Super Bowl wrap-up

Against the odds, a good game. Arizona looked to be on the verge of being wiped out with the interception-returned-for-a-touchdown at the end of the first half, but not only climbed back into the game, actually threatened to win the game until the final 40 seconds. Larry Fitzgerald was kept out of the danger zone for three quarters, before finally being able to be the home-run threat he'd been through the playoffs.

The half-time show didn't suck, although Bruce Springsteen nearly took himself and a cameraman out of commission with one of his patented across-the-stage slides. Four songs, three of them from very early in his career, all well selected (at least the party I attended found them to be very good choices).

And, of course, the most important part of the Super Bowl: the ads:

Since the iconic Apple ad in 1984, the Superbowl has been known as a showcase for what you might call blockbuster ads. The quality and humor of the ads probably hit their peak during the original [dot]-com boom in the late '90s. Every year, people say things have gone downhill, and while there may still have been a few bright spots, those people would be right. It's been a long, slow decline, and yet a lot of folks still talk about looking forward to watching the Superbowl ads almost a much as seeing the game itself; moreso if they're not really football fans, but know they'll be stuck somewhere that they can't avoid the game.

But this is the year, I hereby declare, that kills the Superbowl ad. This is the year that starts the trend of people willfully, even determinedly, avoiding the Superbowl ads. Yes, they were that bad. And sadly for many of us GeekDads and other parents, our kids sat through them as well. Damage has been done that we will be hard-pressed to undue.

Now, we're guys. We get it. We like a bit of off-color fun once in a while. But these ads were so full of violence, cruelty, and sexism that something needs to be said. With that purpose in mind, here are the worst of the bad ads, by quarter [. . .]

The Canadian feed generally doesn't show too many of the "big" Super Bowl ads, and usually I'm disappointed about this. By the sound of it, this was actually a benefit this year.

Update: Hmmm. Yep, some real stinkers among those ads.