As Super Bowl XL is still a topic of conversation in many places and as I haven't shared any of my thoughts on the event yet, I figure I'll get them all off my chest now. I've organized these concepts into three categories we are all familiar with. I'll start with the positives.
The Good
Hines Ward- The guy was XL's MVP, so he clearly did something right. The bottom line is that Ward is not only a Pro Bowl receiver, but one of the best players in the game regardless of position. He can catch, block, run and even throw. Just a great football player. Period.
Bill Cowher- Monkey, removed from back. Probably secured a Hall of Fame spot with the win. A great coach finally gets his due.
Jerome Bettis- I was a bit surprised at the depth of the Bettis Lovefest, but he has been a great guy and an equally good player. Enjoy retirement and the ring, Bus.
Pittsburgh Steelers- Again, this is obvious. No, they didn't play well, they just won. Five Super Bowl Championships ties them with Dallas and San Francisco for the most titles.
Matt Hasselbeck- I may be in the minority here, but I thought he played pretty well. I thought the pressure might get him, and maybe it did on the interception, but I was impressed with his performance.
Ray Lewis' and his suit- I'm not a Ray Lewis fan, but he was on the NFL Network's pre and post-game shows and was as well dressed as anyone. Very sharp suit. I don't know who picked out his wardrobe, but they get a thumbs up from me. Lewis also was exceptionally kind to Cowher in the post-game interview. A show of class for the coach of a hated rival. Very nice, Ray.
Detroit- Yes, we are still in self congratulatory mode here. If there was ever a shock and awe campaign, last week in The D was it. Most of the events went off very well. The city looked as good as it has in decades. Detroit deserves another Super Bowl, if it wants it.
The XL Volunteers- They were ever-present. Helpful. Polite. Probably frozen by Saturday night. A tip of the cap to all who helped out.
Roger Penske- The SBXL Organizing Committee chairman gets credit for running the ship. Everyone from the NFL to the city government to the feds deserve praise for pulling off a solid event, but Penske was the guy calling the shots. Well done.
The Bad
Officiating- You knew this was coming. The refs threw flags when they should not have. They missed calls. I thought they even made some stuff up. It was not a good night for the league's officials.
The Rules- Say what you want to about the guys in the stripes, but some of today's rules are crazy. The push off Darrell Jackson used in the end zone was a penalty. A ticky-tack penalty, but still a penalty. Like the Steelers' DB had any chance at making that play. Hasselbeck's non-fumble because of "contact" by a Steelers linebacker was called correctly, too. By rule, it's not a fumble. It's just a laughable rule. Don't even get me started on holding penalties.
Grey's Anatomy- Did you know that was coming up next?
Ben Roethlisberger- Big Ben was flat awful. The Steelers won in spite of him. Maybe he was hurt or something, but he just didn't look good at all. Of course, it doesn't say "Played Poorly" on his Super Bowl ring.
Jerramy Stevens- One TD catch, lots of drops. Most of the misses seemed liked they would have been deep in Pittsburgh territory. All of them hurt.
Grey's Anatomy- Did you know that was coming up next?
The Week Off- I hate the open week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. It just overhypes the game. In general, I believe its a major reason so many Super Bowls have been rather pedestrian events. The teams are either out of rhythm or completed overwhelmed come two weeks later.
Steve Maruicci- Did anyone else hear him say on the NFL Network's pre-game show "That a young quarterback's best friends are his running game and a good defense"? Did anyone hear me scream back "Then why did you only give Kevin Jones the ball ten times a game?!?!?!"?
Grey's Anatomy- Did you know that was coming up next? "Yes, I did. Did you know that of the millions of potential viewers watching the Super Bowl only about one percent give a rat's behind about what comes on after the game?"
Commercials- As overhyped as the game and just as bad.
Halftime- This is a bit unfair, as I can't tell you what happened at the half. I changed channels. It's nothing against the Rolling Stones, per se, I'm just a hater when it comes to halftime entertainment.
The Ugly
The Game- Let's be honest. Super Bowl XL was a pretty lousy game. Outside of Seattle's first quarter success on offense, both teams looked bad on both sides of the ball all night long. It was another anti-climatic Super Bowl.
Steelers Offensive Game Plan- Ken Whisenhunt may have cost himself a head coaching job with that game plan. He does deserve credit for the reverse pass play call. Other than that, I'm struggling to find much I liked about his decisions.
The Seattle Whining- Enough already. Yeah, the officials didn't help. They botched some stuff that hurt you. They didn't make Stevens drop almost everything thrown his way. They didn't miss two field goals. They didn't blow coverage on the reverse pass play. They didn't allow the longest run is Super Bowl history. They didn't mismanage the clock at the end of both halves. They did, however, miss a Stevens fumble. The refs hurt, but didn't cost the Seahawks the game on their own.
Yes, the crowd was pro-Steelers. Pittsburgh and Detroit are only about five hours apart. Of course, their fans made the trip. The cities are very similar (built on manufacturing) and Jerome Bettis and Larry Foote are Detroit natives. I'm not surprised Detroit adopted the Steelers. Finally, the Steelers are a national favorite like Dallas, Miami, Oakland and a few other NFL teams. Winning four Super Bowls and having been a solid franchise for the better part of thirty seasons give you a national following. If the Lions played the Dolphins in Atlanta, I would expect it to be a pro-Dolphins crowd. (We can only hope.) It's not a conspiracy, its the residue of prolonged success.
The Weather- Rain moved in Thursday, followed by wet snow by midday Saturday. Ugly as it was, it was better weather than the last time the Super Bowl was in Michigan.
The Hype- I'm an old school guy. I'm never going to be comfortable with the fact the Super Bowl has gone from the championship of pro football to a pigskin Mardi Gras. The event is now bigger than the game. Call me nuts, I still prefer it the other way around.
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