This game was the worst thing to happen to professional football in Missouri since Stan Kroenke.
Every broadcaster who talked about the Eagles’ Saquon Barkley said he was a “home run threat.” Yes, he’s a great runner who gained a lot of yards and scored a lot of points. But why use a baseball term to describe him? I don’t recall hearing anyone refer to the Yankees’ Aaron Judge as a “touchdown threat” — despite his leading the league in homers last year.
The most ridiculous controversy surrounding the game was the professional complainers who pretended to be upset that the NFL didn’t stencil “End Racism” under the goalposts as it has for several years. Because, as you know, having that printed there was making such a big difference mending race relations in this country.
I thought most of the commercials were a waste of $8 million. But I liked a few, including the Catherine O’Hara/Willem Dafoe pickleball ad for Michelob Ultra, the father-daughter tearjerker for Google’s Pixel 9 phone, and the NFL’s spot for girls playing flag football. The worst, of course, was every promo for Fox News Channel.
A quick story about the Hellmann’s mayonnaise commercial with Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan reprising their famous orgasm scene from “When Harry Met Sally.” This time, Ryan putting Hellman’s on a turkey sandwich was the motivation for her physical reaction. But both scenes took place at Katz’s, a famous deli in New York, where I doubt you’d even find a jar of mayo on the table. It reminded me of a story my in-laws told me from their early days as a couple. He took her to the Carnegie, another famous NY deli, famous for not only its gargantuan portions but also the frank way the waiters talked to the customers. When he took my mother-in-law’s order, she asked for a pastrami on white bread with mayonnaise. The waiter took a beat, then replied, “I wouldn’t do it.”
And one last thought as this NFL season ends: Good riddance, Aaron Rodgers!