.February 1, 2000: You are reading “Press Pass” by Jimmy Mohr 
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Press Pass What did you think of the Super Bowl extravaganza? Let us know in Post Patterns
Super Bowl.com
Jimmy lets us all know his thoughts on the Super hype surrounding the actual game.
What a Super Bowl! Or was it the Anheuser-Busch.com Super Bowl? Didn’t the college bowl season end a month ago? Each year, the hype surrounding the Super Bowl keeps growing as advertisers and corporate sponsors sink their teeth deeper into the game, even when the extra week before the game is eliminated. Beginning with the pre-game show (which lasts about as long as the game itself) right up until you hear the words, “I’m going to Disney World,” we are bombarded by every .com, Dick and Harry.
No fewer than 52 commercials were beamed into our homes Sunday evening. What’s next? Ad time sold on uniforms? I’m sure Jerry Jones has already contemplated that one. During one of the Titans’ offensive series, I swear there was a commercial after every down. And to put it bluntly, the commercials this year sucked. I expected much more, especially when advertisers were spending $2 million for 30 seconds of airtime. Personally, I’ve seen better commercials while watching the Cartoon Network.
Anheuser-Busch broke the bank by purchasing eight of those $2 million commercial slots. Tack on the production costs and we can expect to pay $45 for a six pack of Bud from now on. At least they placed three of their spots in USA Today’s top ten ranking of the Super Bowl ads, as voted on by the viewers. They even earned the top spot with the “Dog thinking back to his worst day” commercial. That one was one of the few that made me laugh.
Only one advertiser appeared to get it right: E-Trade ended one of their ads with the tagline: “We just wasted $2 million on this ad” after showing a monkey and two men clapping to music for twenty-five seconds. I probably looked like that monkey, staring blankly into the TV screen, waiting for the game to return.
I was so excited about the half-time show that I forgot to watch it. And am I the only one that found Phil Collins singing a tune from Tarzan, a Disney movie due out on video soon a little convenient? You don’t think ABC’s daddy had a hand in that one, do you? Now, that is one hell of a commercial.
As for the game itself, I found the most entertaining aspect of it was listening to Al Michaels carry Boomer Esiason the same way Kurt Warner carried his Rams all season long. Boomer’s most embarrassing moment came late in the fourth quarter when he called for Steve McNair to burn his last time-out after a seven-yard completion to Kevin Dyson at the Rams’ 38-yard line. Al was quick to defend McNair’s decision to instead spike the ball and preserve the coveted time-out. That last time-out, of course, proved crucial, as it provided the Titans an opportunity to run what turned out to be the play of the game. The end result left them 36″ from the goal line and overtime. But without the time out… And Boomer wonders why he never won a Super Bowl. Dan Dierdorf was never this bad.
After fighting through all of the hoopla, the actual game itself was one for the ages. The Titans and Rams proved to all those who watched that they were for real. Tennessee simply ran out of time, otherwise the game could have lasted into the night. Which would have meant more lackluster commercials… and more Boomer Esiason. Hats off to Mike Jones.
So Columbia-blue is Jimmy’s blood, he suffers convulsions each Monday night at the mere sight of Boomer Esiason, then slips into a temporary coma having to endure Boomer’s inane comments throughout the game.
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