Superbowl Sunday

We went to a friend's house to watch the Superbowl. The New Orleans Saints surprised me by winning 31-17 over the Indianapolis Colts. This was the first year the Saints have ever played at the Superbowl and they were down by 10 in the first quarter. Statistically, very few teams down by 10 in the first quarter go on to win. And how many teams win the first year they play? Not many.

I often wish that I could watch the US commercials instead of the Canadian ones because they're so much more innovative and interesting. This year I think I'm happier not having seen some of the ads this year, however. For the first time, CBS allowed pro-life ads for a Focus on the Family, a rightwing Christian pro-life group. CNN and NBC both rightly refused to play the ads. The fact that the ads featured the mother of a quarterback doesn't mean that they should have played during the Superbowl, does it?

I know that the ad never mentioned abortion, but it does imply that giving birth is always best. Aside from the fact that this is wrong - there are times when the fetus isn't viable or when giving birth will harm or kill the mother - this isn't an open attitude. Someone who watched and believed the ad is more likely to feel shame if they needed an abortion than if they hadn't seen the ad or had seen a more balanced perspective.

At the same time that this was going on, CBS also refused to air the ad for ManCrunch, a gay dating site - apparently because "gay" violates their standards. The ad featured over-the-top implied kissing. If sexuality was the problem in the ad, CBS could have asked that the ad be re-worked. Instead, they rejected it outright.

And the Friends of the Family leader is strongly anti-gay? Whose pocket are you in, CBS? Who owns you?

You're showing your right-wing colours, CBS. Shame on you.