The Super Bowl is Poop

Pittsburgh Steelers 27 Arizona Cardinals 23
This one will definitely go down as a Super Bowl for the ages, even after a subpar first half. What made this game so dramatic was that at several points, everything seemed to be going one way, then one play completely changed the momentum. Obviously the first play I’m referring to is the James Harrison interception. It was a horrible throw by Warner because he had two more downs to try to get a touchdown, and had to at least play it safe enough to ensure a tie going into halftime. That would have been a huge boost for the Cardinals because they deferred and got the ball first in the second half.

When the Cardinals try to figure out why they lost this game, not being able to tackle Harrison will be number one.

But when the Cardinals completed their comeback with that long pass to Fitzgerald I declared, incredulously "the Cardinals are going to win the Super Bowl!"



But the Steelers came back and one the game on one of the best pass-catch combos you will ever see. Sure Santonio Holmes did a great job grabbing it and getting both feet inbounds. But a brilliant job by Roethlisberger putting it right over the hands of 3 defenders and into Holmes's arms.

The Best Super Bowl Ever, Again
After a string of blowouts in the 80s and 90s (14 out of 16 were decided by 7 points or more), in the last 8 years we've had 5 great Super Bowls. And the last two are probably the best.

Nice Catch
Santonio Holmes is the 6th wide receiver to win a Super Bowl MVP Award. Three of those receivers (Holmes, Hines Ward and Lynn Swan) won it while playing for the Steelers.



Best Super Bowl QB Ever
Of the top three Super Bowl performances by a quarterback, in terms of most passing yards, Kurt Warner holds the top 3 spots. 414 yards in the Rams win over the Titans. 365 yards against the Patriots in a loss and 377 in this game against the Steelers. Three Super Bowl appearances, even with two losses, two MVP awards, and these 3 prolific performances, I think Kurt Warner is a Hall of Famer.

The Model Franchise
The Pittsburgh Steelers are now the first team with a Super Bowl ring on the other hand (breaking a 3-way tie with the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys). They also have never lost a Super Bowl [correction: the Steelers are 6-1 in Super Bowls]. When it comes to the NFL, you’d have to consider the Pittsburgh Steelers the most successful team of the Super Bowl era. And with the team’s ownership being a driving force for racial equality in coaching, and then backing it up by hiring Mike Tomlin, you’d have to consider the Steelers a model organization off the field as well. Although, an ownership squabble is dragging on threatening to turn ugly if the Rooneys don’t sell.

Just Crazy Enough to Work
I'm not saying this would ever happen, but what if Larry Fitzgerald took a knee at the one yard line?
At the very least, it would have killed another 30 seconds, and if they didn't get in on first down, maybe even more than that.
No player should ever do that (maybe trailing by 1 or 2 points with a field goal to fall back on, but never down by 4) but if you break it down mathematically it might make sense. Let's say he stops at the 1. I'd say that only hurts their chances of scoring a TD by about 10%. Don't you think that even with 30 fewer seconds to play with, the Steelers chances of winning (or even tying the game) fall by much more than that?

Just in the Nick of Time
The craziest "coincidence" (I don't use that word, but I think people are sick of reading about the Universe) that I haven't heard anyone mention is this: Santonio Holmes's amazing Super Bowl-winning catch and the one last year by Plaxico Burress both came with exactly 35 seconds remaining in the game. And the previous "greatest touchdown catch to win a Super Bowl, by John Taylor in XXII, came with 34 seconds left.

Too Bad This Didn't Happen on Cox Cable

People watching the Super Bowl in Tucson, Arizona got a little more action than the rest of us.
A short clip from an adult movie channel interrupted Comcast's feed with full male nudity during the final moments of the game.
Officials at Comcast said about 30 seconds from Club Jenna, an adult cable television channel, were shown on the local Super Bowl telecast.
The company was still working Sunday night to figure out how it happened.
The Star newsroom was flooded with calls from irate viewers who said that the porn cut into the game with less than three minutes left to play, just after Arizona Larry Fitzgerald scored on a touchdown pass from Kurt Warner to put the team in the lead.
Callers said that the clip showed a woman unzipping a man's pants, followed by a graphic act between the two.
"I just figured it was another commercial until I looked up," said Cora King of Marana. "Then he did his little dance with everything hanging out."

The Super Bowl was being shown locally on KVOA. The station sends its signal to Comcast through a fiber line.
KVOA's signal didn't have porn on it when the station sent it over to Comcast.

The porn broke into the standard-definition feed (at least they didn't have to see a cock in HD) reaching analog TV sets. It appears the porn only reached homes in the Tucson area, but Comcast did not know exactly how many homes were affected.
Comcast's high-definition feed was not affected.

Super Bowl Ads

If you're like Mrs. Poop and were too busy cooking chicken wings for your lazy husband or bathing your smelly baby, then here's a quick look at some of the best Super Bowl Ads in what I thought was a subpar crop.

You can watch every single ad on youtube. If you have a favorite not mentioned here, let me know in the comments section and I'll add them to this post.

Doritos Crystal Ball:


Ed McMahon and MC Hammer poke fun at their own financial problems:


Horse Plays Fetch:


Conan's Swedish ad (for some reason they keep taking down this ad):


Mr. and Mrs. Potatohead go for a Drive:


The Banned Ashley Madison ad:


Mrs. Poop's favorite commercial: Matt Light, Ray Lewis and Justin Tuck do ballet:

My Super Bowl Prediction

Arizona Cardinals +7 Pittsburgh Steelers
Defense wins championships. That old axiom has governed the NFL for years, and it is true to an extent. A good defense can usually stop a good offense. And a mediocre offense can score on a mediocre or weak defense.
And I usually dismiss the theory of the "hot" team even though we have seen it play out several times over the past few years.
And lastly, when underdogs cover, they win 75% of the time. So picking an underdog with the points, but to lose the game is a very unlikely proposition.

But I'm pretty much ignoring all that and predicting a final score of Super Bowl XLIII of Pittsburgh Steelers 27 Arizona Cardinals 21.

I don't automatically think the Steelers are going to shut down the Cardinals, because I think the Cardinals have the right kind of offense to attack the Steelers aggressive defense. I don't think the Steelers (or anyone for that matter) can stop Larry Fitzgerald, so they either commit to guys, or give up a couple of big plays. I think the Cardinals can spread the field with 3 wide receivers then attack the 3-4 with their new, improved running game.

I dismiss the hot team thing because to get to the Super Bowl both teams need to be hot. But in this case the Cardinals haven't just shown improved play, they've shown and improved "style" of play, which makes them more stout on defense then they had been, at least over the last 6 regular season games.

And I'm throwing out my last line of thinking (which says underdogs cover and lose about 12% of the time -- using rudimentary math) because I think the Steelers are just the better team and I think Ben Roethlisberger is going to be able to play the type of mistake-free ball that's needed to win a big game.

After a long string of blowout Super Bowls through the 80s and 90s, we've recently been blessed with some great games, and I think this will be another entertaining, close game, with the Steelers winning by 6, to take their 6th Super Bowl title.

What I'll Be Wearing Tomorrow

I was on the Larry Fitzgerald bandwagon early. Fewer than three months in the NFL career and I already was rocking his jersey. Back in 2005, I declared my love for Fitzgerald and am pleased he's now the undisputed king of NFL receivers. I will be wearing this jersey during Super Bowl XLIII and rooting for the Cardinals.

Super Pick Em

I'm a little late getting to this but I hope all of you will still join me in playing ESPN's Super Pick Em.
Join the group "The Poop" and answer the questions, an idiot could do it, so most of you should have no problem.