Superbowl Sunday

Friends of ours have a Superbowl party each year; they make chili and open up their home to people to watch the game. We weren't sure that they would have anyone over this year because she had a beautiful baby boy within the last week, but they ended up having a small group of people (including us) join them tonight.

Since there were fewer people there than last year, I was able to really watch the game this year. I enjoyed that. I don't watch much football and I barely understand the rules but the Superbowl is more than just a football game. It's an industry unto itself, really.

Don't get me wrong; at the center of the Superbowl is a football game. This year the Pittsburgh Steelers won 27-23 over the Arizona Cardinals in a game that was most interesting in the final quarter. This year's game was marked by a number of turning events, like the touchdown that didn't count, the 100-yard touchdown, the safety, and the tippy-toe touchdown. There were a LOT of penalties on both sides which had a huge effect on the game as well.

But football isn't the only part of the Superbowl game. There's the halftime show as well. After the wardrobe malfunction in 2004, the shows have tended to be pretty tame. This year, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band were the halftime show. Springsteen is a good choice for the Superbowl: his music is non-offensive to almost everyone (even if it doesn't exactly appeal to everyone) and most people are familiar with his songs. His show was pretty good. There were a few technical glitches and odd behaviours which made us laugh, like the roadie dropping the guitar, Springsteen sliding crotch-first into a camera (I think he meant to stop first), and a thing he did with the mike ... in a similar position as when he slid into the camera. Oh yeah, and the music was pretty good.

All in all, the game and entertainment were ok. I more enjoyed spending time with my friends - especially my friend who had the baby and her kids. I know that I've had emotional problems around some babies in this past but that isn't a problem with this baby (or his brothers). This baby is adorable! He's still a big sack of baby but he seems to have a bit of a personality; word is that he might be quite a talker.