Captain's Quarters -

Super Bowl Live-Dip-Blogging

What better way to watch the biggest spectacle in sports than to kick back in a favorite recliner and live blog while consuming chips and dip? The Super Bowl will hopefully feature a dramatic and close game, but even if it doesn't, it will provide plenty of entertainment. The game sometimes takes a back seat to the advertising championship that takes place between the plays. I'll comment on that as well as the game, and in between, I'm going to enjoy my corn chips and guacamole, too. Keep checking back. I'll post the comments in reverse-chronological order so the latest will be on top. 9:14 - Thanks to all the CapQ readers who came along for the ride, especially Jazz in the comments, where he was as good as a co-blogger tonight. Great job, Jazz. This may have been one of the best Super Bowls I've ever watched, except for the five in which the Pittsburgh Steelers won. It's probably the greatest 4th quarter in a Super Bowl since Pittsburgh beat Dallas 37-35 in 1979. It's probably the biggest upset since Broadway Joe picked his Jets to beat the Colts almost 40 years ago. What a great game! 9:03 - GIANTS WIN! GIANTS WIN! Don Shula, break out the champagne. Eli Manning just made himself into a superstar, and the Patriots have to live with the choke of the decade. They finally put in a championship drive, and Manning answered back with another. What a game, and what a gut-check by the Giants and Eli Manning. 8:56 - Eli Manning, Stud. What a great series from the Kid. They left 35 seconds on the board for the Patriots -- and if they want to earn perfection, they have their work cut out for them. 8:55 - The Pats are getting better pressure on Manning. 8:52 - Holy cow, this turned into an exciting game! 8:46 - Ben Roethlisbeger tanks ... on the Pina Colada Song. The only network promo I've liked all night long (for American Idol). 8:42 - Eli has to go 83 yards in 2:39. Here's where you earn the ring, baby. 8:39 - Randy Moss, wide open. The First Mate is boooooing. She hates Moss, but that was one hell of a drive. 8:35 - Only three minutes left in the game. If the Pats can score a TD, Manning may not have enough time to answer it. 8:30 - Can Brady lead another 4th-quarter come from behind win? He's putting together a good drive now. 8:26 - And a good stop by the Pats D. Brady and his O had better show up soon, or the perfect season's going to end in the perfect choke. 8:20 - Big stop by the Giants D. That could be the game, if Bradshaw can run the ball. 8:13 - Bill Frist and James Carville, sharing a Coke and a smile. Well, not bad, but I liked Charlie Brown getting the Coke in the previous break a little better. 8:11 - And they do! The Giants look like they've figured something out, and Don Shula may be able to breathe again soon .... 8:09 - Eli's coming ... The Giants O has come alive again, but they'd better score a TD. 8:01 - That 3rd quarter went quickly! The Pats will likely pin the Giants deep on the upcoming punt. It's a field-position, ball-control game. The Pats may have made some inroads in that strategy. Their D has to get a big stop. And I liked the Chester Pitts NFL commercial, too. "What do you play?" "The oboe ... it's a member of the woodwind family." 7:53 - Forgot to mention the Bridgestone ad where the car accelerates towards Richard Simmons -- pretty funny, and you have to give Simmons credit for poking fun at himself. 7:52 - Pats D comes up with a big stop, but the O is in the hole on their 10-yard line. They'd better start moving the ball a little better. 7:43 - Why didn't the Pats kick the field goal? 4th-and-13? What was Belichick thinking? 7:41 - The Pats just seem to be gutting this out ... 7:37 - Chase Blackburn better hope his D rescues him from a really stupid penalty. Good on Belichick for challenging it, too. 7:32 - Wow -- did anyone find the SalesGenie panda commercial just a wee bit un-PC? 7:31 - Not a bad series for either team to start. The Pats protected Brady a little better, and manages to pin Manning deep in his own territory. 7:26 - Expect dink-n-dunk from Brady in the second half -- all quick release passes. 7:23 - Wow -- it's going to be a 40-minute break by the time they get the offense back on the field. Which team spent the long halftime making the best adjustments? 7:05 - I love Tom Petty, but this looks like the Pacemakers more than the Heartbreakers. 7:04 - Was that a guitar float moving across the field, or a tribute to the ultimate wardrobe malfunction? 6:56 - An excellent and moving anti-smoking commercial. I really thought it was a trailer for a lame knockoff of Father of the Bride (either version), and I could have sworn that was Blythe Danner playing the mom. 6:51 - Exciting! Great first half, and the Patriots don't look terribly invincible so far. The Giants D has done a good job, even if their O hasn't. 7-3 at the half, and the Patriots get the ball first in the second half. 6:37 - Neither offense looks particularly adept tonight. And that cashew commercial was just ... disturbing. 6:30 - Well, the Pats look as poor as the Giants on offense. Giants are going to take it back to the running game now. 6:22 - The Giants looked pretty rattled on the next series. If they can't pull it together, they'll watch the Pats put up a lead they can't overcome. 6:20 - I liked the Garmin Napoleon ad, and Leatherheads looks pretty good. I still think the Audi commercial gets the nod so far. 6:18 - The Giant D gets their first stop of the night, and Eli's off the hook. 6:15 - Oh, Eli's made his first post-season mistake. That's a killer. 6:10 - Amazing pass and catch to Amani Toomer. 6:04 - GoDaddy has their ad on line, where they can market to their spammer base. Dell continues its series of lame commercials with "Red". The FedEx commercial with the giant pigeons -- a subliminal message for the game? And the Tide to Go ad was pretty funny, especially if you've ever interviewed a candidate who showed up in stained clothes, which I have. 6:02 - Patriots score the TD. Again, this looks like the San Diego game again. 6:00 - The Bridgestone screaming squirrel was cute. Nothing earthshaking, but better than the flatulent-horses beer commercial from a few years back. And you all missed a pretty good local Twins commercial.... 5:58 - What a bad penalty on the pass in the end zone! That'll cost the Giants. 5:55 - The Patriots look pretty good moving the ball, too. 5:51 - Jazz liked the Underarmor commerical, but it didn't impress me. It just reminded me of Dune, which didn't impress me either. 5:47 - Pepsi Max commercial doesn't impress, but Lawrence Moroney does on the kickoff return. Let's see if Tom Brady can move the Pats better than Manning did the Giants. He'll have a shorter field in which to do it. 5:44 - The Patriot D stiffens and holds the Giants to a field goal. That's points, but the Giants might want to ask San Diego how it worked out for them to get field goals instead of TDs in the redzone. 5:40 - Peyton Manning, spectator, watches as his little brother keeps the Giants moving pretty well. 5:37 - Was that Alex Rocco in that Godfather satire in the Audi commercial? That one was pretty good. And Rocco is a Godfather alum, too -- he played Moe Green, who made his bones while Michael was out banging cheerleaders. 5:33 - Manning converts his first 3rd-down try. That should help settle down the inexperienced QB. 5:30 - And we're off -- with a mundane kick return. Let the commercials roll, as Jazz advises they will in the comments! 5:26 - Giants win the toss. I think they elected to receive, but all of the commentary drowned out the actual events on the field. How better to encapsulate a Super Bowl? 5:22 - Not seeing too many new commercials today. I'm now seeing the Dell "Que Sera Sera" commercial for the fourth time, and it's not getting any better. 5:15 - Nice commercial for Ronald McDonald House. 5:11 - Anyone think we'll have a wardrobe malfunction today? I was live-blogging that Super Bowl, too. 5:00 - Yeah, that was pretty awesome. It was great seeing Jim Brown, Ronnie Lott, Alan Page, Roger Staubach, and Don Shula as part of that -- but even better to see FDNY and the US Navy as well. 4:54 - The traditional recitation of the Declaration of Independence. Well, maybe not entirely traditional, but I'd call it more meaningful than the playing of our national anthem. 4:50 - 10 minutes to game time. So far, I haven't seen any new commercials except perhaps for the strange "Que Sera Sera" Dell ad. Do computer buyers care about "pretty" more than power, speed, or function? 4:48 - You know, when Monday Night Football used Dennis Miller, they had a good blend of comedy and commentary. With Frank Whoever on Fox, it's beyond pointless. 4:35 PM CT - Bradygate! He didn't return Eli Manning's pregame greeting. He has several better moments in his interview with Terry Bradshaw, a man who Tom Brady hopes to equal in Super Bowl wins tonight.