Posted by Evan Owen
The Super Bowl in Arlington, Texas this past Sunday featured the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers and was simply a well played game, but nothing extraordinary.
Green Bay ended up triumphing over Pittsburgh with a score of 31-25 after a strong first half on the offensive end, and a second half effort that prevented the Steelers from snatching victory away in a last minute drive. Aaron Rodgers, the Packers' quarterback, was named the most valuable player of the game, and rightfully so; he threw for 300 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
My viewing experience this year was definitely different from past years, as I had never been at college to watch the Super Bowl. The last time I was the most football savvy person in a room was when I watched a game alone with my dog one lonely Sunday afternoon.
The gender ratio of the crowd watching the game in my room matched our school's 60:40 liberal arts ratio, and the chatter in the room reflected it. I spent a decent portion of the viewing explaining the rules of the game and an even greater portion of time pointing out who was winning and saying "no" when asked if the game was over yet.
I was pleased with my first Super Bowl viewing experience at Skidmore, and it was oddly refreshing to answer questions about the game and attempt to answer questions that were beyond me. "Why are they playing in Texas?" Because it's warmer there I guess (even though the city was battered by ice and snow before the game). "Can they pull each other's hair? That one guy (Troy Polamalu on the Pittsburgh Steelers) has so much." I guess they can, I don't see why not. "Why are both teams wearing yellow pants?" Uhhhh….
Personally, I wasn't too invested in either of the teams since I'm from New York, but I was hopeful that the 45th installment of the Super Bowl would be entertaining at the very least. There wasn't anything wrong with the game per say, but there were very few exciting plays sans an interception returned for a touchdown by Green Bay's Nick Collins in the first half.
Frankly, it was not nearly as exciting as Super Bowls in years past. There was no David and Goliath story leading to a franchise's first Super Bowl title like last year when the Saints defeated the Colts, and there were no truly outstanding catches like Santonio Holmes' in 2009 or David Tyree's in 2008.
If anything, the game could be the start of a long career for the Packers' Aaron Rodgers, who now holds the same number of national titles as his predecessor and local legend, Brett Farve, after starting for only three years. Legend in the making? We'll just have to wait and see.