I am not a sports buff. I watch one game a year and you know which one that is. I love the opening ceremonies, the half time show (hoping for a wardrobe malfunction) and the commercials. Oh the game is OK, too.
I was pleasant surprised with Lady Gaga and her rendition of the national anthem. It was clean, expressive, and respectful. It certainly got the bad taste of Rosanne Barr out of my mouth. The national anthem is a battle song. It was written to be played by a brass with drums and cymbals. It is to be stirring, to bring visions of rockets and the fight for freedom. But I guess if you can’t have LA Philharmonic and 15,000 people singing along, Lady Gaga will do nicely.
Then there are the commercials. I don’t think many stood out. They were ok, but I’m not sure hit the peaks many have in the past, except one. And strangely enough, it was for the NFL. It’s called Super Bowl Babies. Seems like the New York Blackout, the Superbowl spawns (to coin a phrase) a lot of snuggling afterwards. And nine months later, a plethora of babies.
These were the cutest kids, ages from three to their teens, and then adults whose parents watched the game in the sixties and seventies and then did what came natural. It was heartwarming to see them, staged on a mountaintop, in small groups, singing a song written just for them. Loved it.
I missed the Clydesdales, you just can’t beat a good horse commercial. Oh we got a glimpse, but Budweiser seems to have spent all its money on Helen Mirren who came as close to cursing as you can on public TV while impressing on us not to drink and drive.
The Halftime show. I really liked it. Beyonce didn’t overwhelm me, but then I wasn’t really listening too closely. Just watching her is enough. Coldplay…who is Coldplay? But they sing and move well. What I liked most was it seemed to harbor back to those half time shows we put on at UCLA when I was in the band. We took up the entire field. Lots of music and moving. Smoke effects. Lights. and Beyonce got right down on the grass and did her thing where minutes before huge men tore into each other. Good job everyone.
Oh, I guess there was a football game. Broadcasters supported the wrong side. Nothing out of the ordinary there. I’m glad Peyton Manning’s group won. It was his 200th win and perhaps his last game. Sniff.
So will they return to Roman Numerals next year. Superbowl LI. I doubt it.
JVH
