Super Bowl XLV- An exercise in Over-the-Top Entertainment

The Green Bay Packers are bringing the Lombardi trophy back to the snow-covered fields of Wisconsin (their 4th win and first win since the departure of biggest known fan of his cellphone camera, Brett Favre).

But coming into Super Bowl XLV, with my hometown Indianapolis Colts already out and my devotion to other springtime sporting events still to come (March Madness), I decided to focus this year on every aspect of the game that wasn't the game.

The Fox News Corporation decided that during the pre-game festivities (that started at noon by the way), they should play host to a weird and quietly momentous little summit of sorts. President Obama and king of spin Bill O'Reilly sat down for an otherwise pretty dull interview. The interview did have a slight uptick though, when at one point at one point that O'Reilly asked quite directly, "Does it bother you that so many people hate you?"

Then there was the actual pre-game events including Christina Aguilera flubbing the lyrics to the National Anthem. In true fashion the Twitter world went crazy with her misspoken lyrics, and it didn't take long for Aguilera to release a statement hoping the world didn't view her as unpatriotic.



The commercials were...well actually somewhat boring. So many of them had this elaborate set-up and unfortunately the money shot was not really worth it. Weirdly my favorite ones involved physical site gags like this one early in the telecast.



Unfortunately, I would have preferred that Doritos stuck to their guns and tried to air this spot because of its sheer audacity. They shelved it weeks before, for obvious reasons, and well went with some other stuff instead.



The much-publicized halftime extravaganza featuring every soccer mom's favorite rap stars the Black Eyed Peas was...middling at best. Propelled by the power and ubiquity of their party jams including "I Got a Feeling," "Boom Boom Pow," and "Let's Get It Started," the Peas launched into a seemingly endless set featuring LCD light shows, dancers by the truckload, and extra-special guests including former Guns 'N Roses guitarist Slash and R&B superstar Usher who did his best "I'm trying to be Michael Jackson" impression. The multiple sound glitches and just general left me thinking I'll take some aging rock god any day of the week. Were Bon Jovi unavailable? I included it below.



Finally the post-Super Bowl TV spot went to the biggest love-it-or-hate-it show in recent memory. I think it's because it's a musical, so many people don't like musicals. The show's producers certainly added some bang for their buck including scantily clad cheerleaders, a football game of their own, and a highly-publicized performance of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" that lived up to the hype. I don't know if the show won any new fans but it certainly held its ground.



The Super Bowl for years has tried to be the ultimate entertainment event for all generations, races, genders, and once again for Super Bowl XLV they tried with mixed results to do just that.