Super Bowl Recap

How 'bout dem Saints!?!?!?  I was, and still am, super excited that the Saints won the Super Bowl.  The team deserved it, but more importantly, the city of New Orleans deserved it and NEEDED it.  Talk about a morale boost for the city!  If I had money, I would fly down and celebrate with them.  The win couldn't have come at a better time, too.  Mardi Gras is right around the corner.  The city will be buzzing.  Oh, how I wish I could be there!

So, let's talk about the Super Bowl.

1) I missed most of the National Anthem as I was en route to a friend's house to watch the game.  I caught the tail end though and my ears were ringing... that's not a good thing.  (For the record, I am a musician - even if I haven't touched my flute in years - and my ears are trained to hear when something/someone is out of tune.)  I wasn't impressed, but again, I didn't hear the whole thing.  Oh, and this means I also missed the opening acts.  I don't think I missed much there either.

2) The first half of the game was exciting, though I did feel that the Saints didn't have it in them.  It was almost as if they were intimidated by the big bad Colts.  But, I also knew that there was still a whole other half to be played and anything could happen...

3) The Who...  Ummm...  Yeah.  I was glad they opened with Pinball Wizard, but the whole performance in general was blah.  As someone said, "I miss the nipples!"  I did, too.

4) The second half...well...THE SAINTS WON!!!!  I told my husband that the game-changer was the two-point conversion.  The momentum shifted and it was over for the Colts.  Everything went for the Saints and I couldn't be happier.

Now let's talk about the commercials.  Admittedly, I didn't really pay much attention to them.  I actually watch the game and use the commercials to talk to the friends, get refills on the drinks, use the restroom, etc.  But, here are a few that I did see and like:

Why I liked this one? Because it's Harry!!! And I can't wait to get my butt down to Universal and go. Really... I mean it... I'm like a little kid when it comes to Harry.

For the sheer fact that vampires are mentioned in this commercial:

Umm.... Johnny Depp... Alice in Wonderland, need I say more? And if you don't understand my obsession, I refer you to my second post.

Finally, because it's cute (even if a bit stereotypical):

You can view the rest of the commercials here.

Of course, there's also the controversial ad starring Tim Tebow and his mother.  Honestly, I almost missed it, it was so bland and it didn't say much.  The point of the commercial was to send viewers to the Focus for Family site and, as someone pointed out, the controversy on the ad probably drew more people to the site than not.  Why?  Because, again, the commercial in itself was nothing to scream about and most people would have missed it, but due to the uproar over the spot, more people were looking for it and became more interested in the rest of the story.  Here is the ad...

See what I mean?  Nothing to it.  Also, CBS, if you're reading (which I doubt) - see how easy it was to show both commercials on my blog?  Not that hard.  Sure, I have my views and issues with the above ad because of what it is preaching (and even then, you would have to go to the site to really know what it is preaching - pro-life/anti-abortion agenda), but the group does have a right to air their views.  It's called Freedom of Speech.  CBS, however, by airing the commercial and not the gay dating service, showed their true colors and where they stood by taking sides and politicizing an event - the Super Bowl - that should not have been politicized.  Shame on you, CBS!

One other thing.  Some people felt I was too harsh on Tim and I made assumptions about him that I shouldn't have.  True, I cannot sit here and assume what he does with his private life.  It's great that his mother persevered and went through the high risk pregnancy.  Many people wouldn't.  That being said, he still does not have the right to tell other women what to do with their bodies.  By being in the commercial, funded by a pro-life group, he was doing just that and that is why I have a problem with him.

Shoot, I was trying to stay off my soapbox, but, oh well.  I can't help myself.  *smile*

There's my little (or big) recap.  Congrats to the Saints and New Orleans again!  Now, I'm going to book my trip to NOLA!!!

P.S.  What was your favorite commercial?

The Saintly Colts (or How the Super Bowl is No Longer About the Game)

OMG OMG OMG Did you hear!?!?!?!  Carrie Underwood is going to sing the National Anthem!!!

Really?  Well, The Who is performing during halftime.  The Who?  When did the average age of viewers go from 18-45ish to 45-70ish?  Eh, well... that's cool, I suppose.  I like The Who, even if the only song I have of theirs in my collection is Pinball Wizard... right....

Oh, I almost forgot, there's a ga...  What????  Daughtry is also performing???  The opening act?  Sweet, though I don't listen to his music either.  Okay.

So there's a game - I can't wait for all of the commercials this year.  That's the best part of the Super Bowl!

Speaking of commercials, when did the Super Bowl become a platform for political agendas?  CBS banned a commercial for a gay dating site, but will be glorifying the religious right with their pro-life/anti-abortion commercials.  These commercials aren't cheap.  ManCrunch, the gay dating service, paid an arm and a leg to get their spot aired, only for it to be pulled. There is nothing wrong with the commercial.  It's actually quite funny:

Unfortunately, I cannot find the anti-abortion commercial.  I wanted to post it as well, so CBS could see how easy it is to be fair to everyone. (I'm sure it's out there, but really, we can all wait to see it.)

Essentially, the commercial is of Tim Tebow, star quarterback of University of Florida, going on about how his mother was very ill and was told to have an abortion.  Lucky for him, she didn't and he went on to win the Heisman Trophy and, more than likely, will make millions for his mother now.  Tim, apparently, is a devout Christian.  As my husband would say, "I'm proud of ya."  (Note the sarcastic tone.)  What I find ironic about all of this is that Tim is THE STAR QUARTERBACK for Florida.  This means he must get women falling over him all the time and, unless he's a eunuch, I'm sure he's having plenty of sex (I would never for a minute buy that he's waiting for marriage).  So I pose a question to him.  How many of those women did you accidentally impregnate who later had abortions?  He may not even know the answer to that one, but it's a possibility.  Would he have told those women to not have abortions?  I wonder...

But I digress...In lieu of not having the Tim Tebow commercial, here's a response ad from Planned Parenthood.

I'll get off my soapbox now...

So, who's ready to watch those Super Bowl commercials???  I know I am!  Remember the Bud Bowl???  Do they even still have it?  I miss it! A bunch of beer bottles playing football, too cute.  As a 10 year old, I wanted a beer... to play football with, of course.

Oh... wait... there's an actual game?  Yes, there is...

Well now, if you read one of my earlier posts you would know that I had originally predicted a Giants v. Jets Super Bowl (wishful thinking on my part).  I was oh-so-close with the Jets.  They played their hearts out though and you have to give them credit!

Instead, we have the New Orleans Saints playing against the Indianapolis Colts.

   V. 

I can dig it.  I like Peyton Manning and I like the Saints.  I won't give a prediction on who will win because both teams are really good.  I would like the Saints to win since they've never won a Super Bowl, but really it doesn't work that way, does it?  I'll keep my fingers crossed though, after all, they do have God on their side, right? 

I hope you all enjoy the game, eat lots of food and drink lots of beer, but be safe!!!

WHO DAT? WHO DAT? WHO DAT?  GEAUX SAINTS!!!

On a Sugar High

So... I'm digging this whole throwback thing the soda companies are doing.  It's a great marketing ploy to get all of the "naturalists" to buy their soft drinks again.  I know I definitely prefer real sugar to any form of artificial crap (in the diet drinks) or corn syrup.  Of course, my inquiring mind wanted to know for sure if they were bs'ing us or if they were for real.

I took a peek at the Pepsi website and this is what I found:

There, highlighted in yellow, SUGAR!!!  Not high fructose corn syrup, or as I lovingly refer to it... gunk.  They were also very clear to point out that it does not contain Aspartame which is another unnatural sweetener that is used often in diet drinks.  As I've always said, I would rather drink regular soda with the gunk (which will just make me fat) than diet soda with aspartame (which could slowly kill me).  Now, however, with all the throwbacks, I can be happier with the regular soda.

Of course, I prefer Dr. Pepper over Pepsi and Coke anyway, and Dr. Pepper has been on the pure sugar bandwagon for a while now.

Dublin, Texas has been producing pure sugar Dr. P, since the beginning of time.  Sure they make gunk Dr. P, but they are known for their good ol' sugar.  I personally spend the money to get my Dr. P shipped to me from Dublin.  It comes in 8oz classic bottles (which is normal serving size) and is absolutely, 100% delicious.  Yes, because I say so!  They are much lighter in taste than gunk Dr. P and hit the soda spot just right.  I suggest you go and visit the site and order some today.  You won't be sorry.

But, really, if we want to talk about natural sodas, there are a whole bunch other than Pepsi and Coke that are available and probably healthier even than the big corps.

My personal favorites are (in order):

GuS

Izze

Fizzy Lizzy

If you notice, most of these are juices with carbonated water.  Like, I said, healthier.  

What I'm looking forward to, though, since everyone is on this throwback high...  is when Coca-Cola starts selling their cokes with cocaine again.  Now THAT I'll buy!  

(P.S. This was not intentionally meant to be a big ol' advertisement for the sodas, just some recommendations.)