John DeStefano
The final game of the National Football League’s 2018-2019 season is over. With the exciting season leading up to this game, hopes were high that the NFL would be able to put on the best Superbowl yet. The New England dynasty lead by Bill Belichick was set for a showdown with the youngest coach to ever be in a Superbowl, Sean McVay. With Maroon 5 performing at the halftime show with Travis Scott, the stage was set for a blockbuster of a Superbowl. Despite having all the tools to put on the biggest sporting event of the year; a defensive game, sub-par commercials, and a forgettable halftime performance this will surely be remembered as one of the fifty-three Superbowl’s that has happened.
First, focusing on the game. Defensive games don’t usually lead to the most exciting games, and struggle to keep the viewers who only watch the Superbowl. This game was marketed to be Tom Brady’s old guard against The Ram’s young offense. However, when the local MLS team, Atlanta United FC, can put up more points in a soccer game than the Ram’s offense its tough for even the biggest football fans to stay interested.
For those watching the Superbowl for the famous over-the-top advertisements, it was a disappointment as well. Companies have started releasing their ads early or will immediately post them on social media after they have aired. This has removed the need to watch the game, and wait to see your favorite companies’ ads, or which new company will come up with a new creative way for you spend money with them. An example of how underwhelming these ads were is the Verizon ad honoring first responders. Verizon was found earlier this year to have been throttling the internet of California’s firefighters while fighting one of the largest blazes in state history.
But what about the halftime show? The most anticipated live performance each year. The creator of SpongeBob, Stephen Hillenburg passed away this year due to ALS. One of the most popular episodes has the characters perform “Sweet Victory” at the halftime show. The internet quickly got behind this as a memorial to him and petitioned the NFL to have the song performed during the halftime show. Maroon 5 then teased a clip of the song being preformed in the episode in their trailer for the halftime show. It looked like everything was going to work and the internet had yet again made it happen. Instead there was a small clip of the characters counting down and Travis Scott appeared. Due to the nature of his music most of it had to be censored which resulted in an incomplete and not very pleasing rendition of this Billboard No. 1 hit. Throw in a shirtless Adam Levine and you have a mediocre halftime show perfectly suited for a mediocre Superbowl.
The NFL is gone until August, leaving fans and casual viewers alike with a sour taste in their mouth.
