by Abel Horwitz
Daily Lobo
Ahh - the Super Bowl.
It's America's greatest unofficial holiday. It's the day of the year in which we gather our friends to sit around the television to enjoy a popular sport in which half of us know what's going on and the other half pretend we're enjoying it.
As usual, this year there was much more to watching the game than the game itself, and armed with bizarre celebrity cameos, some very expensive commercials, and an illogical halftime show. Super Bowl XL did not disappoint.
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In the game's introduction we found Harrison Ford reading Dr. Seuss' "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" in an all-too-creepy way. Now, I know that like most people, I've often wondered if I should I let Harrison Ford read bedtime stories to my children, and after seeing this promo spot I quickly realized the answer is no. Sporting an ill-conceived goatee and a pirate hoop earring, Harrison Ford simply underlined the fact that if he wishes to salvage any sort of dignity with his nosedive of an acting career he needs to make "Indiana Jones IV," then quickly retire.
Once the game got under way it was the commercials that stole the show. Bud Light started out strong, with a handful of funny advertisements in which they made it seem as if their beer is tasty enough to stop a bear from charging at you, and desirable enough that you'd rip up your office looking for hidden Bud Lights. The funniest, though, was the commercial about the magic fridge, in which a guy installs a secret revolving wall around his refrigerator so that when his friends come over they won't take his beer. On the other side of the wall an apartment of guys quickly grabs as many beers as they can, worshipping this magical fridge that randomly appears on their wall. The concept was clever enough to make me laugh out loud.
Sprint's "Locker Room" commercial was almost as funny, as two middle-aged men brag about whose cell phone is better. "Mine has a crime deterrent," said one of the men right before launching his cell phone at the other guy's face.
Pain seemed to replace the scantily clad women of the Super Bowl's past as FedEx had cavemen being crushed by dinosaurs.
Michelob Ultra had a fun game of touch football quickly turn into an all-out brawl. "You were open and now you are closed," taunts one guy to the pretty girl he just tackled.
ABC, which broadcast the game this year, promoted the hell out of their three most popular series, "Grey's Anatomy," "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost." For the "Lost" promotion Robert Palmer sang "Addicted to Love," replacing the lyric with "Addicted to 'Lost'" as a montage of the show quickly flashed past. I can imagine those who don't watch the show wouldn't be impressed with this ad, but as a rabid fan of the series, the most I could do was shrug my shoulders and agree that yeah, Palmer's got a point.
However, for all the bizarre antics broadcast this year, nothing holds a candle to the halftime show. The Super Bowl was played in Detroit, the city of Motown, of Iggy Pop, the White Stripes, Eminem and Ted Nugent.
You would think in a city as famous for its music as this, they'd hire a local band to perform. Instead, the Rolling Stones performed. Don't get me wrong, I like the Stones. It's just when I think of Detroit and when I think of football, the Rolling Stones don't come to mind. I mean, seriously, isn't Kid Rock about to release an album? What about Stevie Wonder? What was he doing for the Super Bowl? The Rolling Stones playing at this year's halftime show makes a much sense as Paris Hilton cutting the ribbon at the grand opening of a library.
Overall, I was entertained. The game was fun and the ads weren't bad. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch a rugby match between England and Australia. I think Kraftwerk is playing the halftime show.
Check out www.ifilm.com/superbowl to see this year's commercials.
