Monday, February 9, 2026

The Super Bowl was tiresome, and the commercials even sucked. Ten Cultural Jury Duty observations about last night's game.


With nothing better to do, I appropriated four hours last night to America's version of 
cultural jury duty. 

Didn't care who won, the Jersey Gints having sapped my football fandom back in November. Just figured I'd watch, in case something happened. 

Nothing did (well, one exception.)

The obligatory 10 thoughts:

1. The game was torpid. It seemed like eight hours. I claim to love a crisp defensive gem. This was not that. New England's OL played like Styrofoam statues. Both QBs overthrew wide receivers who were wide open.

2. In today's NFL, when place-kickers commonly hit from 50 yards out, a game of field goals barely rivals the excitement of professional cornhole.

3. Actually, late in the game, something did happen. A streaker ran out onto the field and briefly eluded security. Naturally, NBC cut away and, while Mike Tirico clutched his pearls,  refused to show it. Fortunately, there are cellphones. See above.  

4. Most ads flew 30,000 feet above my head, touting products I cannot fully fathom. Crypto. Artificial Intelligence. Drugs that might inspire suicidal thoughts. Whatever happened to Irritabelle, the IBS lady? 

5. OK, number three does make me a geezer. Considering the world we're leaving them, millennials have every right to "Okay Boomer" us. But the collective theme from last night's ad blitz seemed to be that the world we know is flying out the window. Good luck understanding it, everybody. 

6. Wait! One exception: Two ads told us that Lays Potato Chips are made from...  potatoes! WHO KNEW? 

7. The halftime show needed subtitles. Seriously, would it have been that much of an extra expense, or artistic comedown, to let us dolts at home know what Bad Bunny was saying? Okay, now, I'm really sounding old: But they built a billion dollar set and didn't fucking bother to show us the lyrics. I looked forward to understanding Bad Bunny's messaging. Big disappointment.

8. At least it was fun to imagine Trump hating the show. True to form, he complained. Almost makes it worthwhile.

9. Always enjoy Tirico, who - full disclosure - was in my rotisserie baseball league, way back when he worked in Syracuse. But Chris Collingsworth has run out of gas. The slower the game, the more superlatives he heaped. By the end, we were witnessing the greatest defense in NFL history. Ridiculous. 

10. If there is a Hell, it is watching the Super Bowl pregame show through eternity.

Yanks open Tampa on Wednesday. 

9 comments:

13bit said...

At least the Pats lost. In an otherwise bleak, radioactive desert of a news day, the Patriots lost. I say this not solely as a New Yorker nor as a recovering Jets fan, but as a person who values decency, considers B*****K and B***y emissaries of Satan, and believes that Foxboro is a gateway to the netherworld. I don't follow football anymore, but I would never root for the Pats. Unless, maybe, they were playing the Cowboys.

13bit said...

PS: Go Bad Bunny

AboveAverage said...

Bad Bunny did advise everyone to learn Spanish.

It would have been a more exciting way to spend our time leading up to the half time performance than watching the game.



JM said...

Si.

Okay, that exhausts my Spanish skills. I went to bed as the game started, but the missus stayed up for the first half and the Bunny show. She had nothing to say about any of it, but was glad to hear that Seattle won.

I saw that Fat Hitler watched the Bunny show, too. The better to curse it out, I guess. Hey, how about that Kid Rock?

You are allowed to reply, "Is he still alive?"



RIP Fred Smith

JM said...

Durbin to the Red Sox for beans. We're cursed.

JM said...

2026 Projected American League East Standings - As of January 29

Toronto Blue Jays 90-72

Boston Red Sox 90-72

Baltimore Orioles 88-74

New York Yankees 87-75

Tampa Bay Rays 75-87

"So there you have it. Based on the projections from all of these simulations, the Yankees finish fourth in the division, winning seven fewer games than last season. So much for this being a 94-win team that got better."

JM said...

Let's bring back Gary Sanchez and Chad Green. What the hell. They need a job.

Carl J. Weitz said...

Regarding:

#2...If anyone really wants to watch professional cornholin, I can recommend a few classic porn movies.

#4...Buy the steep crypto dip.

#6...Oh, I remember those food scientists at Lays introduced their WOW potato chips in the late 90's. It was aptly named due to the surprise effect of the olestra oil they used, which reduced the amount of fat stored in the body but induced explosive diarrhea. "WOW, I just shit my pants!"

#7...Next year's Super Bowl halftime show will feature the Hassidic rapper Matisyahu, who will croon in Hebrew. Subtitles will be used, but they will flow right-to-left, confusing all English-speaking people.

On another note, referring to yesterday's posts: What was your draft number, if any? Mine was 56, LOL.

13bit said...

yeah, the Fred Smith thing. man