The Supershow

It's amazing how one event that has become so iconic to modern American life has also changed so dramatically since its inception. Aside from the tickets costing over ten times the original price and parking spaces going for $1000, the spectacle of it all has launched into the stratosphere, settling somewhere alongside Celebrity Big Brother and 2 Fast 2 Furious. And leave it to Jerry Jones' mammoth golden football calf to host the most recent and most extravagant version of The Big Game. Hell, they even sold tickets to stand outside the stadium. But I guess that beats buying a ticket for a seat you can't sit in, right? Right.

This year's game still maintained most of its tradition and history, however, thanks in part to the two steadfast franchises that competed for the title. The contest itself, in this writer's opinion, was fantastic - football at its finest. It was evenly matched and well-balanced, neither a shootout nor a defensive grind. The players played hard, the hits were big (and clean) and the mistakes were sparse but significant (Green Bay went three-for-three touchdowns per turnovers).

Plus, the headlines of the preceding week were never too annoying, and allowed for everyone to focus on the matchup of 55-ringed steel Goliath (as opposed to a 3-ring, foot-related circus.) vs. the artist formerly known as the Brett Favres (that so desperately needed to make a name for itself). The storylines were set, as was the proverbial stage.

And unfortunately, the actual stage. Whoever thought it would be a great idea to revert back to the Janet Jackson/MTV era of halftime shows must not know the difference between a recording artist and an actual, talented musician. When the best features of your performance are the guest stars, it's clear this year's halftime experiment has failed. It's time we go back to the classy lineup of the past few years, if for no other reason than to avoid saying "oh thank God, it's Usher" ever again.

All in all, it was a good game with excellent teams led by relatively classy players. If next year's matchup is as good as this year's, we'd all find it easier to overlook the terrible, terrible Pepsi Max commercials.