Eli and the Beanstalk

I'm a sports fan and a writer. I sit at home or at work after a big game and want a recap of the action on the Internet right after the game. Trying to do something like that gives me a whole new respect for journalists who have to put out a meaningful, accurate article immediately after an event.

The Super Bowl is over. Eli Manning and the Giants beat Tom Brady and the Patriots...again. I have to say that this is one of the best Super Bowls I've watched in years - the game was literally a nail-biter. Eli Manning, the Giants quarterback scored a nice trophy and an even nicer looking centennial edition Corvette convertible as the MVP.

New England led for most of the second half after taking the lead 10-9 at the end of the first half on a Tom Brady touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez (which was cool, because Hernandez played his college ball at Florida).

But the Giants hung in there and played their hearts out. With 3:45 left and 88 yards to go for a touchdown, the Giants got the ball back, needing at least a field goal to take the lead. On the first play of the drive, Manningham made a stupendous catch down the sideline as Manning dropped a beautiful ball in over his shoulder for a 38 yard gain. Honestly? I think that was the play of the game.

Building off of that, the Giants completed two more passes – one each to Manningham and Nicks to get inside the Patriots 30 yard line.

With 1^st and goal at the Patriots 7, New England called time-out with a minute and twenty-four seconds left. Trying to run out the clock, Manning handed off to Bradshaw, who had a hole big enough to drive a (Chevy) truck through and was so surprised, he couldn't kneel before he crossed the goal line – thus running out the clock. As a result, the Patriots got the ball back with 57 seconds left and the Giants leading 21-17; to win the game was simple - New England needed a touchdown.

It didn't happen.

I think we'll see more of the Patriots in the future but for now, the Giants and Eli Manning, who won this Super Bowl in what is called the House That Peyton Built (in reference to Eli's brother Peyton and the stellar career he's had at the Indianapolis Colts and their home: Lucas Oil Stadium), are champions.

Of course, it wouldn't be the Super Bowl without the commercials.

I know I missed a few of them, but I counted roughly eighty (80) commercials. A thirty-second slot on this year's Super Bowl cost in the neighborhood of $3.5 million. If I'm doing the math right, that's a whopping $280 million in commercial revenue alone. But enough about that, let's get to the ads.

My votes for the top three 2012 Super Bowl commercials:

1. Matthew Broderick's Day Off: A clever play off of Broderick's iconic role in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Matthew (and the viewer) would really rather call in sick and drive their Honda CRV.



2. Doritos - There were a couple of very good commercials from Doritos - the snack my doctor says I can't eat anymore (high sodium, don't you know). But I picked this one because, well, I'm a dog person.



3. With over eighty commercials to choose from, it's hard to pick just three but the one that really stood out for the number three spot was an ad that Chevrolet called, "Joy." Basically, the owner of a new Chevy Sonic is going for a drive and the local insect population wants to go for a (joy) ride, too. this one got me, ahem, right in the thorax...


Of course, there were a lot of terrible commercials, too. And a lot of commercials that were good, but would never get me to buy their products...if I could figure out what they were selling. With my top three picks, it's crystal clear what each company is selling; the ads are very creative and well produced. And of course, they're all funny...at least to me.

But that's the beauty of this thing we call Super Bowl commercials: everyone has their own opinions. I'd love to hear yours!

What do you think?

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