More about the game later. Right now, let's break down what else happened in and around the big game.
Prelude
The Rams were not supposed to be here, having benefited from a missed pass interference call that would have gone against them, and that would have enabled the New Orleans Saints to win the NFC Championship. Instead, the game remained tied going into overtime, where the Rams kicked the winning field goal that sent them to Atlanta. But that one bad call was all people could talk about in the two week break leading up to the Super Bowl, with upset Saints fans threatening boycotts and lawsuits against the NFL seeking to upend the results.
As for the Patriots, they shut down the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime to win the AFC Championship, with Brady all the while claiming that his team was getting no respect. That came across as, given New England's recent history for dominating the conference, was more for motivation than truth.
The Game
With three points on the board each for the Rams and Patriots for three quarters and punting dominating, this was a defensive struggle, to put it mildly. CBS' Jim Nantz and Tony Romo tried their best to make the game more exciting than it was, but in vain. Only a 29-yard pass from Brady to Julian Edelman (who was voted Super Bowl MVP), followed by a running play into the end zone in the fourth quarter to enliven things and to seal the deal for New England. A combined total of sixteen points by both teams was the lowest in Super Bowl history. But then again, defense does win championships.
Halftime
Maroon 5 may not have been the first choice for the Super Bowl halftime show, but the NFL seems to have gone through nearly every mass appeal pop act that isn't NSFTV (not safe for TV). Atlanta is the capital of hip hop, and nearly every worthy act boycotted the event out of respect for Colin Kaepernick's continued persona non grata status from the league for taking a knee during the national anthem, and for trying to be nice to President Donald Trump. It also accounts for the lack of believability when it comes to the NFL's social justice initiative, launching as it did in Dr. Martin Luther King's hometown during Black History Month.
Adam Levine, Maroon 5's front man and celebrity judge on TV's "The Voice", did a good job of singing the band's Top 40 hits while performing mostly shirtless and having moves like Mick Jagger. He also exposed his nipples and tattoos in a way that Janet Jackson never could. Double standard much?
Commercials
Companies spend millions of dollars each year to get their message and their product across before the biggest TV audience of the year.. Here's how some of those companies spent their money.
- Bud Light and its Kingdom of Dilly claims its beer, unlike the other guys, doesn't use corn syrup. In another ad, the Kingdom is attacked by a flying dragon, which makes sense only if you're a rabid "Game of Thrones" fan.
- Bob Dylan's anti-nuclear war classic "Blowing In The Wind" is used to remind us that Budweiser is now brewed with wind power. Good to know. We think.
- Harrison Ford's dog in an Amazon ad orders mass quantities of dog food through his dog collar, which was a rejected use for Alexa.
- Sarah Jessica Parker and Jeff Bridges (as the Dude from "The Big Lebowski") walk into a bar and order Stella Artois beer, just to be different. Call it "Stella and The City".
- The Washington Post (now owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos) stressed the importance of journalism while saluting those who died practicing it.
