Of course, with the Super Bowl, comes the 2nd favorite American past time- the Super Bowl commercials. As expensive as they are to air (some up to $500K per every 4 seconds, depending on the time slot), we have seen some of the most creative and/or awful commercials during Super Bowl Sunday.

The best part about the Super Bow (outside from the game, celebs, partying and more partying)- Media Day and Radio Row. Old and new players, as well as other celebrities come out and conduct interviews leading up to the big game this Sunday.


Shawne Merriman talks to the media


Adrian Peterson signing a Super Bowl sign. Hope he doesn't drop the pen like he does the football


Michael Irvin hanging out, and in dire need of some lip chap


Actors Rob Schneider and Adam Sandler talking to Mike and the Mad Dog during their show


1972 Dolphins alums Jim Kiick and Mercury Morris, still gloating over their undefeated season, I'm sure


Even the Burger King guy is there. You're big time if HE shows up at an event!


While all of this was going on, OCNN was in full effect, conducting interviews around Radio Row. Check out who Chris Cooley, Ray Rice and Co have been talking to, since converting to media guys this week:

Every year when the Super Bowl is set, the entire city of the teams get involved. This year is no different. New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin and Indianapolis mayor Greg Ballard placed their friendly wager on ESPN. This year, it seems as though the "food bet" is a feast. I don't want to spoil it for you, take a look for yourself. But after listening to what they are offering, I'm ready to take a trip to Indy and New Orleans for a weekend, just to eat!

VS.



Hello boy and gals. The Super Bowl has come and gone and it was probably one of the best games of the season, and more. The Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals gave everyone watching a great show, with Pittsburgh ultimately hoisting the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the game.

Some have already dubbed this game the Super Bowl for the ages. But it seems that we have already forgotten about the game that was played almost to the day, of a year ago. While I do agree that was a very good game, I cannot forget the biggest upset in Super Bowl history, when the New York Giants beat the then-undefeated New England Patriots in a thriller.

So I decided to break down each production in categories and try to figure out in fact, which Super Bowl was better. Let’s take a look at how both games compare against each other

Singing Of The National Anthem- Jennifer Hudson was nothing short of incredible. Her version of the Star Spangled Banner was one I would never forget. With the tragic passing of her mother, brother and nephew, this was Hudson’s first performance since the horrible ordeal. And she did not disappoint. I was in tears by the end of her performance.

Not since Whitney Houston’s rendition have I felt such a way about the National Anthem. Jordin Sparks sang last year’s anthem… I wasn’t impressed. But shout out to American Idol for producing star power from both ladies, who can thank the show for their claim to fame. However SB43 wins this by a landslide. There was no competition



Best Story Line Leading up to Game- There were so many story lines for last night’s game. Would Hines Ward play with a bad knee? Would Pittsburgh get their 6th Super Bowl title? Would Kurt Warner get his AARP card before he wins another Super Bowl?

These were good story lines and all. But none was greater than New England’s, "path to perfection", being only the 2nd undefeated team along with the 1972 Miami Dolphins going into the Big Game. This was the perfect David and Goliath story, with David… I mean the New York Giants slaying the Mighty Men of Boston. New England will never be able to shake that off, even with 3 other Super Bowl wins this decade. This one will be the dark cloud over their glory. SB 42 wins this one easily



Commercials- This year's commercials really struggled to be consistently good. With a recession in the economy, there was a noticeable decline in creativity and production. There were a few moments, though. The Doritos Crystal Ball commercial was hilarious. The Denny's commercial was good also. But the WTF Commercial Award goes to the Sobe commercial with Ray Lewis in a white leotard dancing. That commercial had "suspect" written all over it.

The E Trade commercial with the new baby was kinda funny, but not as good as last years. Much better commercials from the 2008 SB were Justin Timberlake's Pepsi commercial, the Sobe commercial with Naomi Campbell doing the Thriller dance and even the Will Ferrell commercial for Bud Light were better. SB 42 gets my vote on this one




Halftime Show- Bruce Springsteen vs Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.. Hmmmm. One comment about Tom Petty... It gave me the best 20 minute power nap ever.

Now, let me say that I can only think of about 3 Springsteen songs. “Born in the USA” being the most recognizable. But last night, he ripped it. He was great! The last time I was anywhere near entertained for the Halftime Show, Janet’s boob popped out, and my mouth fell to the floor.

Prince’s performance 2 years ago was good. But it was expected, because Prince is the man. Every video he does is like a performance anyway. So he didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. Last night’s performance was strong and full of life. I couldn’t ask for a better performance. SB 43 by a MILE!



Best Clutch Play-



Ben’s TD pass last night to Santonio Holmes will go down as one of the greatest TD catches in a SB. But I saw first hand Holmes' ability to make plays like that on any occasion. He has really blossomed into a very good WR for his team. However, the Manning to Tyree catch in the 4th quarter will always be the greatest play ever in a Super Bowl. Manning should have been sacked, and the game should have been over. But he somehow finds a way out of no way to get the completion to Tyree, who was basically a no name to anyone outside of New York. While I loved the dynamic of both plays, the Giants catch beats this one by a hang nail.



Yes Larry..... Yes!


Overall Performance of Game- Last year’s game had its moments, but it was a defensive struggle for a while there. I'm a big fan of defensive games (I'm used to having an inept offense and a defense that carries the team), but when I watch the Super Bowl, I want excitement for 60 minutes. And last night’s game was a nail biter. If anyone told me that Arizona would put up 400 total yards and lose, I would say to them, "The devil is a LIAR!!". Even until the end, there was over 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter after a Cardinals score, I told my colleague, “There’s way too much time on the clock for Ben to score. I’ve seen him do this too many times before…”. I’m gonna go with SB43 on this one, it had more exciting moments than the Pats-Giants game



After tallying up the votes, this was a close one. But in the end, Super Bowl XLIII won by a close margin of 3-2. I don't want to take anything away from last year's game. It's still a Top 5 in my book. But with so many different angles in story lines leading up to the game, the outcome of the game and the consistent excitement of the game, Super Bowl XLIII turned out to be a great production. Kudos to the NFL for having another successful season. Games like last night's is why this is America's Game!





OT Special- Mike Tomlin.. I think I like you. *blush*