Congratulations Giants!

I don't think my palms have sweat that much since game 6 of the 1986 World Series.

BORING

Madonna Halftime = Boring Performance

Kudos to the staging. That was amazing.

Need a Tough Skin to Play the Halftime Show

From postings and comments I've heard during and after every Super Bowl, whoever chooses to do the Halftime Show is putting themselves in the same category as the Christians being fed to the lions in Rome. Everyone has a definite opinion on the quality of the performance. This year, I'd say the negatives win. 70% hated The Who. Thought they didn't die before they got old, Pete's voice was bad, fake windmills, Roger looked like a used car salesman, etc. About 30% said everyone watching was singing along, loved the show and The Who still have it into their sixties.

I didn't listen close enough to offer a well-informed opinion. I though the staging was perfect for TV. It worked well. There was an abundance of shots of Zak Starkey on drums. The cymbals were very cool. Directors usually ignore drummers. I guess it helps that your lineage is Beatles. I did comment that I bet this performance was amazing if you were at the stadium. It's tough to capture the excitement of a live performance on TV. Many people complained that the mix was bad. I hate medleys. I would have loved to see them do 2 full songs. Someone mentioned that Pete Townsend said in a pregame interview that he wanted to do just that and Roger wanted the medley and won.

With all the attention paid to The Who, scant comments were made on Carrie Underwood's Nation Anthem. I was listening from a distance and not in front of the TV, but it sounded like she was shouting, not singing.

My favorite halftime show was Prince. He played in the rain. He played like nothing mattered. Someone suggested having John Mayer and Keith Urban play next year. I think Urban is one of the most exciting, gifted performers today and he could rival Prince.

Springsteen Super Bowl Show

At one point I thought I was hearing echo/reverb in the stadium during Glory Days. It was actually the crowd singing along. The song closed a rousing set of music, complete with pyrotechnics, precisely choreographed to the music. A choir added to the spectacular of Working on A Dream, kept short and sweet. Choirs are the accessory of choice for singers these days. Faith Hill was backed by one for her rendition of America the Beautiful, which preceded a visibly nervous Jennifer Hudson performing the National Anthem. The Boss opened with Tenth Avenue Freeze Out and without missing a beat, segued into Born To Run. Although Bruce is not a football fan, (at the Super Bowl press conference he said if you are going to ask me football questions, this will be a short conference) football fans are Bruce fans. The crowd was enjoying every moment and they looked like football fans. Thank God it was not another one of those crowds brought in by central casting. The excitement of The Steelers; James Harrison's 100 yard return for a touchdown to close the second half had the crowd going. Springsteen kept the momentum going.