Between those dropped passes and penalties

By now most anyone interested in the Super Bowl is aware of the victory by Pittsburgh, a defeat that Seattle snatched from the jaws of victory simply by dropping passes, taking penalties and controlling the clock in a most unorthodox fashion. We’ll leave the post mortem and suicide watch of the Hawk fans to others. However, if Hawk fans are true to themselves, they’ll realize that they have nobody to blame but their own team for the end result on a disappointing Super Sunday.

Instead for those who really want something to talk about at work or school on Monday, check out the ESPN zone for a replay of every one of those Super Bowl Ads, the multi million dollar thirty second creations that can often overshadow the actual game itself. They also have some info on the game, Seattle fans are advised to not click there.

Now if you missed the game (and the commercials), there’s a great recap on the MSNBC site from a Seattle perspective (though not necessarilly a fan's), it includes game notes and some rants on the commercials as well. It’s worth checking out to refresh your memory after the five hour desensitizing session known as Super Sunday. Think of it as Super Sunday Coles Notes.

By the time that the Hawks had dropped their final Hasselback pass or taken the umpteenth drive ending penalty we had already rolled through many of the Pepsi, Ameriquest and Budweiser ads. Giving us a chance to handicap the latest offerings of the advertising world.

P Diddy’s ad wasn’t particularly entertaining, but the effort with Jackie Chan was a hit, especially the stunt double for Diet Pepsi. I look forward to Coke's rebuttal in tv ads to come.

Gary Bettman must have some serious fence mending to do at ESPN, their new ESPN mobile service apparently covers every sport under the sun, except the one played on the ice. In the thirty seconds of fast paced sporting action, I didn’t see one hockey player pop up. When your sport has lost out to fencing, fishing, bowling and surfing you’ve got a bit of work to do. Sports Heaven for sports fans, Sports Hell for NHL executives!

Both of the Ameriquest ads were hits the airplane one was particularly funny and Budweiser had more hits than misses, the beer bottle wave more than making up for the team work horsey ad. I want one of those Budweiser’s hidden fridges for my garage and now I know why the neighbours spend so much time on the roof for no discernable reason.

We learned what is going to happen to Fabio and all the legendary pretty boys (and it’s not going to be nice) and finally understood how MacGyver pulled off all those amazing escapes over the years. And the viewer discovered that it’s never too early to advertise an upcoming movie, as the major studios rolled out their numerous trailers, some for movies not due out until July.

Mommy and Daddy can now sit the young ones down and explain why they can’t go the Disney World and while they're at it maybe clear up how the robot got the monster pregnant and became Daddy to a Hummer. Also Dad, maybe explain why it is we’re going to have a remake of Poseidon, really once was more than enough!

And from the lost in the seventies category, we bring you the “Rolling Stones”, yes they are the world’s greatest rock and roll band, yes they deserve all the accolades garnered over the years, but please, please no more half time shows. The Stones we part of the Half time show brought to you by the clapper. The soon to be sixty five rockers had a set that featured three songs, the first one with all the zip of a rehearsal session after having not picked up an instrument in months. And hmm, you know my album version of Start Me Up had different words on the liner notes than those that ABC allowed. Good God, the Stones as the bad boys of rock and roll again, who would have thunk it! The set was ok, the new song I haven’t heard before so it sounded ok I guess, but I’m not sure I’ll go and download it anytime soon and you can’t go wrong with ending your show with Satisfaction, but geez I dunno, when my Dad who is in his eighties is tapping his toes to the half time show, I’m thinking the younger demographics are wondering where the dinosaurs came from.

Once the smoke and Ben Gay had cleared from the stadium, it was back to the game and John Madden and Al Michaels promise that things would improve on the field in the second half. And hey, if you’re a Pittsburgh fan they were spot on, a hell of a run from the other bus, and a touchdown pass from Randlel El that could have taught the Seahawks a thing or two, spelled out the end of this one. As the Seahawks tried to desperately get back into this one perhaps they should have hummed along to the Ford Commercial with Kermit, “It’s not easy being green, sometimes you would rather be red or yellow or gold” ouch, Kermie don’t desert the Green and Blue from Seattle! Everybody into the Escape for the drive home guys!

All in all the ads once again proved to be worth taking your bathroom breaks during the game, hell you could be assured that once the Hawks had the ball you had four downs to do your business, cause it didn’t look like they were going to do theirs. Before we knew it there were Bill Cowher, Jerome Bettis and the Rooney gang up on the stage to collect the trophy that Seattle should have been claiming, if only they had played a little bit smarter.

All we are left with now, are the memories of a game and of Madison Avenues' version of the Oscar previews. For those that missed a spot here or there, check out the entire roster of Super Bowl Ads here. You can even vote should you be so inclined.

Podunk’s picks and pans!

The one’s to bust your bladder for.

1. Budweiser’s Secret Fridge (I have got to find one of these in the Sears Catalogue)
2. Ameriquest in the Air (how come I get the guy heading to the lodge beside me?)
3. Budweiser on the roof (Think I’ll go clean out my gutters)
4. Master Card MacGyver (Take that Tom Cruise)
5. Budweiser wave (now everybody, burrrrrp)
6. Nationwide Insurance’s Gondola Ride (Fabio meets his maker)
7. Ameriquest Doctor’s (Geez, ok we’ll pay the premiums)
8. Diet Pepsi Stunt Double (Diet P kicks some can)
9. Yosemite Gets the Girl (A guy, a truck and his gal)
10. V for Vendetta (Scary, Scary stuff or near future prophecy?)

The Ten to hit the can during

1. Emerald Can Nuts (hope the product isn’t this stale!)
2. Go Daddy.com (time for a makeover folks)
3. P Diddy Pepsi (hope no one thinks the can had the talent!)
4. Sharpie Pens (Terrell Owen’s all is forgiven, can they retract the ad?)
5. Sprint Locker Room (as Dr. Fever once said don’t mess with the phone cops buddy)
6. Running Scared (note to all, mattresses do not stop bullets)
7. World Baseball Classic (uh, scuse us, we play the game in Canada too!)
8. American Health ( we will not get sick, we will not get sick)
9. Gillette Reinvented (yikes, the Pentagon doesn’t have this budget)
10. Sierra Mist Security (explains a lot about airport security)