A Fun, Yet Uneventful Night at Levi Stadium

The biggest night in football has come and gone, and it felt a little too much like any other night in football. Aside from pageantry kicked up to 11, it didn't feel like anything really special happened last night. Which is odd for the Super Bowl, but ESPECIALLY odd for the 50th  Super Bowl. I would have thought they'd pull out all the stops.

The night started well enough. A fantastic performance of "America the Beautiful" from the Armed Forces Chorus was a wonderful way to start the evening. Lady Gaga tackled the National Anthem with clear vocal talent, but reigned it in a bit, to not go over the top. I liked that. It was appropriately respectful. I think she did a great job with it.

I think Coldplay was the wrong choice for the Halftime Show. It's the biggest stage in the world, and what's supposed to be the biggest celebration, and they just didn't have the energy up there. Not the energy that matched Bruno Mars and Beyonce. You could take Coldplay out of the equation, and it would have been a fantastic show. They should have just gone all out, picked up Taylor Swift and Foo Fighters in addition to Bruno & Beyonce, and had a big, high energy jam session. That would have been an amazing show. One worth talking about. As it was... It's only memorable for being disappointingly forgettable, again... for the 50th.

Which brings us to the game itself. Two of the top quarterbacks in the league. One a legendary veteran who will no doubt be a first ballot Hall-Of-Famer, the other still carving his name in the league, and doing a damn good job of it. The #1 offense, vs the #1 defense. Both teams were #1 seeds heading into the post-season. This should have been a shoot-out. But as the clocked ticked down the final seconds, I couldn't shake the feeling that I just watched one of the most under-whelming football games I've ever seen. And not just for a Super Bowl. Not just for the 50th Super Bowl. That would have been a bad game in the regular season. If that was a pre-season game, a few players from each team probably wouldn't have a job next Sunday.

It's always fun watching the full 4 hour event. From pre-game performances to the game to the commercials to the half-time show. But this felt a little less special. A little less fun. Maybe my expectations were way too high for. But you kind of expect a big bash for the 50th. Even the Oscars rocked a great tribute to the 50th anniversary for James Bond a few years ago. It wasn't much, just a small segment on a big awards show, but comparatively, they did 50 better.

Hopefully they do 100 better. And Hopefully I make it to 80 to see it.

P.S. That "Super Bowl Babies" commercial where the kids are singing about how they were conceived on the night of a Super Bowl win? Totally weird and creepy.