Well, I have to say that yesterday's game might have been the best Super Bowl game in history (if not, definitely in the Top 10). If you like tons of offense, then maybe you would not agree, but if you are a true football fan then it was unexpectedly fantastic. Most Super Bowls find it impossible to live up to all of the hype surrounding and leading up to them, but this game delivered. According to Nielsen, with 97.5 million viewers, The New York Giants' thrilling win over the New England Patriots was the most-watched Super Bowl ever. Only one other show in American broadcast history was watched by more people, the "M-A-S-H" finale in 1983, which drew 106 million viewers. It started with an amazing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by Jordin Sparks and ended with two of the most exciting minutes in Super Bowl history. I have to admit that I did kind of want to witness history with New England achieving the perfect 19-0 season, but I found myself cheering for both teams as it came down to the end. The Giants played incredibly well, especially on defense, and deserved to win the game. The beat the odds, winning games at Tampa Bay, at Dallas and at Green Bay just to get the chance to play the mighty undefeated Patriots. In the big game, they battled all night long and came up with the big plays when it mattered most.

Late in the game down by 3 points, the Patriots precision offense finally moved the ball down the field like they were accustomed to scoring a go ahead touchdown to take the lead 14-10. Back in week 17 against the Giants, Tom Brady connected with Randy Moss for a touchdown which broke the season record for passing touchdowns (50) and receiving touchdowns (23). Brady again connected with Moss to take the lead and left less than 2 minutes on the clock. It looked as if the Patriots would win the game as expected. Then came an unbelievable series for the New York Giants. Here's a recap of what happened:
1:20 left, 2nd & 5 on the NYG 44 - Eli Manning throws a pass down the deep right sideline intended for David Tyree. This pass should have been intercepted by the Patriots defender up the field, but it wasn't. It could have ended the game, but still did not seem like that big of deal with the Giants in the position they were, but then the very next play changed all of that.
1:15 left, 3rd & 5 - Eli Manning gets pressured and is nearly taken down. He somehow escapes and heaves the ball down the middle of the field. David Tyree makes an impossible grab and somehow holds on to the ball as he slams to the turf. The 32 yard play gives the Giants a first down all the way up at the Patriots 24 yard line. This play will live on in Super Bowl lore as one of the truly greatest of all time. Here is a link, so you can watch this play again which will go down in history... www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5BWzoyzVbc
0:59 left, 1st & 10 - They still need to score a touchdown and on first down the Patriots sack Manning for a loss.
0:51 left, 2nd & 10 - Manning throws an incomplete pass and the pressure starts to mount.
0:45 left, 3rd & 10 - Manning completes a short pass to Steve Smith short of the first down, but Smith alertly turns it up field and is pushed out of bounds after a gain of 12 yards and more importantly a first down. If not for this play, it would have been 4th down and would have limited the Giants options. They certainly would not have been able to make the play that came next.
0:39 left, 1st & 10 on the NE 13 - Manning completes the pass in the left corner of the end zone to Plaxico Burress for the touchdown. The Giants now take the lead 17-14 and leave very little time on the clock. The Patriots are not able to move the ball and the Giants are champions. Incredible 2 minutes to end this game.

The game did start pretty slow with only 2 possessions in the entire 1st quarter. This was the fewest in Super Bowl history and far fewer than the 10 possessions in last year's big game. Not that exciting, but showed the Giants strategy of controlling the ball on offense and attacking the quarterback on defense. There was one other moment that I feel could have changed how this game ultimately ended. In the third quarter with 6:49 left the Patriots were faced with a 4th down and 13 yards to go on the Giants 31. Instead of a makeable 49 yard field goal, Coach Belichick decided to go for it. It ended with a low percentage deep pass into double coverage and the Giants took over on downs. I remember thinking to myself when this happened that it could come back to haunt the Patriots and obviously it did. Who knows what would have happened, but I do know that the Patriots probably wished they had those 3 points at the end of the game. You have to give credit to the Giants. A couple other tidbits about the game... If you read my February 1^st posting, I discussed what a proud Dad that Archie Manning must be. How proud do you think he is today now that his sons have won each of the last two Super Bowl MVP awards? For the record, I thought the Tom Petty halftime show was weak. Also for the record, the only thing that Bill Belichick might be more that a bad winner is a sore loser. On to the commercials.

I have to say that this might have been the worst year in my memory for Super Bowl commercials. They were pretty unspectacular to say the least. If you want to see any of them, you can go to www.myspace.com/superbowlads and they have them all there broken out by quarter. There were a couple that were at least mildly entertaining. GoDaddy.com had an interesting strategy of not showing their actual commercial on television, but instead saying that regulators did not allow it and directed viewers to see it on their website. Other than that, I would have to say my favorite was a Bud Light spot in the 4th quarter starring Will Ferrell as the "Jackie Moon" character from his upcoming film Semi Pro. It is immature humor, but it reminded me of his Ron Burgundy character from Anchorman and made me laugh more than any of the others. Here is a link to this particular commercial... www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-XbmIntWn8. You gotta love YouTube.

That's it for this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks for reading and we will be back to more pop culture very soon. I will be away for a couple days, so probably no new posts until later this week. I came across another interesting website that any of you 80s lovers might enjoy. I thought it was very well done, so you might want to check it out... www.liketotally80s.com/index.html

Check this out: When I was on the website above, I saw a link to a cool 80s television trivia quiz courtesy of one of my favorite shows, "Psych." I have mentioned this show a couple times (January 13^th and January 24^th). Here is the link to the quiz... www.usanetwork.com/series/psych/games/80 strivia/tv

Quote of the day:
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
* Interesting that this quote is often attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, but it is really an adaptation of a poem published in 1905 by Bessie Stanley. No version of it has been found in Emerson's writings. For more information see http://www.transcendentalists.com/success.htm" title="http://www.transcendentalists.com/success.htm" target="_blank"http://www.transcendentalists...

Download this: "Message From Your Heart" by Kina Grannis - This song is now available on iTunes. It was featured in a Doritos commercial during the Super Bowl because she won an online contest voting for the best among several other unsigned artists trying to be discovered. I like the song and thought it was appropriate as we recap the Super Bowl. Also available to download now on iTunes is the "Star Spangled Banner" version sung by Jordin Sparks before the game. One of the best renditions I have ever heard.