Football is over. Let that sink in for a minute. There will be no more football until mid August. That makes me sad. I know there is free agency, the NFL draft and the USFL to help us get through it, it’s just not the same.
Let’s put my misery aside for a moment, and take a look at Super Bowl LVII. At some point during the game, I decided to write a few notes on my phone. Some of them are more coherent than others, solely based on the amount of Bud Light that was consumed. In the foggy haze of a hangover, I decided to turn these drunken notes into a blog. Much like Super Wild Card Weekend, here are the Blind Owl Takeaways from Super Bowl LVII.
Start Time
This one is just kind of annoying. The start time for the Super Bowl was 6:30 pm EST. According to my calculations, kickoff was approximately 6:47pm. I get that it’s just when the broadcast starts, but that’s annoying. How hard would it be to put a start time and a kickoff time?
Why do we need all the stuff at the beginning?
This one may be more controversial than I intend, but here it goes. Why do we need all the singing and junk before the game? I love America and all that, but do I need to see someone try to overdo the National Anthem every year? Plus America the Beautiful and rehashing the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, it’s a bit much. What was the point of the awards show last week if we’re just going to do it again before the game.
Less Pre-Game than Usual?
Was it just me or was there less nonsense in the weeks leading up to the game? Usually I am overwhelmed by the lead up to the game, but this year I really didn’t feel that way. It could’ve been that I kind of ignored it on purpose, but I don’t know.
Have to Respect Philly’s Hatred
Ok. I have to give credit where it’s due. The Philly fans’ hatred and vitriol knows no bounds. These savages booed Dak Prescott, who was receiving the NFLs equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize, simply because he plays for the Cowboys. You’ve got to respect that level of hatred.
Too Many Tears
I’m not saying I’ve ever been in the Super Bowl or anything, but I’ve played in and coached some big games. I’ve never once broken into blubbering during the National Anthem. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni let the floodgates open during the Star Spangled Banner. Seemed a tad extreme. My guy Big Dawg Dave on Twitter said it right when he said, “that’s too many tears from Sirianni. A few tears is a good sign but THAT many teasers is a red flag. Chiefs by a trillion.”
Greg Olsen is GOOD
I know when I did my rankings earlier this year, I had Kevin Burkhart and Greg Olsen really low on my list. If you want to see those, here they are: https://www.blindowlblogs.com/post/blind-owl-nfl-announcer-rankings
Well I’m kind of eating my words right now. Greg Olsen was a little shaky at first, but he was excellent throughout the game. He analyzed the game well, was critical when he needed to be and didn’t get in the way of the game. My only bit of advice would be for him to loosen up a little bit. He seemed like he was trying to be really serious the whole time. That will come with time though. His partner is very replaceable. Just your typical play by play guy with a decent voice. Get rid of him and put someone with a little personality in there and it’ll be a great broadcast. I’m sure Fox is kicking themselves for spending all that money on Tom Brady, who is going to stink. Olsen is much cheaper and definitely better.
Why Does Nobody Cover Kelce?
I know it’s not simple to coach defense. But why does nobody cover Travis Kelce? I get he’s a dynamic player but at least try to cover him. Just get your meanest defensive back to stick with him all game. Don’t let him get a free release every play. One of his only routes is to pretend to block for half a second and then turn around and wait for Mahomes to move around. Not hard to have someone just stand there. Make him work. Or take the Philly strategy and just let him do his thing. Terry Bradshaw even asked the question in the post game interview. He goes, “Why does nobody cover you?” Love Terry.
Field Conditions
Like 10 players slipped on the field surface. I know most teams have turf and I think the stadium in Glendale has grass, but you have to adjust to that. Did nobody call any Arizona Cardinals players and ask what cleats to wear? Seems like a simple solution.
Halftime Haters
Super Bowl halftime shows have become very divisive. You either love em, or hate em. As usual, I fall in the middle. This year’s halftime show featured Cindy Lou Hoo. I mean Rihanna. As usual, the boomers were out in force. Most of the people that hated Rihanna’s performance were planning to hate it ever since it was announced. Famed hater and prolific Tweeter of right wing nonsense and pointless declarations Gerry Callahan had this to say, “Ok. Full disclosure. I sent the last tweet before Rihanna took the stage. It’s kind of a tradition. This is a new tweet. Rihanna was FREAKING AWFUL. WOrst halftime show since last year.” All you need to know right there is the fact that Colonel Callahan had already said it was going to be bad beforehand. If I had the opportunity to ask Gerry or any other old people who disliked the show one question, it would be this: Do you know or like any of Rihanna’s songs? I guarantee the answer would be no. It’s that simple. People talk about Prince’s halftime show as the best ever. I didn’t like it because, wait for it, I don’t like Prince’s music.
Average at Best
As for the show itself, I felt it was average. I knew the majority of the songs Rihanna sang, and the presentation was fine. As someone who isn’t the biggest fan of her music, they had to really wow me to call it great. They didn’t wow me. Now I know that Rihanna was pregnant and people are saying she did as much as she could. That may be true, but you can’t grade these shows on a pregnancy curve. She signed up for and knew what goes with a Super Bowl Halftime show. Being pregnant was up to her. It’s not like it was forced upon her. I applaud her willingness to keep going and she performed admirably, but it was average at best. I also would’ve liked a guest appearance or two.
Halftime Logistics
I’d like to talk to someone who works on the logistical side of moving a stage and all that stuff on and off the field so fast. That was the most impressive part of the whole thing.
Commercials
Super Bowl commercials suck now. There’s no creativity. It’s just a contest of who can get the bigger celebrity to do something stupid and sell some bullshit. The only decent one was the Electric Ram premature ejaculation commercial. It made me chuckle. But I’m a child when it comes to humor.
Don’t Blame the Refs
I’ll start by saying that I don’t think the holding call that basically ended the game was a penalty. With that being said the Eagles and their fans have only their defense to blame. They didn’t stop the Chiefs once in the second half. That’s putrid. They were doing alright in the first half and even carried a lead for a long time. Then they crapped themselves. I had a great football and wrestling coach who used to say this, “Don’t leave it up to refs. They’ll always do it wrong.” To the Eagles fans and all those complaining about the call, maybe stop them once and that wouldn’t have been an issue.
I got it RIGHT!
For once this year, I got a game right in the picks! It only took me until the Super Bowl, but I’ll take it. Concret3Cowboy had this to say after I texted he and Brendawn about being right, “Blind squirrel…” Pretty apt I think…
Brady Worshippers in Fear
We’ve had to listen for years about how Tom Brady is the best ever. Yes he is. It’s hard to argue that. What I enjoyed a lot is all the Patriot/Tom Brady worshippers rooting against Patrick Mahomes simply to keep Brady’s legacy at the top. Kind of embarrassing to be honest. Now that your boy is done, you root against success. Laughable. And it’s not like Mahomes is even that close. He has 2 Super Bowls. Brady has 7. In actuality, Mahomes is two very good careers away from even tying Brady. Your Irrational fear is unwarranted. Your boy is safe for a while now. And just like they said with Brady and Belichick for years, will Mahomes be as good without Reid? I think so but nobody knows.
Well, that’s all I have for you. But don’t think that BO Blogs is slowing down now that football is over. We’ve got some things coming. Some short term ideas and some bigger projects that have been taking shape for a while.
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