TV & Fury banter about the Whatever That Was Bowl

It’s a tradition at TVFury that I exchange posts with Terry after world-altering events. The first-ever cold-weather Super Bowl that was held in my own backyard surely qualifies. And so here we go.

FURY: Eh. Anyway. I was actually disappointed in the result. Not just because it was a blowout and everyone hates a Super Bowl blowout, but I wanted the Broncos to win. Not because of any great affinity for Denver. Over the past five or six seasons Peyton Manning became my favorite NFL player and I wanted him to win another Super Bowl. Instead it will be another nine months — or 40 years — of hearing about his legacy and what another Super Bowl loss means and on and on. And I certainly thought Denver had a great chance. And then, as they say, they had the kickoff. Denver’s no-show shouldn’t detract from Seattle, which proved that a dominant defense can still win a championship, even in these pass-happy, scoreboard-busting days. In fact, it’s sort of nice to know that’s possible. But Terry, do you think this game will be remembered more for the team that won it, or the team that lost? Will Seattle get the credit it deserves or will it be all about Denver — specifically Manning’s — failure?

TV: Fair question. Frankly, that may depend on what happens next – does Manning get to and win another Super Bowl? If not, then this will become a part of his legacy. (Like Fury, I don’t think that’s fair; Manning has been too good for too long to be docked for winning only a single Super Bowl.) If this is the first of, say, 2-3 Lombardi Trophies for this core group of Seahawks then it may be remembered as the one that got the ball rolling. To that end, Seattle looked crazy fast and physical and young. (At least, that was the case in the portions of the game that I was able to watch. Who knew that 14-month-old twins weren’t into watching a 5-hour football game?)
I might be willing to call this as the start of an extended run except division rival San Francisco arguably is the second-best team in the NFL.

FURY: If you read stories earlier in the week, the actual game simply capped off a weeklong disappointment  when it came to the Super Bowl. Several people wrote about how New York City was almost too big for even the Super Bowl and there was probably something to that. Made me wonder if New York had actually gotten the Olympics if even that event would have been swallowed up. Still, there were parts of the city transformed, especially Times Square. I ventured down there Saturday and managed to last about an hour, even though it took me 15 minutes at one point to walk between 45th and 46th Streets. I saw a wax Eli Manning and a lot of people in Seahawk jerseys — you probably heard them screaming before the first snap of the game that went over Manning’s head. Anyway, some pictures.

They had the Lombardi Trophy on display and the crowd snaked around a block, all for the chance to stand by it for a minute or two. That’s also as close as I got to the big slide, which is the same thing we had at the Janesville carnival a few years except much, much bigger and with many more NFL tie-ins. There was also an area set up where fans could try and kick field goals. And the giant Fox robot was standing guard nearby. For those few blocks anyway it certainly felt like the Super Bowl was in town. Other times you didn’t even know the game was being played. The Broncos understand.

TV: Maybe TVFury should apply for press credentials the next time the game is in NYC. Or won’t that ever happen again? I have no idea how it graded out as an event because of how little attention I paid. In fact, I’m not even sure I knew it was humanly possible to ignore the Big Game as much as I did over the last two weeks. I didn’t even follow along live on Twitter, which had to have been more entertaining than the game itself. However, I did catch the halftime show. Two thoughts: Only one song for the Red Hot Chili Peppers? Weak. Especially since they seemed to have gotten in pretty good shape for the gig. Secondly, Bruno Mars and Co. weren’t as bad as I assumed. Or at least they did well to come up with a gimmick that was interesting enough to allow me to ignore the sounds. If you missed it, these guys were like The Temptations crossed with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones wrapped in gold foil.

FURY: I actually didn’t enjoy the Twitter Big Event experience as much as usual. Perhaps some of it had to do with wanting Denver to win. But it almost seemed like all of the lines were predictable: Manning Face, Jersey/NYC jokes, Richard Sherman jokes, Marshawn Lynch quips, Declarations that It’s Over because we need someone on Twitter to let us know that, complaints about Buck/Aikman/Pam Oliver, verdicts on the commercials. At times it seemed it was scripted, that every Twitter line could have been written on Tuesday and saved in drafts, except for those that came out once the game got out of reach. Since that was unexpected. But overall, yes, it does still add to the experience, especially if you watch the Super Bowl alone, like I did, my only company a box of wings. Instead of being a depressing picture, I actually enjoy it this way. I remain in control of my TV and can wander around when I want. I can not watch for 15 minutes. I don’t have to hear other people tell me what they’d do with the commercials if they were in charge of the ad account for a car company. All in all we probably have two of the strangest, or at least most pathetic Super Bowl TV viewing experiences. And so that’s it for another NFL season. And now I can concentrate on the Lakers’ playoff run.

TV: Speaking of falling out of love with stuff, I probably watched fewer NFL snaps this season than in any the last 25 years. I’m pretty sure that’s mostly due to my life circumstances – wife, kids, job. But I don’t think that’s all of it. To be clear, I’m not going to pretend I’m taking some sort of moral stance related to the dangers players are doing to themselves. It’s more likely that I’m just sort of bored with it – or at least not as excited by it – in a cyclical way. The odd thing is that I feel like I’m not alone in that. Like, the NFL keeps getting bigger and bigger and that’s bound to result in some fans opting to turn away from the game for no reason other than overexposure. The games are fine, but hold the hype.
That made Sunday a tremendous letdown even if it was the first truly lopsided Super Bowl in years.