Superbowl Commercials: The Best Ones

I have two candidates:

While I hate to admit it, because I think it tastes like dreck, this wonderful slapstick commercial by Diet Pepsi may be my favorite in that I'd like to see it again and again:

Coke Zero's wonderful nostalgic commercial - perfect for Steeler fans, but really for anyone alive and watching TV in 1980 (see below for the original that this is parodying):

1980 Mean Joe Green Original:

Superbowl: The Winning Touchdown

[Video Fixed]

It's hard to explain how nerve-racking this moment was. Just look at the clock: 43 seconds left... Steelers are down by 3 against the team with the best offense in football. No timeouts. It's now or never; it's now or the Steelers lose to a pack of very talented underdogs with a sad-sack to riches Quarterback. But the Steelers are the blue-collar nobility of America; a team of racial equality and meritocracy. The tension is enormous.

Big Ben Roethlisberger gets the snap, fades back, he's surrounded by Cardinal defensive-men, he peers out of the pocket and bullets the ball to the end zone where WR Santonio Holmes reaches over the heads of 3 Cardinals, standing on his tiptoes he manages to snag the ball, hold on, and keep his feet in the end-zone while falling and getting tackled by three men. Touchdown.



It wasn't over after the TD; the Steelers needed to shut down the cruel Cardinal offense and in another heart-stopping moment they managed to sack the QB in the last seconds of play, winning the game.

Many articles have been saying that it was the most exciting Superbowl in history. I believe them.

Superbowl 43: World Record Touchdown

[Video fixed]

This was the most incredible moment of yesterday's Superbowl (which, as I said below, I missed live because I was being a good husband-father).

James Harrison's 100 yard interception touchdown run. It's a record that can't be beaten, only tied:

Steelers!!!

I had multiple heart-attacks during this game, which was one of the most exciting I've seen. Ever.

We (yes we) are the Superbowl champs; 6 wins, baby. All we need is for 'Frisco to get to the Superbowl, and lose, for the Steelers to be the very best (ya see, 49ers are undefeated in 'bowls, but have fewer wins).

My brother, my wife and I watched the last quarter together (there was a lot of shuffling from place-to-place before that because of kids and such) and it was thrilling. We called my parents after the game and I thanked my father for getting me hooked on the Steelers back in the 70s. It's nice to be - legitimately, through thick and thin - a fan of such a storied history.

True story: I missed the 100 yard interception touchdown because I was with my wife putting my kids to bed...

Update:John Cole, of Balloon-Juice, a rabid Stillers fan, echoes my feelings to a T. The Cardinals were a tough, good team. And this was a stressful game... but when you win it, it turns the triumph into something that much sweeter (much like life).

Superbowl Time!

And we're having a party.

Here's a great story in the NYTimes about the tzidkut of the Steelers (specifically about the Terrible Towel).

Update: This comic from today's paper is too good to pass up (it's a decent, new, strip: "New Adventures of Queen Victoria" by Pab Sungenis):