It’s that time of year again. It’s time for the Super Bowl (or, if you’re an advertiser who hasn’t licensed the phrase “Super Bowl”, the “Big Game”). Yes, that sporting event that both men and women are willing to watch, even if they don’t care about sports or think that football involves a spherical object and announcers yelling “Gooooooooooooooaaaaaaaal!”. It’s the one time each year where a game that, in theory, should last only 60 minutes ends up going for about 4.5 hours.
Allegedly, the big draw of the game is not the game itself, but the commercials. Last year, a 30-second spot went for $2.4 million dollars. So advertising agencies are sure to try doing something spectacular to get the most bang for their buck. Sometimes, it works – remember Terry Tate, office linebacker? And sometimes, it’s so bad, it’s best just to forget it ever happened – which is pretty much the case for any .com company that’s advertised.
So why is it that the Super Bowl has become so important to advertisers in North America? And why does everyone watch it? Well, you’re not going to find out those answers from me, because it’s a mystery to me as well. But it probably has to do with all the women watching that really don’t care about the football but are watching because their significant others are as well. Note that this does not apply to women like Danni Boatwright. Whatever the reason, we’re going to get swamped with commercials both good and bad. And since I’m stuck with the Global simulcast here in Canada, it’s most likely to be bad.
As for the game itself, I find it interesting that two smaller market teams will be taking center stage, in what should be a damn fine game. Pittsburgh is a team that really hasn’t changed much since it’s inception, relying on stiff defence and a smash-mouth running game to open up passing chances for Ben Rothliesberger and Hines Ward. Seattle has arguably the best running back in the league, an underrated defence and a receiving corps that throughout the year has been held together by duct tape. And despite the fact that the Steelers have run over Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Denver, I’m going with the Seahawks to win. Why? Gut feeling.
So gather up some food and friends and drinks, sit around the television and enjoy the festivities. And then stick around for Grey’s Anatomy, because ABC really, really wants you to.
IP Linkage
– I swear, I didn’t even see DeeDee’s column praising the audition portion of American Idol. I’d written up that part of my column on Wednesday morning and I hand’t bothered checking the websites yet.
– Patrick leads off IP’s ‘Survivor’ coverage with a look at the location.
– And here’s Dora with her take on the contestants.
– Dora gives us her look at Survivor.
– Eric rips into a Canadian lesbian, who I’m guessing voted for the Green Party. Meaning that she did something dumber than everyone who voted Belinda back into the House of Commons.
What I Watched:
Thursday:
‘My Name is Earl’ (NBC, Global) – Question – if Catalina was so good at dancing (and I doubt that there are many guys that don’t think that she danced well), why did she leave for a menial housekeeper position?
‘The Office’ (NBC, Global)
Friday:
‘Numb3rs’ (CBS, Global)
‘Sin Cities’ (Showcase)
‘Ed’s Night Party’ (City) – Former WOW wrestler Tamie Sheffield gets interviewed, kinda. It’s Ed the Sock, so “interviews” generally involve a lot of double entendres and confused models wondering how to react to a sock. But don’t worry, it’s still fun, in a low-budget Canadian production kinda way.
Saturday:
Chinese New Year’s Eve generally doesn’t allow for much television watching. Generally, there’s eating. Lots of eating.
Sunday:
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ (ABC, CTV)
Monday:
’24’ (Fox, Global) – It appears that both Jack and President Logan are socially inept (but in different ways), so they should get along just fine. As for Walt, it turns out that he’s not a very good patriot. Apparently that page that reads “DON’T TRUST TERRORISTS. EVER” was missing from his “Patriots for Dummies” book.
‘CSI: Miami’ (CBS, CTV)
Tuesday:
‘Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels’ (Food Network Canada)
‘King of Vegas’ (Spike) – Hey the redheaded chick with big boobs and Evelyn Ng are still in this. Sadly, so are Kellerman and Root.
Wednesday:
‘Lost’ (ABC, CTV)
‘CSI: New York’ (CBS, CTV)
Bits and Pieces
– Speaking of football, Team Canada is apparently NFL Global Junior Champion for the second straight year. Which I find kind of odd, seeing as Canadian football has 3 downs, 12 men aside, a wider field and bigger balls. So shouldn’t they get knocked out pretty quickly?
– OK, tonight is the debut of Exile Island, and if you check out the “linkage” section you’ll find some links to some of our other fine columnists giving you their thoughts on the cast. Me, I’m just gonna sit back, watch the shows, and give you some quick hit thoughts, starting next week.
– CBS has released some info about the cast of The Amazing Race 9. The show debuts February 28, and you can expect a preview from me soon.
That’s it for this week.
