Tom and I enjoyed watching the Super Bowl last night.  We got home from work, made a pizza, put it in the convection oven and settled in to watch the festivities.  It was a great football game, especially from the defensive side, for both teams.  Both teams had a mediocre offense – thanks to the great defense.  Some people think watching a low-scoring game is boring, but I like to see a good defensive battle.  I was glad to see Peyton Manning get another Super Bowl ring.  Not only is he one of the smartest quarterbacks ever, he seems like a man who has the right values.  I hope he retires while he is on top and goes on to coach – using his football savvy in another way.

But the most fun thing for me were the Super Bowl commercials.  Last year the Super Bowl commercials were depressing:  sad stories about lost dogs and lost people and an acute shortage of funny.  Last night I laughed more at the commercials than I had in a while.

I’m not going to give you links to all the commercials separately.  You can rewatch them at this site if you want to refresh your memory.

Some of the commercials were creepy.  Liam Neeson hawking the LG television makes me afraid to buy one.  I never need to see the toenail fungus commercial again or the IBS intestine.  I did not like the puppymonkeybaby.  That thing could give me nightmares and I didn’t understand it leading the men in a conga line into the hall.  John and Jackie tell me, when I don’t understand a commercial, that it wasn’t designed for my generation.  I guess that one wasn’t designed for my generation!

But there were plenty of ads I really liked.  Budweiser moved away from the Clydesdale horses and into a more serious realm, which was appropriate for all the people who would be drinking beer at their Super Bowl parties.  Helen Mirren’s ad was genius – a smart and strong woman calling anyone who drinks and drives a “short-sighted, utterly useless, oxygen wasting, human form of pollution, a Darwin-award deserving, selfish coward.”  I knew what a “pillock” was because I read British mysteries, but Tom was unfamiliar with the term.

I don’t use AXE products, but I really liked the idea that men don’t have to look like the models in ads to attract women.  Because AXE products seem to appeal most to young men who might struggle with their self-image, this was a good message.  Another good message was the reminder to turn off your faucet while you brush your teeth.  I also turn off the faucet when I lather my hair in the shower.  We can last a week with 100 gallons of water in the RV.

Tom and I both really liked the Prius as getaway car.  Implausible, but funny.  The Wix ad was funny, even though we want people to hire a developer to design a website (because John and Jackie both make their living that way).  But the ad was clever and smart.  The Hyundai First Date ad was another one that we enjoyed.  “Take my new car” (so I can stalk you everywhere you go).

My favorite Super Bowl commercial?  The Super Bowl babies.  I wanted to see a group of Super Bowl Babies from every year of the Super Bowl!  I love the idea of getting these kids together and showing their connection to the game of football (or at least their parents’ connection)!  How many Broncos babies will there be in a year?  Football brings people together in all kinds of ways!

Did you watch the Super Bowl?  What was your favorite commercial (and why)?  You’ve read my opinion – let me read yours.