Super Bowl and the Halftime Show

I wasn't originally going to watch, since Seattle got eliminated I didn't really have a dog in the fight and had decided to go and play Magic instead, however as I often do my dislike of leaving the house, being among crowds, and interacting with strangers overcame that desire, so I ordered barbecue and tuned in to the game.

Offensive heroics were not to be found here, it was a defensive slugfest that was actually kind of on the dull side, Denver beat Carolina 24-10, but the game was closer than the score seemed, with the majority of Denver's points coming off of turnovers. I had issues with the referees too, there were at least three instances where they ignored Denver penalties while calling very similar ones on Carolina, and one coaches challenge in the first quarter was overturned when it shouldn't have been costing Carolina a touchdown on the next play. That said, you gotta overcome problems at the Super Bowl, and Carolina just wasn't able to, Cam Newton looked nervous pretty much the entire game, and this was justified as he was sacked about a million times, but he never really tried to take the game over, Denver on the other hand wasn't able to do much either, but didn't let it rattle them, Peyton Manning is one of the more experienced people in the big game so that made sense.

It was a good ending though, Manning probably has played his last game, and it was a Super Bowl win, his second, as well as his 200th as an NFL player, which is a pretty good number only surpassed by... no one at all. So that was nice.

Coldplay headlined the halftime show, an to be honest when I think of bands that will pump you up and get you excited during halftime, the guys who wrote "Yellow" are not what comes to mind, honestly it appears someone in the decision making process had the same thought, as Coldplay functioned more like the support structure for Beyonce and Bruno Mars, each of whom had time in the spotlight, Bruno with "Uptown Funk" and Beyonce with her new song Formation, before joining forces with Uptown Funk again and basically just having a good time all around. Coldplay looked like they were really happy to be there, and that actually matters a lot with a performance, it was exciting and interesting, with excellent choreography, I dug it, definitely one of the better halftime shows of the last decade.

I got to say though, Beyonce playing her new song was pretty bold, she only dropped it the day before and no one knew what it was, and it's a pretty bold move, and unusual for the halftime show, which tends to be pretty "safe" Formation is a black pride/protest son at it's heart, and seeing it out there during what amounts to a gladiatorial event where mostly minority athletes beat the shit out of each other was interesting, I want to say even subversive, though I don't know how much of that was intended.

If you haven't watched the show, do so, or at least check out Beyonce's new video, all in all, a pretty fun day.