February 02, 2004

BEST SUPER BOWL EVER?: No,

BEST SUPER BOWL EVER?: No, of course not. But tonight's Super Bowl XXXVIII was certainly in the top ten, as the Patriots won the championship on a last-second field goal by Adam Vinatieri for the second time in three years. If you care who won, you probably watched it, so there's no reason to describe the highlights. But I got the winner right, and was correct about Beyonce looking good.
While not the all-time greatest Super Bowl on the field, this year's event certainly led all previous Super Bowls in nudity, as a streaker appeared on the field during the second-half kickoff and- much more notoriously- Janet Jackson had her tassled right breast exposed by Justin Timberlake during the closing moments of the halftime show. Despite denials from all parties, the stunt was clearly planned all along, as it happened seconds after Timberlake sang the line "gonna have you naked by the end of this song." It will also undoubtedly lead to as much hand wringing as the Madonna/Britney kiss, including Dick Morris-like theories about a Justin-Britney "feud," and calls of pretend-outrage from the O'Reillys of the world.
Interesting that all that was made about the Lingerie Bowl, it didn't feature any actual nudity, yet the official halftime show did.
As for the commercials, it was generally a down year; my favorite were the all-star team of NFL personalities singing "Tomorrow," the Frito Lay spot in which an elderly couple fights over a bag of chips, and the donkey auditioning to join the Budweiser Clydesdales. That "Office Supply Godfather" ad for Staples was great too.
The worst? The several disturbing erectile-dysfunction-drug spots, one of which featured Mike Ditka ranting about how baseball players "need Levitra," as well as yet another bit that exploited the increasingly oblivious Muhammad Ali- isn't it not so tasteful to pay a man with Parkinson's to say the phrase "shake things up!"? The Evel Knievel-like AOL spots all fell flat, and there was also an uncomfortable overreliance on monkeys in the various ads. Interspecies sexuality (ISS), of course was all over the place too, as in one Bud spot a monkey began hitting on a guy's girlfriend, and in another Jessica Simpson was leered at by the king of ISS himself, Kermit the Frog. Where's the Bud Bowl when we need it?
Another moment I loved- the pre-game tribute to the astronauts, featuring Josh Groban singing and a re-enacted moon landing that looked a little like an MTV ad circa 1983, but I liked it anyway.
Tomorrow begins the 7-month football off-season; pitchers and catchers report in two weeks!

Posted by Stephen Silver at February 2, 2004 01:04 AM
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