The New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles will kick off Sunday in Super Bowl XXXIX to determine who will have bragging rights -and the champion's Lombardi Trophy -for the next year. The game, though, will be little more than a backdrop for garish, and often unsatisfying, entertainment and a slew of overpriced commercials.
Let the exhibitionism begin.
Thirty-eight years ago, when the National Football League and the American Football League agreed to play a postseason game that would pit its respective champions against one another, the event received little coverage. Nearly 62,000 people attended that 35-10 Green Bay Packers win against the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs, but no television network broadcast the game nationally; the annual contest was not even dubbed the Super Bowl for another two years.
Sunday night, though, more than 73,000 people will cram Jacksonville's Alltel Stadium, and most will pay between $1,500 and $4,000 for what amounts to not quite two feet of butt space. Fox will broadcast the game throughout the United States and the world, fully expecting at least an audience matching the 140 million Americans who watched all or part of last year's game -a 32-29 New England win against the Carolina Panthers.
And advertisers, not much of a factor during those early years, will play a key role: Their products will be flashed to those viewers in 30-second spots that cost upwards of $2.5 million. A full slate of 58 ads will net Fox about $140 million.
Within the stadium walls, viewers will be treated to various musical performances that could leave them covering their ears, or at least their eyes. But neither Alicia Keys' rendition of America the Beautiful nor Paul McCartney's Ameriquest Mortgage Super Bowl XXXIX Halftime Show should be as forgettable as the New Kids on the Block were 14 years ago, or as egregiously memorable as Justin Timberlake's and Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction just last year. While the game's musical entertainment has the perpetual opportunity to enhance the game, it has, during recent years, only enhanced what is wrong about it.
Beyond image problems, though -public outcry against then-recently acquitted Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis four years ago threatened to overshadow his team's 34-7 win against the New York Giants -the NFL has suffered from poor games and early blowouts. Fourteen of the last 21 Super Bowls have been all but decided by halftime, leaving viewers with little more to do than run to the store for another bag of Fritos, Lay's or whatever chip company aired the best commercial during the first quarter.
At the same time, there have been a number of close games in recent years. During the 2004 and 2002 games, the Patriots won on last-minute field goals, and the St. Louis Rams and the Denver Broncos didn't wrap up wins in 2000 and 1998, respectively, until the final minute. In between each of those competitive games, however, and in every odd-numbered year, was another blowout. The last five games played in odd-numbered years, in fact, have been decided by an average of three touchdowns. Fans should expect more of the same this year.
A Philadelphia team ravaged by injuries but graced by luck will meet its match in a New England squad hunting its third championship in the last four seasons: The commercials will likely be worth their hefty price tag, but the game will lack the competitive drive needed to sustain viewers. Fox will get its advertising revenue and New England will finish off the Eagles before McCartney hits the stage.
-Matt LaWell, a junior journalism major and The Post's sports editor, plans to consume three bags of Lay's and 12 liters of Pepsi during the Super Bowl -because they always have the best commercials. Send him an e-mail at matthew.lawell@ohiou.edu.
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