I'm not even a big football fan, but I tuned in too. Partially because I wanted to be there to see whatever history was or was not made. Partially because I wanted to see Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. And, yes, the ads. I still like to watch the ads on Super Bowl Sunday, even though now I don't expect to be wowed...I just hope to get at least one good laugh or two. And I did. My favorite ad was Coca-Cola's spot between James Carville and Bill Frist. I liked that ad because it felt good to see political rivalry in an upbeat, warm display -- a direct contrast to the primaries and typical political attack ads. Three others that made me laugh out loud: the Doritos spot where the mouse attacks the man; the Planter's peanut spot featuring the eau de Peanuts and the e-Trade baby. You can view them, too and see what tickles your ad fancy.
Re: the 97.5 million stat, it is second only to the last episode of M*A*S*H on CBS -- this is according to the Nielsen Ratings. Interesting that a SuperBowl and M*A*S*H stand next to each other in TV history. Football and War. The hunger to win and triumph on one hand and with M*A*S*H, it was the hunger to understand what war does to us, how it affects our lives and our world. Thank you Alan Alda and team for giving us M*A*S*H and a new way to talk about war together. Thank you Patriots and Giants for giving us a great game and for letting some of the soldiers overseas lose themselves in the game for awhile, too.
