This year the Super Bowl was streamed live for free on Tubi TV which meant I was able to watch it. I ended up watching a little more than half, before turning it off and going to bed. The game itself wasn’t great. The Eagles dominated the Chiefs and won in a blowout. The event was…OK.
I hadn’t watched an NFL Game or the Super Bowl in a few years.
Some things haven’t changed:
- The schmaltz surrounding the event was thick. There were segments on patriotism, fighting cancer, sticking together, and supporting women’s sports.
- The commercials were constant. There were commercial breaks nearly every 2 minutes. After many plays. During any timeout. Before and after changes of possession. Even though the Super Bowl Commercials are an event to themselves, it felt excessive.
Some things were different:
- Tom Brady and some other dude were the announcers. Brady wasn’t as bad as I had anticipated, given all the criticism he received this year. He was blandly mediocre. I never expected much from him as an announcer as his personality on camera always seemed flat to me.
- I missed what good announcers brought to football. Mark Madden’s exuberance and Pat Summerall’s knowledge of the game were probably the apex for me.
- They were fewer performative end zone celebrations and “I made a tackle” dances and chest thumping than I saw a few years ago. I have no idea why this would be.
I watched the halftime show with Kendrick Lamar. I thought it was pretty good. I’m not a fan of his, but he had several songs that I enjoyed. I saw after the fact that Venus Williams had a dance cameo that I missed but caught later on YouTube. She looked fantastic and danced great.
I know all the halftime shows are medleys of “greatest hits” but this one seemed more like a choreographed song/story.
The Super Bowl was an event to watch with friends and family for me for more than 30 years. Some years we went to friends’ houses for Super Bowl watch parties. Other years my wife and I stayed at home, ordered takeout and watched it from our comfy couch surrounded by our pets.
We’d laugh at the great commercials, boo the lame ones and hope for a competitive game.
Since I don’t drink anymore and never go out to bars, I doubt I’ll ever attend a Super Bowl party again. I wouldn’t mind sharing the sofa with my girlfriend, snuggled up with the pets, eating takeout and having our own quiet Super Bowl watch party someday.
But, if that never happens, at least I had the dogs, a good meal and a free stream this year.