At Least there was a game to Watch
By Benjy Lipsman in News on Feb 7, 2005 5:26PM
Last night, the New England Patriots defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21 in Super Bowl XXXIX. A pretty ugly game throughout, at least it was a close game from start to finish. Last night's game was only the second Super Bowl ever to go into halftime with a tie. And the first time a Super Bowl ever entered the 4th quarter tied. After 10 straight points by the Pats, the Eagles could only counter with 7 of their own before time expired, giving New England it's third NFL title in 4 seasons.
It was a good thing that the game was somewhat interesting, because the spectacle of entertainment that had come to surround the game itself was noticably dull last night. Thanks, Janet!
Of course, we all remember the little "wardrobe malfunction" from last year's halftime show, when Justin Tibmberlake "accidentally" ripped Janet's top, exposing her shielded breast for a millisecond but sending back TV morality 3 or 4 decades. Come on, even FOX is pixelating Stewie's cartoon butt on "Family Guy" now!
Wanting to avoid the crush of complainsts to the FCC, the NFL promised to keep the Super Bowl hoopla G-rated. So instead of the mix of hard rockers like Kid Rock and scantily clad vixens like Britney we've come to expect, we got Sir Paul. Paul McCartney, used to play in a band called the Beatles. Yawn... Maybe if he'd played some of the Beatles' more interesting songs, it's have worked. But after all the action on the field, the fireworks and over-the-top Fox on-screen graphics, a medly of "Drive My Car" and "Hey Jude" were a bit underwhelming.
As we all know, as many people watch the Super Bowl for the commericals as watch for the game itself. And this year, the advertisers were equally gun shy. Refusing to push the limits like in previous years, this year's commericals were the dullest that Chicagoist can remember. Were any of them good? Maybe the Ameriquest Mortgage one with the guy making dinner and the cat? And admit it, you didn't remember what it was for until we just told you. Chicagoist liked the Chicago "shout out" in the commerical featuring Mike Ditka, Jim McMahon, William "Refrigerator" Perry and Dennis Rodman, but what the fuck were they doing selling solid-surface counter tops?!?! Don't get it...
The food was up to snuff this year, at least the Super Bowl party Chicagoist attended. We whipped up a big pot of our famous chili, some guacamole and pico de gallo for our friend's party. Others brought a nice mix of traditional football foods and some less common treats. Baked goat cheese? Good call. Sweet Mandy B's cupcakes? Sweet! Lamb kafta on pita with tahini? Should be a new mandatory Super Bowl dish along with the chili, wings and pizza.