This year's Super Bowl

I attended a Super Bowl party this year and jotted some notes on a napkin. There is nothing especially original or perceptive about the game or the sport of football to be found on my napkin, but it would be unusual for any blogger working out of the US and with a Y chromosome not to mention the Super Bowl. So ... the below italicized material in all its pointless immediacy consists of the notes I took at the time.

Enjoy.

The usual pre-game hype was somewhat complicated this year by a Ray Lewis substance abuse controversy.

An early Audi commercial drew a big response. It had a senior prom, kiss-the-Prom-Queen theme.

By the end of the first half, it looked like the Ravens were running away with the game. They were up 21 to 6. Then they scored quickly at the start of the second half, a more-than-100 yard run on a kickoff return, to make that 28 to 6. Even worse.

The standout ad in the third quarter was Century 21's, "My groom is not crazy about moving in with my mother."

Soon after that aired, half the stadium went dark. Some mother in law's revenge?

After resumption of play, the 49ers show signs of life at last. Two touchdowns before the end of the 3d made a real game of it, 28 to 20. Then the recovery of a Ravens fumble looked like a turning point, but on the ensuing possession the 49ers had to settle for a field goal, making it 28 to 23.

49ers made an impressive goal line stand early in the 4th quarter, forcing the Ravens this time to settle for a field goal, and the score was now 31 to 23.

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That's when I stopped taking notes. As I'm sure you know, the 49ers comeback came up a bit short, and the Ravens won, 34 to 31. Fascinating game, though.

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