From the Inside Out

We watched the New Orleans Saints make history tonight. First, we watched the team play in their first Super Bowl game ever (considering the fact that the Super Bowl has been around for 44 years, that’s a big deal). Second, we saw them win! I know my Louisiana friends are freaking out this evening. It’s a long sought after, well-deserved reward for a team that has endured many struggles in recent years.

At first, things didn’t look good for the Saints. The Colts started off strong and built a 10 point lead early in the game. However, things began to turn around for the Saints in the second half after they chose an interesting play, an onside kick, after returning to the field from the half time break. The momentum seemed to change after that moment, and eventually the Saints prevailed. I guess Madden NFL has once again accurately predicted another Super Bowl win!

Thankfully the game was interesting because the other entertainment — Super Bowl commercials and half time show — was terribly disappointing. The Who performed during the half time show, and I’m sure at one point (back in the 70s) they were a good band, but why can’t the NFL get someone relevant (and from this decade) to perform? It would make the show much more interesting. The funniest quote I saw from the Twitterverse tonight was, “who are these old guys singing the theme song from CSI?” That pretty much sums it up.

The new commercials, which are one of the things I usually look forward to, were also sub-par. Most of them were snoozers. Only a few were even worth mentioning. I’d have to say that the Doritos commercials were my favorites — at least they made me laugh. The screaming chicken and Betty White commercials were also humorous. And, let’s see….yeah…that’s about it.

If you missed the big show and the commercials, you can judge for yourself using the Forbes Ad Viewer below. Watch the commercials and then rate your favorites.

Hopefully next year, we’ll see the Cowboys in the Super Bowl. That would definitely make things much more interesting!

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According to Madden NFL, a popular sports video game from Electronic Arts, the New Orleans Saints will be the victors during Sunday’s Super Bowl game in Miami. Now, if you’re like me, you are probably ready to dismiss this information as interesting but not necessarily true. After all, how can a video game foretell who will win the big game this weekend?

Well, it’s a little creepy, but the game has accurately predicted the Super Bowl winner for five out of the last six years. Even critics have to admit that those are pretty good odds! Here’s how it works. Each year, Electronic Arts puts the two teams into a Super Bowl simulation game. The computer plays out the entire game on its own, and this year, the results were as follows: Saints 35, Colts 31. The game even predicted who would win the MVP award, Drew Brees with three touchdowns and 299 yards passing — in case you were interested.

There are a number of factors that the video game can’t take into consideration — like injuries, bad calls, and nerves — but even so, it’s still been a pretty good indication of who will win the big game. The only Super Bowl it didn’t predict correctly was a major fluke that no one expected. So, unless something strange happens on Sunday, we might just get to watch the Saints win their first Super Bowl ever! Go Saints!