I just want to say that Superbowl XLII was what superbowls are supposed to be like. Down to the last play, nail-biting excitement. And to top it all off, the team I was rooting for won.

We watched the game, as usual, with a dozen or so middle school kids from our church. And there was plenty of the usual teen-angst fueled, “Oh yeah?” and “Nuh-huh!” going back and forth about who would win. The vocal minority was supporting the Pats, while all the adults and a quieter majority of the kids were pulling for the Giants. There were some pretty interesting, non-monetary bets being offered, which I managed to avoid.

I was pulling for the Giants, first and foremost because my good friend and former co-worker Dave O’Hara had family pride involved. Dave’s younger brother Shaun is the Giant’s starting center (#60). I’ve met Shaun and he’s a great guy. I had other reasons, but none worth sharing.

None of us could believe how low-scoring the game was. Both defenses were really amazing. There were remarkably few penalties, no time wasted with calls being reviewed, and just enough “big” plays. (I *loved* the Manning to Tyree magic that would have impressed Houdini himself.)

I also had high hopes for the commercials this year. It seemed like the lull of the last few years might be over and some real stand-outs would show up.

It was nice that there didn’t seem to be lot of “skintillation” this year. One Vicky’s Secret ad, and even that wasn’t bad. Although, there was the guy starting a car with his man-boobs.

The Planters unibrow girl was great. Coke’s parade balloon battle was clever. eTrade took a risk with the talking baby but overcame the talking-baby-creepiness factor by making a creepiness reference. Still, the spit-up one was a little over the edge for me. Doritos gets the “Wha??” Award for their giant mouse attack. And I would normally change channels for a Pepsi ad featuring Justin Timberlake, but when Timberlake takes a good beating, I’ll allow it.

I have to say I had a difficult tie for first place. Bridgestone’s screaming squirrel had me in stitches. (My favorite was the scream from the grasshopper. “eeeeeeehh!”) And Tide’s talking stain was awesome. (“Blemalablulalahilola!”) It’s just too close to call a clear winner.

Honorable mentions also include Tiny Head, Richard Simmons Run-Down, Godfather Car, Carrier Pigeons, and Thriller lizards (only because of the pop culture reference).

And I’ll go out of my way to say I didn’t like CareerBuilder’s Heart. It was… I don’t know… too gross I guess.