Super to stupor
Fox all over spectrum
AND the weak shall inherit the win ...
In the cruel history of Super Bowl box pools, the impossible happened last night — on the game’s first play from scrimmage: A safety!
Suddenly, all the notagain! sorry souls who had 2, 5, 8 and 9 were alive! 7 and 3? Their smug anticipation lasted one play!
As for the telecast, the Seahawks’ 438 victory often was bruised by peoplepacked sidelines, end zone to end zone, making it tough — and occasionally impossible — to see nearsideline (Seattle’s) play. The NFL needs to fix that.
The Good: Fox’s afterwhistle replays came quickly, which got us back to the field, fast — important with the anticipation of Denver going nohuddle and Peyton Manning hollering audibles.
Troy Aikman spoke plain, football English. No genuine gridiron gibberish. Joe Buck’s early call that the crowd sounded more football than corporate.
The Bad: Buck’s sustained misunderstanding of stats. Citing the replay challenge “success” records of Pete Carroll, then John Fox, projected his sense that all challenges are the same. Hardly. He should know, by now, they come in all sorts of varieties — often dictated by circumstances.
The first half was interrupted by four promos for the halftime show. Who needed more than one?
The Nauseating: Erin Andrews’ haha pregame chat with Richard Sherman. She certainly wasn’t amused two weeks ago, when his wildeyed, selfaggrandizing spew made her bolt.
That chat was followed by a feature in which Sherman, teammates and Fox panelists excused/explained his behavior as a residual of his enthusiasm for the game and his great regard for “his teammates.”
His teammates? He stole the NFC Championship stage from them! And his enthusiasm is for himself, not the game. Pathetic, TVtypical, badisgood pandering.
And what did Fox expect Sherman’s teammates to say about him? Why not ask Michael Crabtree and other opponents he trashes for attention and sport?
The Sad: The only team captain among eight to shake the hands of honorary captains Joe Namath and Phil Simms after the coin toss was Peyton Manning.
The Usual: Seattle became a blowout lock Friday, the moment Mike Francesa touted the Broncos, 2621. He stressed that Russell Wilson is too often sacked. Wilson wasn’t sacked once.
The Confusing: If those were the Red Hot Chilly Peppers, why sing shirtless? How can you be red hot and chilly? ... Oh, chili peppers!