ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL !!!!!!

[LesleyH]

You cannot believe the traffic in Houston - it is impossible to go anywhere near the Reliant Stadium as traffic was backed up for miles, even yesterday, Saturday. The Galleria was packed on Saturday - my hunch is that everyone was hoping to catch a glimpse of the stars.

I feel kind of weird that we are not going to the game as it is right here in Houston, but the thought of fighting the crowds and sitting up in the stratosphere isn't very compelling. Guess I'll be joining you all in front of my TV

LesleyH
www.whiteflash.com

P.S. Toska - your remarks brought a smile to my face. Being from South Africa originally I understand your confusion....explanation for all the Americans is that in "English" the word football is used like the word soccer. Toska, this kind of football is like rugby!!

 

[Denise]

Today is the day !!!! SUPER BOWL SUNDAY. And Yes Mara it's not just about watching the game...it's about the yummies @ the party. You being from Cali know about the tortilla chips, all kinds of authentic salsa, the awesome 7 layer dip and of course we can't leave out my fave...Guac a moooooleeeee. We are having all of the above and BeeBeeQ shrimp, steaks, hot dogs, hamburgers and more. Yes....we go all out here in Texas. Give us any reason to strike up that BeeBeeQ. My brother in law barbeques rain or shine

Traffic ??? What traffic ??? Oh you mean the traffic that is so bad here that when you have a doctor's appt. you have take the whole day off ???

It's craziness !!! They have so many activities going on. There is enough fun for everyone. I am venturing out today to my friend's house who's having all the fabo. food...I'm giving myself an extra hour to get there...tee hee. Don't want to miss a second of it. My 18 year daughter is going to be part of the introduction of the Super Bowl. Her high school was chosen because it's new and humungo. Her school looks like a college campus. It really is beautimus. She got to see and touch the actual SUPER BOWL Trophy. I am sooooo jealous.

Denise


www.whiteflash.com

 

[fire&ice]

I have to admit. I'm more of a college football fan. But, the playoffs this year were great games. And, being a Carolina gal - GO PANTHERS!

The Superbowl is quite the phenomonon. A friend calls it the "Stupidbowl" ; yet, partakes in the madness that surrounds the game.

BBQ Ribs on the menu here. I'm married to a true Southerner.

 

[EdSkinner]

The only reason to watch the stupid bowl is to see the commercials. Couldn't they have come up with a better name? Why not: The football game that the Eagles will never be in.

. Or: Eat your heart out Philadelphia jamboree

. I have vowed never to watch that game again until the Eagles are in it. So I guess I'll never watch it again.

 

[Mara]

Denise..YUM!!!




We actually are TiVo'ing the first 2 hours of the game so that we can just start watching it, skip all the extraneous stuff like time-outs, watch the commercials, eat our bowls of fat and carbohydrates and then finish at the same time the actual game does in real time. I know...sacrilege to those die-hard fans but neither of us are into the sport thing.

Now, food? That works!

 

[fire&ice]

----------------
On 2/1/2004 12:51:31 PM Mara wrote:


Denise..YUM!!!


We actually are TiVo'ing the first 2 hours of the game so that we can just start watching it, skip all the extraneous stuff like time-outs, watch the commercials, eat our bowls of fat and carbohydrates and then finish at the same time the actual game does in real time. I know...sacrilege to those die-hard fans but neither of us are into the sport thing.

Now, food? That works!

----------------

Huh? What? TIvo?

Well, off to watch the game!

 

[Mara]

Careful F&I you are showing your age!

www.tivo.com. I honestly don't know how I would survive without it. Once you have it, there is NO going back. I've gotten all my friends hooked on it as well. If they had a referral program, I'd be rich. Hee Hee.




We were at the new house all day and running errands, so we are only about an hour into the TiVo'd game. Greg just went to get the pizza.

I also got Oreos and coffee ice cream...YUM. If you gotta have a bad food day....you gotta go ALL OUT!

 

[dberg]

All I am going to say......Halftime Show

 

[Kamuelamom]

Mara, I did the research, checked out the site you referred and still don't get it.

I guess I am showing my age too. F&I, that's it. We're old.

Heck we only *just* got a DVD player a few weeks ago.

Hey btw, did anyone else besides me think the half time finale was most shocking and disgusting?

I mean, young people are watching this. What is this world coming to?

Sorry if that offends anyone.

[edited to add] looks like dberg and I were thinking the same thing at the same time!

I'm still in shock and my DH & friend were bummed that they were still grilling during the 1/2 time show.

LOL.

Hey dberg, good to see you.

 

[Mara]

Kam...here is a very long Epinions review I wrote for my TiVo in June 2002 which will maybe give you some more information on TiVo and it's affect on a personal life. Since then we have upgraded to the DirecTV TiVo unit which is the next gen, and the dual channel recording is SOOO amazing...it really is amazing how spoiled you get with a TiVo.

I also wonder if it is definitely more a Silicon Valley toy because TiVo is based here in the BayArea (I actually did a user study for them and tested a new product that has not yet come out), and alot of our East Coast or other state friends don't even know what TiVo is, much less have one. However, here...it's way more prevalent. As I noted, all our friends have them and those who don't...get one after seeing ours.

TiVo has broken the 1 million subscriber mark though this year I believe.




If you are thinking of switching from cable to DTV or similar, get the DTV TiVo unit, they are really pushing them so you can get one for something like $99...whereas we paid $300 for our original unit 3 years ago. I think that has to do with the large growth of subscribers, they make it so easy for you since it's built-in to your satellite box, so you just use it automatically.




-------




When people find out I have a TIVO..they always ask very innocently 'How do you like it?'. HOW DO I LIKE IT? I could be TIVO's spokesperson on how much I love it. I got it about 9 months ago and have been seriously addicted ever since. I love TV watching, but don't have alot of time to sit in front of the tube changing channels and trying to get the fickle VCR to tape things. So in the past..I would just watch what was on and make the best of it..if I missed a show I liked..I'd log onto the internet to read a synopsis of what happened.

Then my world changed. I got Sony SVR-2000 TIVO with 30 hours of recording time for my birthday in 2001. I had a bunch of old co-workers who were constantly spouting TIVO's numerous praises..so I'd heard about all these great things that the unit could do..but I in NO WAY was prepared for how it changed my life. Since I am usually on the go and have a busy lifestyle, watching TV was a snippet of time here and there..which doesn't work well when you have a VCR with one tape and hours of fast forwarding to do.

Now I just set up the TIVO for a show and off I go. When I return, I can watch 10 minutes while getting ready for work in the morning, 30 in the evening before making dinner, and ffwd instantly through the other 15 minutes of commercials! It's amazing how quickly a one hour show goes by..we've discovered we can watch a 1 hr show in 38 minutes. Talk about time management!

I can setup TIVO to tape anything with my favorite actors or actresses, search by a title of a movie that I'd like to see, or set it to tape all the 'award shows' that come on. It tries to be intuitive and figure out what I would like to see on its own..where it doesn't always succeed..but it makes a good effort. However, I could never quite figure out why it thinks I would want to watch a Korean soap opera...or a Spanish rodeo?

I always have TV to watch..and 95% of the time it's shows I never got to watch before TIVO, when I just had a VCR that was a pain to program. TIVO is pro-active, calling up my cable provider nightly to download the new listings of what is playing when, and then it makes adjustments to my Season Pass list and "To Do List" accordingly. Never again will I miss an episode of a show that normally aired on Wednesdays because the show was moved to Thursday for a week. TIVO will make the adjustment and never misses a beat. I probably never even realize that the show switched days.

Some of my favorite features of TIVO (because there's not enough room to list them all) are that you can view 'upcoming episodes' of a show and choose what you'd like to TIVO and what you want to bypass. You can view when a movie is playing over the next 2 weeks and add it to your list as opposed to just having to catch it on the fly. You can pause LIVE TV because TIVO caches up to 30 minutes of the channel you are on even if you are not actually recording it..just in case you turn on the TV and get caught up in what is on..you will have the last 30 minutes on cache for you to view immediately. The fast-fast forwarding is about 2-3 times as fast as f-fwd'ing with a VCR, enabling you to pack more TV watching minutes into a shorter period of time. TIVO also has this interesting 'thumbs up/thumbs down' functionality which lets you tell TIVO what you really like to see (3 thumbs up), what you are intrigued by (1 thumb up) and what you absolutely NEVER want to see again (e.g. Spanish rodeo which gets 3 thumbs down). The idea is that TIVO will then take its computer brain and start to filter out good and bad for you in the future, and will change it's 'suggestions' for you accordingly. It records less Spanish and Korean shows now that I've had it for 9 months.

Something important to note before you impulse buy is that the 'up to XX hours' recording time they advertise means that you are recording at lowest/basic quality to get that number of hours. My Sony unit is 'up to 30 hours' which means about 31 hours of basic recording (suitable for smaller TV's and non-action shows), about 20 of medium quality (better for high-action shows and more regular sized TVs (25-27") and about 11 of best quality (required for big screen TVs or else the image is more pixelated). Luckily, my TV is only smaller/average and so I am able to get away with more basic/medium shows and be able to record more hours. If you have a larger TV...I would get the units that have more space, such as the new one that just came out that is 60 hours, that would double your 'best' quality time to more around 25 hours most likely.

Also, the setup of the unit took a little more time than anticipated, the phone line connection was not working, etc..but somehow we managed to make it work. It took about a full evening (5-6 hours) to get it set-up and working correctly, so make sure you give yourself ample time so you don't get frustrated. One other thing about setup is that they did not have my local cable choice available, they had the provider and 'digital cable' but not the GOLD package which is what I had..which resulted in me missing a few channels that I could TIVO on. Since then I have downgraded to a SILVER package which is fine now..and the funny thing is that I did this because I was finding I didn't need GOLD any longer because I was recording 95% of my stuff on regular cable channels!

My wishlist on what they would change/fix would be that the units would be a little cheaper, that they would offer a 'trade-in upgrade' for when they come out with new units, as otherwise you have to go out and spend $400 for a brand new unit with the new functionality when you just bought yours a year ago. Also,some strange things that have happened with the TIVO is that it sometimes records odd choices of 'suggestions' (the aforementioned Spanish rodeo and Korean soap opera) when nothing in my prefs would suggest there was a correlation. Last but not least, probably the most disturbing problem I've had (and its not disturbing enough really..but once you have TIVO it becomes amazing how spoiled you can get!) is that sometimes the channels do not change correctly due to the IR setup, and TIVO will then tape the wrong show on the wrong channel. It would be great if the TIVO-geniuses could come up with a way for TIVO to communicate with the TV/cable to confirm that it is on the correct channel after it makes the attempt to change. I've missed a few shows by this happening, and you can modify your prefs to make the channel changes slower or faster and that is supposed to fix it..but its never 100%-maybe 95%. Oh and did I mention that if you get a TIVO you will suddenly find about 100 shows you never knew you wanted to watch..but suddenly you do? You'll be out of space in no time! Be prepared to spend some quality time with your couch if that happens.

To sum up the praise-fest..I love my TIVO and would NEVER give it up. I don't even think about the days before I had it..when I do I almost cringe. Life in the living room is so much more flexible and enjoyable now that I have the TIVO. The cute little dancing TIVO logo/image just makes the experience all the more pleasurable. GO TIVO-I will forever be a fan!

 

[Mara]

Oh and I thought the halftime show was AWESOME. It was 1000% better than the one they had last year...I loved the snippets of songs, esp some oldies-but-goodies like Janet's Rhythym Nation. The ending was actually hilarious to us because we could see Justin fumbling with her chest..trying to FIND the pull-off bra cover. Definitely not a smooth move!




I don't see things like that as disgusting because it's just flesh.

We all have it. After the whole Lil Kim/Diana Ross boob grab a year or so back, I am not surprised....not to mention the stuff that is in MTV videos nowadays...I think it's much harder to shock teens!

OH and I do have to say that I was seriously disappointed in the commercials this year!!! There wasn't ONE that really stood out as being SuperBowl worthy. The Jessica/Ms. Piggy one was funny but still not quite on par with past years. I mean since when do you see 'erectile dysfunction' commercials during the SB??!

 

[Kamuelamom]

Mara thanks for sharing you eopinion to further explain it to my simple mind.

You were right, it was long!

You certainly don't lack for an opinion, girl.

I thought halftime show itself was alright, though I've seen better.

But about the finale, I guess since I am not into MTV (talk about showing my age huh) I'm just not used to seeing "things like that." And I certainly don't view it as something I'd call normal or typical I'd like to see, or desire for my children to see, on national network TV in the mid of day, while watching a football game. We all have our thresholds I suppose.

Speaking of commercials I thought that Bud Light monkey one was too cute. In fact, it's the only one that really sticks out in my mind at the moment.

 

[Mara]

Yes this halftime show was not the *best* but better than last year! On the boob shot...considering all of the nudity on TV nowdays (e.g. Victoria's Secret Fashion Show which is pretty risque and is on primetime) and what is considered 'acceptable' for television stations...what was shown on the halftime show most likely didn't shock most. As for kids or teens...if they have access to MTV or half of the other cable channels, I am sure they didn't bat an eyelash. There have been shows on how violence and nudity permeates way more of the current television lifestyle than say 10-20 years ago, especially for kids and teens because of the strong television draw. It may not necessarily 'right', but it's true.

 

[fire&ice]

----------------
On 2/2/2004 2:42:48 AM Mara wrote:


! On the boob shot...considering all of the nudity on TV nowdays (e.g. Victoria's Secret Fashion Show which is pretty risque and is on primetime) and what is considered 'acceptable' for television stations...what was shown on the halftime show most likely didn't shock most. As for kids or teens...if they have access to MTV or half of the other cable channels, I am sure they didn't bat an eyelash. There have been shows on how violence and nudity permeates way more of the current television lifestyle than say 10-20 years ago, especially for kids and teens because of the strong television draw. It may not necessarily 'right', but it's true.
----------------

I'm with Kam on this; but, I don't have cable - so I don't know what's out there. Regarding the Victoria's Secret prime time special. I am quite appalled. I boycott VS. I will not buy *anything* there for myself or as gifts. In fact, I have taken it a step further & don't shop at any of the other Limited, Inc. stores. Mara, I think these things will bother you more when you have children. I didn't give it as much of a thought before my nieces & nephews came along. I'm not a prude. But - when you go to the mall w/ your friend and her pre-pubescent son & see a larger than life *very* suggestive basically nude cut out feet from the Victoria's Secret store - that's inappropriate. And, infringing on my rights. At least with TV, you can turn it off.

Regarding the TIVO, sound interesting. But, I pride myself on my inability to live in the 21st century.

Even w/ the little things - I don't own a food processer; but, I do own the best knives on the market.

Yes, I want to talk about anything except the superbowl.

This Panther fan is still crying in her beer.

 

[fire&ice]

----------------
On 2/2/2004 12:05:44 AM Mara wrote:


----------------

Funny, we were thinking the same thing. And, how about that cilaris (sp?) commercial - seek a doctor if it's up for more than *4* hours.

On the same note, my fav. was the dog/bud light commercial. But, I didn't think the commercials were very clever this year. Too many animals.

 

[dberg]

Regarding the JJ incident. It's not that I am offended by the sight of the female breast - it's the content in which it was displayed. There is a time and a place for nudity, I and I don't feel that the half-time show, during the dinner hour for many families is the correct time or place. This stunt was obviously for shock value, and I was offended by the blatant sexual nature of the song and the way very agressive manner in which JJ's breast was exposed.

 

[Mara]

Possibly when I have kids I may feel differently...but I'm not quite so sure. My youngest sister who I helped raise is 13 (born when I was 16) and while I feel very protective over her....she watches R rated movies, TV, MTV, VS, etc and she's still pretty darn innocent even on the age cusp that she's on between child and real teen.




Maybe it's just me but the half-naked picture or blowup of a model doesn't really faze me. It's just skin...we all have it. Americans are WAY more uptight than many other countries, they think we are prudes over here. I don't think that seeing a boob or a half-naked VS model is going to turn a good kid into some raging maniac or sexpot and I also tend to think that by showing something like disgust to that type of display gives the wrong message to the child. e.g. Skin is dirty. Quite possibly it's all in your delivery of how you explain it.




But then again, I don't have kids so who knows--something does seem to happen to change your point of views once you procreate.

However....we may not have kids so I may not ever know 'the other side'!

Anyway, I don't want this to turn into a debate on what's right for kids nowadays...since I quite obviously don't know!

I just didn't see anything SO wrong with the show. We actually got a laugh out of it and had to rewind it about 4 times to get the extra giggle out of Justin fumbling on the bra.

 

[fire&ice]

----------------
On 2/2/2004 12:51:28 PM Mara wrote:


Maybe it's just me but the half-naked picture or blowup of a model doesn't really faze me. It's just skin...we all have it.

It's not the skin that is dirty. Heck, his mother wears a bikini. BUT...she doesn't pose in an incredibily *provacative & suggestive* pose in public. There in lies the distinction. I'm not talking about people posing happy faced in a bra. And, one can choose whether to go see an R rated movie. One never expects to see this sort of thing walking in a dopey mall.

Funny, I must have been feeding my face. I actually missed the whole boob thing - even my husband - and men are hard wired for those sort of things

- missed it. I didn't know about it until the next day. My initial response wasn't outrage - it was "oh brother - what are they going to do to trump this shock value." I have no use for these dopey pop-stars.

But, I'm still w/ Kam. One doesn't expect to see that sort of thing in prime time show. Only time will tell Mara - but I reckon on that bet w/ Las Vegas odds.

While I'm sure you have a protective nature toward your sister, it's different.

And, aside from the close game & winning field goal

The boob exposure does seem to be the talk of the stupidbowl as the commercials (unless one had penile erectile disfunction) were rather ho-hum.

 

[Mara]

The game was actually quite awesome at the end and I am not a sports fan. Possibly I had more of an attention span as I had gorged myself and was quite done with food, so was actually able to pay more attention to the game...hee hee.




On a different note...what did people eat yesterday? We had chips and dip (ranch & green onion)...my FAVE which I have about 2ce a year since it's so bad for you....and pizza of course. Then for dessert we had Oreos and B&J coffee ice cream...yummy. Oh and Greg drank lots o' beer. Of course this morning I felt sick, but it felt good at the time. hee hee.

 

[jenibear]

I don't have kids and I'm not a prude, but I was offended by the JT/JJ spectacle.
I don't need to see a boob during football. To me, it was the wrong time and place for such a showing.
That being said, I have to agree with some other posters about the graphic nature of TV and ads nowadays. I'm in my mid-20s and it offends me.
I see how the trends affect the way people dress and it's just gross to see 12-year-olds walking around the mall with their boobs up to the chins and their pants down to the pubs.
I worry about what it will be like when I have kids. My fiance and I say all the time that people will be walking around naked by the time our future kids are teenagers. I don't want to see it frankly. If I want to see some skin, I'lll go find it and view on my own, I don't want it shoved in my face.
I don't understand the need to be known as sexy or risque. It always floored me in college that some girls tried to get by on their looks and how they dressed. How about showing off your intelligence, humor and kindness?
In the end I just don't consider it very classy.

 

[godiva]

The host of our party roasted a "Turducken". I don't know if that's a correct spelling. Has anyone else try this?
It's a turkey that's stuffed with a duck that is stuffed with a chicken. Very interesting. The name isn't very appetizing but it was actually pretty darn good eats!

 

[Mara]

Ooh I have wondered about the Turducken!! I had heard they were pretty good. You can mail-order them. Hmmm you liked it? I will have to get one for our gang to try it!

 

[godiva]

Yeah, it was suprisingly yummy. But I think I drank way too much beer for someone who doesn't drink any beer. That didn't settle too well in my tummy. But it made the commercials more interesting. What was everybody's favorite commercial?

 

[Mara]

The commercials this year were HORRIBLE. I was really disappointed. I think I saw TWO that were even SuperBowl type...and none that were really worth of SB coverage.




The only one I liked was the Jessica/Pizza Hut/Ms. Piggy one..but Greg liked one of the other ones, which of course I can't recall. Oh and he liked the new Ford car commercial too of course.

Most odd commercial? Definitely 'erectile dysfunction' pill. Show that during SB? I don't think so!!!

 

[godiva]

I do agree with you. They pay how many million for a slot? You would think that they would do a much better job. I thought the one with the donkey was sorta good. Jessica Simpson and Ms Piggy commercial was cute. Where was that Pepsi commercial? The one with Britney, Biance and Pink? It was suppose to be a big deal.

 

[Nicrez]

Question: how can anyone think that the whole Janet/Justin thing was actually a mistake, and that Janet was "suprised and embarrassed", when she has a new album, which has been playing songs from it all day on the radios here in NY?

I am disgusted and just sort of laugh at how sad the actors/music people are getting to seperate themselves, by the saddest most degrading things like quickie marraiges, half-naked displays, kissing girls (Madonna...), etc...Why do we even care?

By the way, F&I, I agree about the whole Vistoria's Secret thing, but think about what they have to compete with...all those lingerie stores like...and there's...oh and...yeah, I can't think of any fierce competition for them, but they sure do like to push the envelope.

I agree with you Mara about it just being flesh. I do disagree with their treatment of it. My parents are European, and raised as such I have no fear of the body, none whatsoever, perfect or imperfect as it is. Sad thing is it is not about a healthy image and pride in the body. It's used for sales, and basic carnal appeal. It is not art, and is never quite tasteful. Sadly this image pervades kids all around, US and outside. US kids are becoming so sexually provacative at 13 and sometimes younger. I saw a girl on the subway yesterday with an outfit that belonged on a dominatrix in some sick video (granted it was NYC), but when she turned around and smiled, I noticed she was no more than 15 and still had braces!

And Janet/Justin/Britney/Christina Aguilera do nothing to prtect that wholesome image that kids should be happy to have, at least until they can understand themselves and their own bodies! I watched R rated movies as a pre-teen, and even I knew to cover my eyes at certain points. Nowadays these kids see things I would be shocked to see now, and they don't even flinch. How sad is that? No kids yet, but I am figuring I can build a nice tall tower to raise them in for a few years...any suggestions on where I can build it?

 

[Mara]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/02/02/superbowl.jackson/index.html

 

[AGBF]

I hadn't been reading this thread since I don't follow football (or baseball or basketball or...well, you get the idea ). I was about to reprint this article from "The New York Times" in the Society forum, when I thought I had better check this thread first. Sure enough, you are talking about it. My daughter (age 11) had to tell me. I hadn't read about it and my husband, who watched the game at an athletic club, said they didn't see the show.

February 3, 2004
TV WATCH | SUPERBOWL
After Flash of Flesh, CBS Again Is in Denial
By ALESSANDRA STANLEY

Wardrobe malfunction" was the term Justin Timberlake used to explain why he bared Janet Jackson's breast at the end of their Super Bowl duet. Like "erectile dysfunction," a term used in halftime advertisements for Cialis, it was a somewhat startling euphemism.

If Monday morning quarterbacks are any guide, few people thought it was by accident that Mr. Timberlake's hand snaked across Ms. Jackson's torso as he reached the lyric, "I'll have you naked by the end of this song," and tore off one bustier cup, releasing a breast partly obscured by a sunburst-shaped nipple brooch. The gesture seemed timed to more than the music: the very next commercial was a close-up of Ms. Jackson's cleavage in a gaudy promotion for next week's Grammy Awards on CBS. (Ms. Jackson denies that the nudity was deliberate, saying that Mr. Timberlake was supposed to rip away only the top layer and leave a bit of red lace behind.)

And nobody really has any reason to believe CBS when the network insists that it did not know the bodice ripping was in the works. That is not just because MTV produced the halftime show for CBS and both companies are owned by Viacom. One does not have to subscribe to conglomerate conspiracy theory to be suspicious. CBS has told so many howlers over the past 18 months that any claim to dignity — and righteous indignation — by this network is now open to snickering.

CBS insisted there was no quid pro quo when it sent Pfc. Jessica Lynch a letter suggesting that an exclusive interview with CBS News would be rewarded with other lucrative contracts within the Viacom empire.

CBS insisted that its decision to cancel the mini-series "The Reagans" had nothing to do with the right-wing lobbying campaign that threatened a boycott of advertisers' products.

And the network insisted that it did not sweeten a deal with Michael Jackson to secure a "60 Minutes" interview with him after his arrest last November as the network was preparing a Michael Jackson entertainment special.

Implausible deniability and the fungible walls between news and entertainment, and between art and commerce, exist at every major network. But like a high school student caught smoking pot by the principal, CBS can hardly wriggle free by arguing that everybody does it.

The beauty of the Janet Jackson to-do is that it could well be the one case in which CBS is telling the truth, and like the little network that cried wolf, nobody is listening. The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Michael Powell, was watching, however. He called the incident a "classless, crass and deplorable stunt" and called for a "thorough and swift" F.C.C. investigation. The National Football League also took umbrage, huffily announcing it was unlikely to invite MTV to produce a halftime show anytime soon. Perhaps the league will turn to MTV's rival cable music station, VH1. (That should work. VH1 is also owned by Viacom.)

Even trussed as she was in a shiny "Matrix"/dominatrix outfit, Janet Jackson, 37, has never had much luck being taken seriously as a sex symbol, and it is unlikely that her Super Bowl surprise will be of much help there. But if her aim was to grab all the attention, as Madonna did when she kissed Britney Spears at the MTV Video Music Awards, then she did herself proud. And if she wanted to distract attention from her older, more famous and now more infamous brother Michael, then she achieved even that for a moment.

Her sudden flare of pre-Grammy attention and publicity came at a slight cost. Perhaps the one moment of honesty in that coldly choreographed tableau was when the cup came off and out tumbled what looked like a normal middle-aged woman's breast instead of an idealized Playboy bunny implant.

The N.F.L. was apparently put off by much of the MTV halftime show, not just Ms. Jackson's uninvited breast. And one can understand the league's confusion. Does anyone who loves the CBS hit "Everybody Loves Raymond" enjoy watching the hip-hop singer Nelly repeatedly grab his crotch, as he did in the halftime show? (Viacom, like Gaul, is divided into at least three very different parts).

But if the N.F.L. was really so shocked and appalled, why didn't it flinch at the Cialis advertisement that promised men 36 hours of relief from impotence, then warned that if they should experience an erection for four hours straight, they should seek "immediate medical care"?

On television sincerity can be measured only by sacrifice. If the N.F.L. really found the halftime show so objectionable, perhaps it should reconsider giving Super Bowl rights to the highest bidder and instead select the network that promises to adhere to the N.F.L.'s self-image of wholesome good fun.

CBS could decide it cannot risk another such risqué assault on what it deliciously still refers to as its "broadcast standards" and recuse itself from carrying the Grammy Awards. A network's regret and remorse can be best judged by its willingness to lose ratings, and CBS so far has shown none.

Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company | Home | Privacy Policy | Search | Corrections | Help |

 

[Rank Amateur]

Halftime was perfect. Just long enough so that I could bathe the three kids. Other than Mara, I haven't found anyone who gave a rats ass about the halftime show.

The Budwiser commercial where the wife was screaming at the ref/husband was a hoot!

p.s. Deb, if you actually watch the event, you don't need to be handed your opinion from the "society forum"!

 

[AGBF]

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On 2/2/2004 11:30:30 PM Rank Amateur wrote:


p.s. Deb, if you actually watch the event, you don't need to be handed your opinion from the 'society forum'!

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Thanks for the heads up, R/A. Just so long as you realize that since I don't, I do.

Your friend,
Deb