2010-2011 NFL Superbowl Recap (sport, gambling, food)

PIT 26 GB 31

First, please allow me to give myself a little pat on the back. After a brutal postseason of picks, I think I nailed this game pretty good. Not only the picks, but the props and the general flow of the game as well.

The game:

"I expect a high scoring game" - 57 combined points well over the 44.5 total.

"I expect the teams to score in streaks" - GB jumped out to a 21-3 lead, then Pitt cut it back to 21-17 before both sides exchanged scores in the 4th quarter.

"I think turnovers will play a huge role in this game" - GB won the turnover battle 3-0, including a defensive score.

"I think once Pittsburgh gains momentum, they cannot let go or else they won't be able to recover" - Pitt got on a roll, but couldn't get over the hump and overtake GB, and GB held on.

The props:

Heath Miller yards 38.5 - 12 yards on two receptions
"I think at this point, getting even money for under 38.5 isn't bad"

Three consecutive scores - had two chances at it, but didn't come in
"I expect the teams to score in streaks, so I would choose yes"

Largest lead 13.5 - turned out to be 18
"In all, I think taking the over here is a very good bet"

Who gets the ball first - who knew Green Bay would be the team to defer?

MVP Aaron Rodgers EV - It seems that Aaron Rodgers stayed at around +175 at most sportsbooks, just not the one I was looking at. Much more reasonable odds.

Christina Aguilera holding "brave" - I don't know the official number, but I had her clocked over 7s. In retrospect, if she averaged 6s in previous outings, she was probably going to step it up for the Superbowl. But then again... actually, we'll get to that in a bit.

Ok, enough with the self congratulating. Let's review some other aspects of the game experience.

Before the game started:

My food for the day was this sushi platter. It's the Superbowl, so gotta go big. I've mentioned before that I prefer my sushi to be either really cheap or really expensive, and this was definitely on the cheap side. $30+tax got me a combination of

small rolls (6pcs): cucumber, Japanese pickle, salmon, tuna, yellowtail scallion medium rolls (6pcs): california, eel avocado, spicy tuna, alaska (salmon, avocado, tobiko)
large rolls (5pcs): shrimp tempura, futo maki (imitation crab, Japanese pickle, egg, cucumber, avocado)

Not bad.

Ok, so seriously, how do you mess up the national anthem on the biggest stage in television? Talk about epic fail. It also caused a stir amongst bettors, who wondered what Aguilera's real time would've been if she got the lyrics right.

During the game:

Just an awful collection of commercials. Nothing new, nothing memorable, nothing really funny. My top three would probably be the Faith Hill teleflora commercial, the doritos finger licking commercial, and the cram it in the boot mini cooper commercial. Speaking of car commercials, was it just me or did it seem like all the American car commercials were about eco-friendly and hybrids (except for the eminem one about Detroit), while all the foreign ones were much more "we're awesome and this is our new car".

The commercial spacing seemed weird too. Two doritos commercials early, and then I didn't see another one. Oh, and finally, how much money does godaddy have/make? How can they afford these stupid, expensive commercials every year?

Half time:

I think this half time show almost broke twitter. So many people absolutely hated it, and had a venue to let the world know. I thought it was overproduced and over-autotuned. The light show aspect of it overshadowed the energy that I think the show is supposed to bring. I liked how the performers this year were more relevant, but hated them singing other people's songs, especially the wreckage of Sweet Child O' Mine.

The more interesting thing at halftime was the halftime line. The line opened at Pit-2.5 which I thought was a complete bargain, and it closed at 3. I thought it was a good deal because Pit was only down 11 despite being down 2-0 in turnovers and had at least shaken up two GB defensive backs towards the end of the first half. Add that to the fact that both teams were rated pretty close to start with, and I thought it was a mandatory hedge/middle attempt if you had GB-2.5/-3 to start the game.

After the game:

Aaron Rodgers was a very deserving MVP. Imagine what the game would've been like if his receivers didn't keep having balls go through their hands and bouncing off of them. I liked Tomlin's post-game interview. Very professional without being too cliched during an emotional time. I hope the Superbowl loser's curse doesn't get to Pittsburgh, because they have a dangerous looking team for next season, with Aaron Smith back on defense, a healthier offensive line, and more time for their young receivers to develop.

That's assuming, of course, that there is a next season. I expect this to be a hard-fought, drawn-out negotiation. I hate the NFLPA's ads though. Let us/them play? The owners are all for that, really. In fact, the owners want you to play more. Two more games to be exact. Just doesn't seem like a well thought out slogan.

And so we enter the black hole of the sports calendar. A time so devoid of meaningful sports that the XFL came into existence. At least there's February sweeps.