The game started with Christina Aguilera blowing the national anthem repeating lines and forgetting others. As you might imagine she is catching some flack for it. I give her credit for singing it live instead of lip syncing to a recording as most people do. It's a poem (and not a very good one at that) that is set to music. As a song it's a worse song than it is a poem. + she is freakin Christina Aguilera.
As for the Red Eyed Turnips (Black Eyed Peas) The NFL can't win. Of course if you are a fan of the group you thought it was a great halftime show. if you aren't you thought it sucked. Seems most thought it sucked. Since America lost it's collective minds with the millisecond sight of a 42 year old tit The Super Bowl has brought in the fossils of rock. Most years they have taken heat for it. It began to become a joke. The Image conscience NFL decided to bring in the Grey Eyed Broccolies and tonight people are ripping the show. Why do we need any named entertainers at halftime? Or in the pre-game for that matter? I know the NFL says they decided to bring in the names when people began to complain about high ticket prices but it seems to me paying off the Orange Eyed Corncobs and the no talent hacks in pre-game to perform are what drives the Ticket prices higher. Well that and people are willing to pay $1000. If the Count were in charge we wouldn't be re-enacting the War of 1812 like halftime of Superbowl IV but you would see the Grambling and Jackson State bands just like the way it should be. Imagine a 2 hour pre-game show about the football and a football halftime show during the biggest football game of the year. I know it's a stunning thought.
If you care about the commercials don't take this personally but fuck you. Go read some other blog.
Now the game. As I said before pretty easy to break this down. 2 even teams one had 3 turnovers the other had none. Guess who won? Sometimes it really is that easy to break this game down.
A few strategy decisions I disagreed with at the time and some I still do. Pittsburgh's kicker Shaun Suisham stinks. There is a reason this guy got cut from The Cowboys and The Redskins. He barely made a 33 yard field goal and an extra point. So when Pittsburgh had 4th down and had to decide to kick a 52 yard field goal or punt it seemed to me a pretty easy decision. take a 5 yard penalty and punt the ball and don't give up good field position. Pittsburgh chose to kick a field goal and Suisham missed it so bad he nearly killed people in the crowd.
One last note on this. I knew Suisham was a poor kicker and it's one reason I questioned my 16-13 Steeler prediction. The Steelers had a fine kicker in Jeff Reed but they dd what NFL teams too often do when he went through a brief cold spell. They panicked and cut him and brought in the 4th rate suisham. I never understood the reason NFL teams panic with kickers only to bring in worse kickers.
Anyway On the next drive Green Bay had a 3rd and 8 and were in position to kick a 56 yard field goal. I personally would have ran the ball hoped to have gained 3 or 4 yards and give Their kicker Mason Crosby a 51 or 52 yard kick. At the time the game was 21-17 and the kick would have made it a one touchdown game. They threw the ball incomplete and had to punt.
Pittsburgh scored to cut the lead to 28-23 and went for 2 to make the score 28-25. I don't like going for 2 here even though it cuts the game down to a field goal and here is why. Score go for 2 don't make it it is 28-23. Now if you score again you have to go for 2 again to make it 31-28. Seems to me you should just kick the extra point on both occasions and you'll be up 31-28. But it must be said the play the Steelers called to get the 2 points was brilliant.
With the score 28-25 Aaron Rodgers who played brilliantly took his tea down to get a field goal to make the score 31-25. Any doubt Brett Jesus throws a game winning pick on that drive instead of taking his team in for more points? I have none. I wonder if Green Bay still misses Brett Jesus. Oh well idiots like Uber-stooge and Planet Boob still love him.
Ben Roethlisberger takes a lot heat for personal troubles and with good reason but he showed again why I would take him in a minute to QB my team. (even if I would take Rodgers first at the moment) Yes he had 2 picks but the one that was ran back for a score wasn't his fault. He takes a beating and keeps getting up and playing harder. He kept bringing Pittsburgh back time and time again and he kept the in the game when it could have got away. Roethlisberger did nothing to lower his standing in my eyes on the field at least.
Can we please kill the myth that the Super Bowl is always a disappointing game? 5 good ones in a row the last 4 have been great. The last 8 games have been close as have 11 of the last 13. Oh yeah the Super Bowl always sucks.
I think Bill Belichick did a great job this year with the Pats but how is he coach of the year over Mike McCarthy who took his team to a championship even though Green Bay lost key players to injury all year long including this game. Perhaps it was fitting that Green Bay lost two very key players Donald Driver and Charles Woodson to injuries in the first half and had to overcome them because that is what they have have had to do and have done all year.
KTF
Count Istvan
