use the Force” and Chrysler’s “Imported From Detroit” featuring Eminem. The Eminem ad was hands down my favorite. As soon as it went off, I said out loud, “That was good!” and immediately grabbed my iPhone to Facebook about it. I enjoy funny commercials, but I like the powerful ones too.

The Volkswagen ad was adorable. And I also liked the Justin Bieber-Ozzy Osbourne Best Buy ad, although I think I might have been the only one…

I also liked the Joan Rivers GoDaddy.com spot, the Teleflora spot with Faith Hill, the Chevy Cruze ad in the nursing home, and the Pepsi Max spot with the woman throwing the can at her boyfriend and hitting the hot girl he was staring at instead (Was it just me or were all the Pepsi Max ads a little violent?)…

FOX deserves a thumbs-up too for their show promos—especially the “House” promo parodying the classic Coke Mean Joe Greene ad. And the NFL ad featuring characters from classic TV shows had some seriously good CGI since hardly any of those characters ever wore any of those outfits originally…

Minus the National Anthem and halftime glitches, I thought the broadcast over all was a really good one. And though I snickered at first, I thought FOX’s reading of the Declaration of Independence before the game began was pretty cool too (although the ending was a little undramatic). I especially liked seeing Anthony Munoz in the middle of that farm in Waynesville, Ohio.

So what did you guys think? Did you have a favorite commercial? And what did you think of the halftime show? Share your thoughts by posting a comment, or hit me up on Facebook or Twitter…

Logo Credit: FOX