Column:
Congratulations, Drew Brees
Published Feb. 9, 2010
Congratulations to quarterback Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.
The tale of the Saints winning their first Super Bowl in franchise history is a powerful narrative. Brees comes in to a city wrecked by the force of hurricane Katrina to play for a football team that goes from worst to first in a matter of seasons.
With all the good feelings experienced immediately following Super Bowl XLIV, many journalists are too quick to say Brees saved New Orleans.
Brees might have inadvertently destroyed the city he loves.
Many people thought Katrina was the perfect storm. I say nay.
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Drew Brees winning the first Super Bowl in Saint's franchise history during the week of Mardi Gras will inevitably cause more destruction and terror in the streets of New Orleans than any amount of water could. On top of all of this, McDonald's is offering 50 McNuggets for $9.99 — something evil is brewing in this nation.
It is true Bourbon Street will be rampant with black-and-gold-faced picaresque dancers who scare children and shout phrases in a Creole dialect that becomes more comprehensible after three drinks.
But despite the wonders of Super Bowl XLIV, the real message we should have taken from Sunday's game was that The Who is very old.
The feelings I had about the halftime show were only matched by the feelings I had toward the pretzel I almost choked on. The whole experience made me feel presidential. The best part of the whole halftime show had nothing to do with the sounds coming out of the aging rockers' faces, rather the shining star of the night was the stage itself. That stage was more entertaining and knew the words better than Roger Daltry.
I was expecting greatness after last year's crotch slide into the camera by the boss, Bruce Springsteen.
He had me loving the fact that I was born in the U.S. and that I didn't go to Vietnam. Nevertheless, I was really geared up to see what The Who had in store for us barbarians across the pond. I could only imagine the good old days when nipple slips were something to worry about, when I realized that registered sex offender Pete Townshend was singing the lyrics "Teenage Waste Land" over and over again. What message is the NFL trying to send?
I'd much rather see what everyone else saw in 2004, which was nothing because the camera cut away instantly, than see an aging rocker struggle to hit the notes of some of the best rock music ever made.
I understand wanting family entertainment, but next time perhaps research who is and isn't a sex offender before clinging to that notion. Entertainment is a key word in the phrase "family entertainment," and with the low quality of that halftime show I wouldn't be surprised if next year's family halftime show is "Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Super Squeakquel."
If the halftime show didn't represent what is wrong with this country, the commercials from the Super Bowl definitely did. The commercials show us what is really valued in America: crotch punching, pantsless people and babies who trade stock. All I know is the real winners were those of you who watched Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl in HD.
Happy Mardi Gras, and congratulations to Drew Brees.
11:37 a.m., Feb. 10, 2010
Alexander J Deckard said:
While I do agree that Pete Townshend had some trouble hitting the notes he is known for, it is worth saying that he is not a sex offender. He was cleared of all charges in 2002, and remained on Englands Sex Offender list for five years, starting in 2002. He hasn't been registered for almost three years, and during the investigation it became clear that he was conducting research for an essay he had been preparing about illicit pornography, which he published that year. Do check your facts before accusing people of things.