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!

The theme for today was “super”.  Beginning this morning at church, I walked in to see festive decorations and “Super Sunday” signage.  It wasn’t until we finished singing and the anthem of “superman” started playing that I figured out they weren’t just referring to Super Bowl Sunday.  Hmm…coincidentally enough, the balloons were the colors of the superman logo too.  The message today was simple, but it was delivered in a refreshingly entertaining method.  I really love to hear J. Manning preach.  He’s creative, funny and inspiring.  He made the point that, like Clark Kent, all of us have the potential for greatness.  We just have to choose when and how to use it.  You can’t hide in Smallville forever because you are too busy, too full of self-doubt, or too afraid to use your potential.  God has a job for all of us — it’s time to break out and achieve great things for His kingdom.

Another announcement that many in my circle of friends would say is “super” is the announcement that Heidi and Cody are pregnant.  The official announcement was made today, and Heidi wasn’t the only one who was glowing.  The Rigdons had the biggest grins on their faces.  It was really cute.

Finally, today was Super Bowl Sunday.  Being a Dallas Cowboys fan, I wasn’t too excited about the game.  Instead, I was more interested in the commercials.  I had agreed to participate in a “live” ad panel which would rate the Super Bowl commercials in real time.  The ad panel was sponsored by Hey Nielsen, the social networking site for The Nielsen Company (the company that brings you the Nielsen TV ratings).  Over 200 people participated in the ad panel via a Webex Web conference and provided their opinions on the commercials that ran during the big game.  It was lots of fun; certainly, it made the game more interesting.  The results will appear tomorrow. 

Unfortunately, there were many bad commercials this year, but there were a few good ones too.  My favorites were:

1.  Diet Pepsi Max “What is Love”

2.  Diet Pepsi Max “Justin Timberlake”

3.  Tide “Talking Stain”

4.  Bud Light “Fire Breathing”

5.  Audi “R8″

To check out all of the commercials, go to www.myspace.com/superbowlads