The National Anthem
I usually comment on this ritual just to pooh-pooh it. I invariably measure each performance against the rousing rendition Whitney Houston gave at Super Bowl XXV in 1991.
No performer has ever measured up. Demi Lovato performed well. But I remain convinced that no performer ever will. Most commentators are hailing Lovato more for a comeback from a near-fatal drug overdose than for a super performance. That speaks volumes.
Frankly, the most notable thing about this part of the pre-game show was that Jay-Z and Beyoncé blithely sat during the anthem. But I suppose that wasn’t controversial because they didn’t kneel.
The Halftime Show
I was never a Jennifer Lopez (JLo) fan, and she did nothing to make me one tonight. But here’s why she couldn’t care less:
It’s the same setup that acts from Bruno Mars to Beyoncé have agreed to in recent years — and though each is capable of commanding seven-figure nightly grosses for their solo live shows, they forgo payment on Super Bowl Sunday in exchange for the publicity that comes with playing to a televised audience of some 100 million people.
(Forbes, January 31, 2020)
This show has become the most lucrative gig ever devised. And, yes, the performers don’t even get paid. But that’s because post-Super Bowl Spotify streams, album sales, and StubHub traffic compensate immeasurably.
That said, rave reviews for JLo’s pole dancing in Hustlers went to her head. That’s the only explanation for her pole-dancing, twerking, and thrusting other sexually suggestive moves in our faces. And it added no entertainment value to have Shakira, her co-headlining mini-me, mimicking her every shake and twerk.
I respectfully submit that, if you’re over 40, you really should keep all that jigginess behind closed doors. Okay, Mami?
The Commercials
Alas, they preview these commercials far too much. That’s my abiding lament. By game day, they become anticlimactic. Advertisers paid $10 million this year for a 30-second spot. President Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg reportedly headlined the list of suckers who did.
There’s just no reconciling this viral culture of instant gratification with the good old days of, wait for it, anticipation. It was making you wait, but it was sooooo good. Oh dear, have I become my daddy without even knowing it…?
The Game
I couldn’t care less who won. But I explained in my commentary on the NFC Championship game why I was rooting for the Chiefs.
That said, this game did not live up to the hype about an offensive shootout. Nothing demonstrated this quite like the halftime score of 10-10. But it still had moments of suspense and high anxiety. For example, the 49ers were leading 20-10, with less than 3 minutes in the 3rd. So victory for them seemed a foregone conclusion. But then:
Facing a 20-10 deficit in the fourth quarter, Mahomes led a furious comeback with two touchdown passes to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a 31-20 win, marking the team’s first league championship since Super Bowl IV in 1970.
(The Kansas City Star, February 2, 2020)
What can I say? Unfriggin’ believable!
But I should have known better – as I suspect every 49er did. After all, the Chiefs made nail-biting, 4th-quarter comebacks to win many games this season. So they just did what they do.
Anyway, just two weeks ago, I was hailing Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes as the heir apparent to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as the best in the NFL. But 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo played well enough to be equally, if not more, deserving.
Truth be told, neither quarterback played well enough to emulate prototypical Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady. But balloting bias almost always ensures that the winning quarterback gets most of the credit.
And so Mahomes won the MVP award, making him the youngest player to win both league MVP last year at 23, and Super Bowl MVP this year at 24.
Meanwhile, Brady made clear in his own commercial tonight that whoever succeeds him will have to wait a few more years because “he ain’t going nowhere.”
Ah well.
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