85 Comments - RNUG - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:05 pm: Craziest last two minutes I’ve ever seen in a football game. Ads - I liked the Dodge, Jeep & Bud “puppy” ones. Halftime show - not very impressed by the music by the technology / special effects were over the top - Dupage Dan - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:06 pm: Rich I’m only here so I don’t get fined. So glad they lost - RNUG - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:07 pm: Adding … Seattle deserved to lose for the bonehead decision to pass. - Stones - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:07 pm: Entertaining game that lived up to the hype. Definitely the two best teams in the league. Darrell Bevell outsmarted himself with that last play call. - Oswego Willy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:08 pm: “Nationwide you lack good taste” There are other “new” Nationwide jingles that good taste, thank goodness, “forbids” me to repeat. If you have to issue a statement to clarify a Super Bowl Ad, you failed. - Anon - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:09 pm: I never get the halftime show hate. Maybe I’m just easy to please. Mix in some catchy music, some cool stage designs, a cameo here and there, and something funny and I’m happy. For what it is (not going to just be a concert) and for what has got to be the most stressful setup/takedown in entertainment, I was happy. - up2now - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:14 pm: Great game, screwball ending, didn’t really care who won, but glad Jimmy Garoppolo has a Super Bowl ring. Halftime shows have jumped the shark. I looked it up: The first 25 years of the game, halftimes were mostly college marching bands. It wasn’t until about 1993 that things got glitzy, when Michael Jackson was the show. Next year, the Bears will be there! Or maybe not. - Michelle Flaherty - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:17 pm: Worst end-of-game decision since Chris Webber’s timeout. - john a logan - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:25 pm: Worst decision since Napoleans invasion of Russia in 1812. - Kathryn - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:26 pm: Glad it is over. Too much emphasis placed on a stupid ballgame. Much more important issues out there - Madison - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:27 pm: Not many penalties in the first half. Pats kept Llynch bottled up for the most part, not many have done that. Last plays a head scratcher…if u didnt believe the best back on the planet couldn’t get a half yard with 30 seconds left for a super bowl win.. Send in Sherman to jump over the scrimmage line. The more I think about it, Bilichick might have got inside their heads by not calling time out. He drew a line in the sand. - Rich Miller - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:27 pm: ===Much more important issues out there === Yes, because we should all be so very serious 24/7. Sheesh. I’ll bet you’re a blast at parties. - Hoping for Rational Thought - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:28 pm: Worst coaching call in Super Bowl in recent memory (meaning mine). K.I.S.S. principle applied here. make them stop you star big pounding running back. You had a timeout. - Pius - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:29 pm: It was a very good game, although I missed the Patriot’s last TD because I was cleaning in the kitchen. The commercials were mostly mediocre to bad, although I did like the Dude comercial for Foursquare. I have never been a fan of the half-time show because this is a Football game. But there were some cool effects with the stage and the lighting! - Gooner - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:31 pm: People focus on that last play, but the one that might have made the difference was the first interception. Sherman gave up only one catch, but with the injury to the other CB, Brady had an easier game. I thought it was a rare well played Super Bowl. Usually they are boring as heck. This was a good one. That being said, who is the expected audience for the half time show? The acts recently don’t seem to appeal to the typical NFL fans. I flipped to another channel for the duration. - Gooner - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:34 pm: Regarding Nationwide — the goal is always to get people talking about the company, but that one seemed to creep people out. People are going to remember Nationwide, but not in any way remotely positive. While it may up the visibility of the brand it also seems like it will increase the negative perception of the company. - Wordslinger - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:34 pm: I think I might pound Marshawn Lynch a couple of times from the half yard line. I think Darrel Bevell not only made the worst call in Super Bowl history, but is the biggest jerk in Super Bowl history for throwing his receiver under the bus after the game, claiming he didn’t “go hard for the ball.” I think the spots were incredibly maudlin and depressing. What’s with the dead kid in the Nationwide spot? And that long Nissan spot, with the race car driver dad and that awful Harry Chapin song? What was that supposed to communicate? Even the Bud spot, with the puppy and the rescue Clydesdales wasn’t any fun. Seriously, a beer spot about a puppy in danger? The Super Bowl is a party, for crying out loud. - Mouthy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:35 pm: Illinois Lou Hensen’s decision not to foul at the end of that final four game was a bad call too but without a doubt in my mind that was the biggest boneheaded call I’ve ever seen. On the commercials it was apparent to me that the companies spent all the money on the ad time (4.5 million per 30 seconds) that they didn’t have any left over for creativity… - Rich Miller - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:35 pm: ===although I did like the Dude comercial for Foursquare=== I liked that one, too, but it was aimed at people like me. - Precinct Captain - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:39 pm: “Passing plays from the 1-yard line actually resulted in a higher touchdown percentage in the NFL this season than running plays, with Russell Wilson throwing the only interception in 109 attempts.” http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2014/story/_/id/12266535/super-bowl-xlix-darrell-bevell-seattle-seahawks-play-call-made-kill-clock “Twenty-two of Lynch’s 24 runs gained at least 1 yard, but the Seahawks threw a pass on second-and-goal from the 1. Lynch’s Success Rate was 58 percent, but the Seahawks threw a pass on second-and-goal from the 1. Lynch’s five first downs (one of them a touchdown) included conversions on second-and-1, second-and-3, and third-and-1, but the Seahawks threw a pass on second-and-goal from the 1. Lynch had ten carries on second down, gaining positive yards on all of them and at least 3 yards on 9 of them, but the Seahawks threw a pass on second-and-goal from the 1.” http://www.footballoutsiders.com/quick-reads/2015/super-bowl-xlix-quick-reads New England stacked the box and Seattle thought they would catch the Patriots going all in on the run, but Malcolm Butler, the DB, has mentioned in interviews that Belichick had the DBs prepared specifically for the play Seattle ran. Butler got beat by it in practice. - Anonymous - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:40 pm: Budweiser and Bud Light commercials have become painful to watch. They try so hard to be everything to everyone. Find your identity and stick with it. - OurMagician - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:40 pm: The Nationwide fail overshadowed a couple of other huge ad missteps. Lucite glue spent their year’s ad budget on that? Instantly forgettable and not bad enough to be the worst one. And who wants to be eating a chip and then seeing a diagram attacking toe fungus? - White Denim - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:46 pm: Agreed on the commercials. Way too many that I confused for PSAs before finding out they were actually ads for this or that. The Microsoft commercials were borderline 1984 stuff. Did anybody else not consider it a coincidence that Idiocracy was on right after? Lol I’m usually bored during the halftime shows too–but wow. That was the best one I’ve ever seen, hands down. Way over the top, but I was blown away by how well coordinated it was. Must’ve taken A LOT of hard work to put all that together and have it set up and torn down so quickly. What a great game. I was totally bummed by the ending and am still scratching my head at that call. But it was one of the better Super Bowls of recent years. - MrJM - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:54 pm: “Your Super Bowl thoughts?” I missed the half-time show, but I was able to use Twitter descriptions to create this artist’s rendition: https://twitter.com/MisterJayEm/status/562100220914589698 – MrJM - A guy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:55 pm: Not a good day for the ad business. Poorly conceived in many cases, and poorly executed in others. A couple good ones, but very few. Even the Clydedales didn’t bother to show how they got out, or what they did to get the wolf to retreat. They’re usually better, and more complete story tellers. A lot of Prozac would help with the ad lineup. The game lived up to “the Game”. Running the ball does take more time. With a quarterback like Seattle has, I’d have given him some option including the run on his own. I’m not a coach. No one asked me. So, not much criticism for that. Defender made a really great play. - Dirty Red - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:55 pm: = Overall, too little humor, too much social propaganda, too many tear-jerkers. = And now the world feels the consequences of AB-Inbev canning their in-house media team. Remember that one funny beer commercial this year? Nope. - Oswego Willy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:57 pm: Not defending the last play call, giving the thoughts of Pete Carroll; Throwing on 2nd Down allowed for a run on 3rd Down, and if that failed, a timeout allows for 4th Down to also have a run/pass option. The turnover was obviously not factored in, lol. Tony Dungy admitted coaches outsmart thenselves, even saying “afterwards, I find myself saying ‘what was I thinking?’ but in that moment, it played out differently in my head” I woukd have ran the ball, if only to prevent a turnover, like Brady had in the 1st Half in the end zone, remember? I can “see” the thought, but it doesn’t make it the correct call. - This Guy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 12:59 pm: The non handoff was wasn’t the worse end-of-game call in Super Bowl history. Look back 2 years to Super Bowl 47. Niners down 5, 1st and goal at the 5 yard line with just minutes left to play. Colin Kaepernick, just a few weeks removed from running for over 180 yards and 2 TDs vs the Packers, throws 4 straight incomplete passes. The Seahawks messed up one play. The Niners did it 4 times. all he had to do was scamper right or scamper left. That was the worse play calling to end a Super Bowl. - Dirty Red - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:01 pm: I’m not sure of the contest nor the prize, but MrJM won it all at 12:54. - Anonymous - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:03 pm: Mike Sando from espn.com tweeted that 66 TD passes were thrown from the 1 yard line all season with only 1 INT. That 1 INT was last night. - VanillaMan - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:03 pm: I wonder how many Super Bowl Champion Patroits memorabilia is going to be bought. I bet those manufacturers wished the other team won. - Wordslinger - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:06 pm: – Running the ball takes more time– No, it doesn’t, but time wasn’t an issue for Seattle, anyway. If anything, Seattle wanted to take more time off the clock before scoring. I was surprised Pats didn’t call time before the play. Seattle ran off a good twenty seconds before the snap. - Oswego Willy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:06 pm: - VanillaMan -, You’re so right about that. I mean, Boston and New England isn’t known for supporting the Boston teams; Bruins, Celtics, Red Sox…that Patriots gear will gather dust. Boston is a wasteland for pro teams, a dead market… - Soccermom - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:10 pm: Some days you’re the shark on the right, some days you’re the shark on the left. - Anonymous - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:11 pm: Pat Carroll a 9-11 ‘Truther’. One stupid call after another. Dope. - Illini97 - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:13 pm: The St Louis area had a commercial to top the moribund Nationwide ad. A peppy little jingle about a teen overdosing on heroin. Terrible. - ??? - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:13 pm: I’m really not a big Katy Perry fan, but I thought it was a pretty good show. I agree with White Denim re: the coordination. I think one of the worst Superbowl halftime shows I’ve seen was the one a few years ago with the Black Eyed Peas. As a friend of mine described it, it was “A Peas of [expletive].” - Eddy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:16 pm: The end of Super Bowl signals the countdown to the start of the baseball season. What a season it may be. Go Cubbies. - Illini97 - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:17 pm: And agreed on the special effects of the halftime show. What they can achieve with projectors and visual tricks at this point is impressive. - Amalia - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:17 pm: hate that the Patriots won. the ads were pretty meh, but did love the Run Like a Girl and “the dude” bits. Kitten bowl much more interesting! - Amalia - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:21 pm: wait, I forgot about the halftime show music. cause that was the kind of music I forget. - William j Kelly - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:21 pm: Sounds exciting, I can’t wait! When is the game? - Wordslinger - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:22 pm: – I wonder how many Super Bowl Patoits memorabilia is going to be bought. I bet those manufacturers wished the other team won.– Huh? - Hacksaw Jim - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:24 pm: This season has made me so cynical of the NFL and their business practices. It almost makes me wonder if they didn’t want Lynch scoring the game winning TD so that he wouldn’t be the face of the Super Bowl championship team. After all, he only talked to the media so that he “wouldn’t get fined”. It’s obvious that they had it out for him. If I was reading a comment like this, I would think it was outrageous if it weren’t for the NFL’s other blunders of the year. Baseball season can’t get here fast enough. - Baltimoron - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:28 pm: It didn’t get much hype, but I liked the one with Pierce Brosnan for the Kia. Made me smile and he’s still so handsome. - East Central Illinois - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:29 pm: The ending pass play interception left me . . . deflated. - ChrisB - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:33 pm: Was it just me, or was there a big, “Dad is Awesome!” theme to a bunch of the commercials? The Budweiser commercial where they ripped on craft brews really made me mad. If craft brews are so terribly pretentious, why are they buying up every one they can? What an incredibly stupid ad. The game was about as exciting as it could be when I don’t care about either team. - Concerned - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:34 pm: Bears were not in the Super Bowl so once again I passed on watching it. - Pot calling kettle - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:35 pm: I liked the half-time show for what it was. A good pop music celebration. I thought it was amusing that Budweiser admitted their beer was not very good, and that it was mostly made for people who drink a lot of beer and don’t care how it tastes. The last Seattle play made me wonder if a coach had put money on the Patriots…it’s the only explanation that made sense. - Finally Out (formerly Ready to Get Out) - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:36 pm: Mentioned to the wife it seemed ads were off this year, she agreed. Very few nailed it. Some very bad ones. Maybe $4.5M for 30 seconds kept some out? Seemed to be more movie trailers and network show promos than anything else. Too much “deflategate.” Awesome game, reminded me of the Rams Super Bowl win, when the Mike Jones tackle at the goal line saved the game for them. Told my wife when Lynch got the 4 yards to the one, they’ve got 3 more tries he can get in and Seattle repeats. When they lined up to pass I said “What are they doing?” Guess we all found out. Can second guess all we want, but when you have one of the most powerful backs in the game, no brainer. - Finally Out (formerly Ready to Get Out) - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:41 pm: Forgot to mention the half time show. Didn’t do much for me, would have liked more Lenny Kravitz. Cool effects, especially the beach and palm tree thing. Made me wish I was somewhere else where it isn’t cold and snowy! - Oswego Willy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:41 pm: Heard something pretty amusing. The last call by the Seahawks would be like Coach Dale telling Jimmy Chitwood he was the decoy so Merle can take the last shot. Jimmy, he shot down that idea, took the shot, they won. - Rich Miller - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:42 pm: ===more movie trailers and network show promos than anything else=== Agreed. Way too much of that. - A guy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:46 pm: - Wordslinger - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:06 pm: === Running the ball takes more time– No, it doesn’t, but time wasn’t an issue for Seattle, anyway. If anything, Seattle wanted to take more time off the clock before scoring.=== yeah, running does take more time. On an incomplete pass, the clock stops. On a run, it doesn’t. They may have been hanging onto the final timeout for 1 play if needed, who knows? Their calculation may have been that the quick pass was much safer than a run and scrum. They were definitely ready for the run. If it had succeeded, it seems a lot of people might still question the efficacy of this play call. It was unusual. With that quarterback, I would have given him more options. Run, hand off, pass. Might not have tried up the gut since they were ready for that. Today for sure…what they did was the wrong call. - Skeptic - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:50 pm: Not just the last play (if not Lynch up the middle, then a read-option with Wilson), but even worse was the offside penalty after the interception. Now *THAT* was boneheaded. And the ads….meh. The one with the Bradys was good, don’t remember much else. - LizPhairTax - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:52 pm: Michael Bennett cost America our chance at witnessing the only exciting kneel down in NFL history by encroaching. Martellus is the smart one? - JoanP - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:56 pm: Did Oscar watch the Puppy Bowl? - Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:56 pm: In response to the “worst call ever in football history”, a question was asked if there were ever a dumber call made. This one probably qualifies. In 2002, Furman was playing Appalachian State and they got a go-ahead touchdown with 7 seconds remaining, leading 15-14. Furman elects to go for a 2 point conversion rather than a PAT to ensure that an AS field goal wouldn’t beat them (with 7 SECONDS LEFT???) Of course, the unthinkable happens…the attempted conversion pass is intercepted and returned for a 2-point score by AS, and they win the game (since a return of a fumble or intercepted pass by the defense is awarded the points in college FB). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUcQ4irFl_s - Archiesmom - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:56 pm: Michelle and a Soccermom rule! Great end to the game; I love horses and puppies, and that farmer isn’t far behind; and Katy Perry sure knows how to put on a show. That’s a wrap. - Wordslinger - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:56 pm: I thought the McDonalds “Lovin” spot was best. Real employees, real customers having fun and boosting a door-buster promotion that will run through Valentines Day. Excellent concept and execution, with legs. Nice follow to the superb McDonalds spot showing how franchises are using their golden arches message boards for personal, local messages. Taking a global giant down to neighborhood level. And I’ll have what the Snickers crew is having. There’s some sort of, um, inspiration going on when you have clips of The Brady Bunch with Danny Trejo as Marcia and Steve Buscemi as Jan. Lot of fun, though. - A guy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:56 pm: - Wordslinger - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:22 pm: ===I wonder how many Super Bowl Patoits memorabilia is going to be bought. I bet those manufacturers wished the other team won.– Huh?=== The Seattle colors and neon presentation are a lot more popular than other teams with younger consumers who buy most of that stuff. Generally speaking though, I think the memorabilia places will do just fine. They always do. - Ron Burgundy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 1:57 pm: Loved the Breaking Bad ad. The ad with the dead kid reminded me of a ZZ Top song “I’m bad, I’m Nationwide.” Good game. Halftime show better than expected. Left Shark, for the win. - overcooked - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 2:03 pm: I was prepared to not like the halftime show, but Katy Perry riding in on a golden tiger kept me watching. Not a fan of Pete Carroll, so being stuck with maybe the worst play call ever is amusing. The defensive player did make a tremendous play on the ball or it ends differently. - Wordslinger - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 2:09 pm: Guy, I’m sure you know what the cool kids are in to, but NFL merchandise sales show the Seahawks hadn’t cracked the Top Ten since their previous Super Bowl appearance until last year, while the Pats have been there for 14 years. - ZC - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 2:10 pm: Hard to be happy for the Patriots, hard not to be happy for Malcolm Butler. - Rich Miller - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 2:11 pm: ===Loved the Breaking Bad ad=== Both of that company’s ads were funny. Trouble is, I can’t remember what the company is. lol - Ron Burgundy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 2:11 pm: Esurance, Rich. - Westward - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 2:12 pm: All I know is there will be a bunch of new Seahawks “fans” in third world countries in the coming weeks! - Soccermom - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 2:15 pm: Am I the only person who feels that the Puppy Bowl has lost its purity? (or purina?) - Rich Miller - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 2:24 pm: Oscar loves him some Puppy Bowl. And Clydesdales. - A guy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 2:29 pm: === Wordslinger - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 2:09 pm: Guy, I’m sure you know what the cool kids are in to, ..=== Hey Sling, What are you wearing? - The Wolf - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 2:33 pm: Who wouldn’t give the ball to Marshawn Lynch. That was a poor decision and led to Brady winning another Superbowl. #baddecisionsbyPeteCarroll - Wordslinger - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 2:34 pm: Guy, just facts. How about you? - Oswego Willy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 2:39 pm: If I had to choose between Boston sports merchandising or Pacific Northwest sports merchandising, for Professional teams (include the Trail Blazers) I’ll take Boston teams. The Boston tes have national followings. Ranking the normal merchandising proves it. - A guy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 2:53 pm: OW, don’t forget the Oregon Ducks are up there too. They’ve turned merchandising into a bonanza. Sling, how do you wear those facts. Couldn’t be sleeveless could they? Get some happy juice in you dude. - Gooner - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 2:54 pm: Does winning the game really generate sales? I admit that I bought a jersey for one of the teams involved. I tend to wear NFL jerseys when I go for a run outside (except in the middle of summer or the middle of the winter). They tend to be designed to be comfortable during a workout. But I bought it before the game, and not after. I’m not sure why people would wait until after. And now that we’ve got this completely off track . . . - Oswego Willy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 2:57 pm: - A Guy -, That’s why I said professional teams. To U of O, Nike has invested tens of millions of dollars in U of O athletes including sky bridges specifically from training facilities to dorms, for athletes. The money made by Nike, thru U of O is probably a wash with the donations made by Knight… Plus it’s Knight’s Alma Mater, so there’s that. - Gooner - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 3:09 pm: Marshawn was 1 for 5 in scoring from the one this year (per Emery Moorehead, who tends to have his facts and figures correct). Maybe the football coach knew a bit about his own team. - Cheryl44 - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 3:09 pm: I think I heard the cheaters won. - Wordslinger - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 3:16 pm: Guy, you choose to make things up to make a point, then are offended when you’re called on it. No one makes you do it. Unless you have some sort of factual basis for claiming that Seattles colors make them “a lot more popular than other teams with younger consumers who buy most of the stuff.” Seattle was tops in merchandise last year because they won the Super Bowl. Prior to that, they hadn’t been in the top ten since their last Super Bowl appearance. - A guy - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 3:32 pm: And….I’m not offended. - Formerpol - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 3:35 pm: The game was fun to watch. But the ads were irritating, and the peer pressure to pretend that we really want or need to watch these ads is confounding. Halftime show was really really bad, as it usually is. SuperBowl is hopelessly overhyped as an event, and the NFL has revealed itself to be a joyless cartel that cares only about $$$$. - Jaded - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 3:46 pm: The Pete Rose ad was the best, in my opinion. - Amalia - Monday, Feb 2, 15 @ 4:43 pm: best game of the day, Aston Villa 0-Arsenal 5. - Gooner - Tuesday, Feb 3, 15 @ 8:03 am: By the way, if you all were looking for great athletes and not just a big show, the Arsenal match Sunday was far better than the Super Bowl. This play, with the back heel flip, showed more athletic ability, than anything in the SB: http://arsenalist.com/f/2014-15/arsenal-vs-aston-villa/replay-of-that-sick-touch-by-ozil-for-giroud-goal.html Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.