I'm (Joseph) Addai-ing to get going, so here we go...
5:55 - Interesting pre-game show. Cirque du Soleil? More like Circus du Suck.
6:15 - I'm no music guru, but I'm positive Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Billy Joel just got owned by the note on "see" (as in, "Oh, say can you see").
6:20 - Okay, I'm watching the players huddling together on the sidelines, and I'm trying to read their lips. So far I've picked up, "No one comes into our house and doesn't bring a Diet Pepsi! No one." Strange.
6:26 - As Devin Hester scampers into the end zone off the opening kickoff, I'm tempted to brag about how my friends and I predicted it would happen, but after watching Indy's special teams against New England two weeks ago, who didn't? Side note: I've watched the Bears play five times this season (against the Giants, Jets, Pats, Seahawks and Saints), so I can say with confidence that they are a mediocre team that relies on Hester and Nate Vasher doing at least two incredible things on special teams, randomly forcing six fumbles per quarter and successfully completing one Rex Grossman jump ball to wideout Bernard Berrian.
6:30 - As Jim Nantz declares Peyton Manning "almost intercepted" by Brian Urlacher (he got a few fingers on the ball), it makes me wonder if it's time to reassess that statement. As it stands, any time a defense player's body (foot included) touches the ball, it was "almost intercepted."
6:31 - I wonder if the Colts are going to live and Addai by the pass. Speaking of Addai, I wonder if he wears Nike or Addaidas.
6:32 - Another "almost intercepted" claim. This one bounced off the defender's body. I think Nantz is influenced too much by Madden '99, where the ball would vacuum into the hands of the player no matter where on his virtual body it first touched.
6:34 - Peyton is picked off on 3rd-and-12 right after Jim Nantz told us Manning specifically said the Colts needed to avoid that exact down and yardage. This might be the first time where the "what some guy told me before the game" crap was actually interesting. Don't worry Peyton, they aren't saying boo, they're saying mooo-vers.
6:38 - Grossman lets fly his first jump ball, which really is almost intercepted. What a surprise, the Bears go three-and-out on their first drive.
6:46 - As Reggie Wayne gallops into the end zone off a blown coverage, I can't help but marvel at what Manning just did. He had a 300-pounder named Tank wrapping him up, and he still gets off a strong, accurate throw all the way downfield. I guess it helps to be 6-foot-5, 'bout 235 pounds ... lay-zer, rocket arm.
6:50 - As the Bears and Colts exchange fumbles on back-to-back plays, I'm bracing for the obligatory "Who does the rain favor?" conversation that Simms and Nantz will inevitably say favors the Bears. Obbbvi. Because, you know, the wet field is bad for receivers trying to make their cuts (it doesn't affect the defensive backs) but is good for running backs who similarly need traction and are at a much greater risk of fumbling the ball, given how much more often they carry it. I'm no expert, but this notion that rain clearly favors the running game needs to be re-examined, along with the "almost intercepted" thing.
6:54 - Bears wideout Muhsin Muhammad catches a touchdown to give the Bears a 14-6 lead. He'll always be a Panther to me.
6:59 - Don't ever consume twice as much Domino's as you want to eat before trying to write something, especially if you are trying to entertain people. I feel dizzy and lethargic, and my friends have taken to yelling, "Can pizza make you feel high?" and "He got jacked up!" (thank you, Michael Irvin and Tom Jackson) every time someone gets tackled.
7:04 - Cedric Benson got JACKED UP as he loses the football. Raise your hand if you think his day is over (raises hand).
7:15 - Anyone else curious how GoDaddy.com can afford an ad during the Super Bowl?
7:23 - Personally, when I think of beer, I think about cute dogs. Dogs, beer and football-playing horses are practically synonymous. Keep up the good work, Budweiser.
7:24 - A navigation system just spoofed the "Power Rangers" show from the early 1990s. What's worse, that they chose to do that, or that I recognized it as a "Power Rangers" spoof? But I think I'm off the hook because I was seven when I watched it and still only 17 when I bought the DVDs.
7:34 - Rhodes rumbles into the end zone to give the Colts a 16-14 lead, and I think it's becoming increasingly clear who the superior team is.
7:50 - Another string of back-to-back fumbles, one courtesy of Grossman. You can hide your QB when you're playing against NFC teams, but this is the Super Bowl. He has got to make a play, or at the very least, not do something stupid.
8:15 - Prince is one of those guys I've heard about for years but never listened to. Now I know why. Good call by the NFL to clean up the halftime act by getting the one guy who would use a big pillowy-thing to create a phallic image behind it.
8:33 - I think someone forgot to tell the Bears that players lined up in the backfield are allowed to catch passes. Manning is killing them underneath, and Addai looks like a stud.
8:50 - Has CBS ever heard of a towel? All their camera lenses are covered by rain.
9:12 - Do you think maybe Dunkin' Donuts should re-think the decision to have John Goodman as their spokesperson? Have you seen that guy lately?
9:15 - Grossman's pass is picked off and returned for a touchdown to make it 29-17. The Bears should just implement a policy that if Grossman throws to either sideline, the offensive linemen are obligated to sprint over in the direction of the throw in anticipation of an interception.
9:19 - As Steve Tasker reports, the question begs, do you remember any special teams players from 15 years ago? That guy is classic. Punt - Block - Master - Flex...
9:27 - Who was the genius at Budweiser who just had to get Don Shula and Jay-Z into the same commercial playing some weird form of virtual football? Ohhh, it was Roger Federer. Just kidding, I love tennis. It is a challenging and entertaining sport. Best sport ever? Probably.
9:30 - Rex Grossman, ladies and gentlemen. Berrian actually had his man beat on the Bob Sanders interception, and that could have been the one jump ball completion, but the throw was a good 10 yards short. Put it in the books. Now excuse me while I congratulate my mom, a true Hoosier. Hi, Mom!
10:40 - I had to come back and comment on the fact that Dominic Rhodes just pulled a Zoolander thinking he had won the MVP.
Tom Trudeau '09 has one message for Peyton Manning: Cut that meat!
