Confession: I used to be a minor Patriots fan. Back when they were perennial underdogs yet to win a Super Bowl, I occasionally cheered for them. Since their first championship win in 2002, my opinion of them has degraded thanks to their cheating scandals, Belichick's permanently grumpy face, Brady's smug arrogance, and their many connections to Trump.
Sunday, the dogs snuggled up for a nap while I watched the game. The Philadelphia Eagles are NFL champs and their city has been burnt down to rubble in celebratory(?) riots. Eagles-fan-for-a-day is now over and we can all go back to supporting our regular favorite teams in anticipation for next fall. Before we return to our legitimate fandoms, I have some favorite Super Bowl LII moments to share.
Of the actual sport with real athletes doing things on a field, here are my top five highlights.
5. The Patriots failed trick play. Tom Brady errors as a receiver and the ball was over-thrown. It's schadenfreude seeing Brady fail in a play that his team perfected.
4. Gronkowski's touchdown celebration. It's nice to know that I'm not the only white dude who shouldn't be allowed to dance.
3. The catch that was a touchdown that was fumbled then caught again and was ruled a touchdown. It could have been called incomplete, but the call was upheld and I might have screamed loud enough to scare both sleeping dogs.
2. The Eagles trick play. Foles succeeded in the same play Brady missed earlier in the game. The Eagles beat New England at their own game by out Patriotting the Patriots.
1. Brady's fumble. After the touchdown that almost wasn't, the Patriots needed a miracle. Instead, they got Tom Brady. The ball was stripped from his hand, cementing the Eagles’ victory.
Also worth noting: JJ Watt's award. I've got a tremendous respect for Watt and his actions following last year's hurricanes. The man placed the value of human life above his career and I can't think of anyone more deserving of the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
For those who only watch the Super Bowl for the commercials, here are my five ish favorites.
Honorable mention: Amazon's Alexa lost her voice. Celebrities fill in as a replacement for the voice of Alexa; none made me laugh as much as Rebel Wilson setting the mood.
5. Dodge Ram's Vikings. This ad would have been ranked higher on my list if it wasn't for their other Super Bowl ad. Using Martin Luther King Jr's voice to sell trucks was so offensive it soured this truly great commercial featuring headbanging Vikings in a Dodge Ram driving to the Minneapolis while listening to Queen's We Will Rock You.
4. Wendy's slams McDonalds. McDonalds flash freezes their beef to "seal in fresh flavor." Unlike Wendy's who use never frozen beef. Wendy's reminded us the iceberg that sank the titanic was also frozen.
3. Every commercial is a Tide ad. David Harbour (AKA Chief Hopper in Stranger Things) spoofs "typical" Super Bowl ads, including those for cars, beer, jewelry, soda, shaving cream/razors, and smart home systems to demonstrate how every advertisement is a Tide ad because the clothes worn in every commercial is super clean.
2. NFL’s Dirty Dancing. Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr danced together like Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey. The two football stars recreated the Dirty Dancing routine set to Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes duet (I've Had) The Time of My Life.
1. Doritos and Dew Duel. Doritos has a new spicy flavor of chip and Mountain Dew has a new cool refreshing flavor of soda. First, Peter Dinklage faux-rapped to Busta Rhyme’s verse from Look At Me Now to promote Doritos Blaze, facing off against Morgan Freeman who lip-sang lyrics from Missy Elliot’s Get Ur Freak On for Mountain Dew Ice.
Hollywood also debuted new movie trailers and these are the films I can't wait to see.
5. (tie) Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom & Mission: Impossible - Fallout. I can't tell which of these two are of greater worth. Both are franchise films from franchises I enjoy. I was underwhelmed by the last entry in both series. Both have colons in their title. Both have potential to be awesome, or completely horrible. I can't make up my mind, so I'll list both.
4. Skyscraper. I have no idea what this movie is about. All I know is an aging Rock wearing a prosthetic leg will be doing parkour and leaping from heights that would kill a normal mortal. Despite limited information and a guaranteed need for a willing suspension of disbelief, I'm in.
3. The Cloverfield Paradox. This was a surprise trailer for a movie to be released as soon as the game was over. I have not yet had time to watch it and the reviews from critics who did have time suggest that I shouldn't make the time. However, the first Cloverfield movie also got poor critical reviews and it's on my lists of favorite monster movies and favorite found footage movies. I will log into Netflix this week and see it against professional advice.
2. Solo. Until now, I have had the lowest of low expectations for this movie. As a prequel, I know the main characters will survive with all limbs attached so they can appear in the original movies. The stakes are low. In these situations, the sense of danger is never high enough to worry a character's safety. But the Super Bowl teaser changed my mind and now I can't wait for the month of May.
1. Avengers: Infinity War. This is the other reason May is going to be a good month.
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