Super Bowling

As far as I'm concerned, the holiday season officially ends tomorrow.

With Super Bowl Sunday.

A football game has turned into a spectacle of epic proportions. If the game were played on a weekday, I suspect there would have been some act of Congress declaring the day of the event to be a national holiday.

Are you ready for some football -- the last football we'll see until late summer?

I am.

It's no secret that I am a sports aficionado of the highest magnitude. Especially football, both college (GO GATORS!) and pro. And basketball (GO CELTICS!). And sometimes baseball. Oh, and the Olympics (coming to us this summer...) Tennis, too. Golf -- not so much. Except for the major tournaments. Never NASCAR...zzzzzzzzzzzzz. And while hockey's fun, I don't follow it like I should.

See what I mean. Love. It.

I don't really have a favorite in the game tomorrow --even though I have a little crush on Michael Strahan. I just want to see a good, competitive 60 minutes on the field. And a fairly interesting halftime show. My Gainesville boys Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are playing -- excellent. No chance for a wardrobe malfunction with these guys -- at least not an intentional one. *crosses fingers*

The game, halftime show and a little pre-and-post commentary would be enough to make me a happy sports-lovin' girl.

But the programming geniuses at Fox don't necessarily agree. New to their 21-hour-coverage of the game: a red carpet feature. Hosted by Ryan Seacrest.

WTF?

Now, I'm as big a fan of red carpet shenanigans as the next awards-show junkie. They're just part of the fabric of those events. I'm happy to settle in at 6 o'clock on Oscar night to see who's wearing what and why and how. If you think about it, that is a sporting event of a different feather. Marabou feathers, to be more exact.

But... why do I want or need to see Seacrest chatting up people going to a bloody football game? Seriously.

I mentioned this fact on one of my web playgrounds: Pop Life, a blog helmed by Sean Daly, pop music critic for the St. Petersburg Times. One of my blog buddies, a very witty fellow who calls himself Jeff in Cuba, provided the perfect commentary:

Red carpet at the Super Bowl? How is that going to work?

Ryan: Oh look, here comes New Jersey janitor, and longtime Giants fan, Joey Bartolo!

Joey: Wassup?

Ryan: I've got to tell you Joey, you look great. Who are you wearing?

Joey: Uh,... I think this a Hanes Beefy T.

Ryan: And I see you've got your inflatable "Thunder Sticks".
We're seeing a lot of those on the red carpet this year; they're the new "Foam Finger".

Joey: Yeah, whatever.

Ryan: And what's that on your lapel? Is that Versace?

Joey: No, I think it's salsa...

Check out Jeff's post in context.

Trainwreck or surprising success? I'll be the judge. Probably right about this time tomorrow.

ETA: Here's a Sports Illustrated.com piece on the Fox coverage. Lots of information about the who and what and yes, the why. Best tidbit: My TV Husband Alec Baldwin is the narrator the Road to the Super Bowl piece. His dulcet tones describing football... I'm so there. Rowr.

One more thing... here's a sneaky-peak at a commercial that'll run during the game. If it doesn't make you smile, then I'll eat my hat. With cheese sauce on it. Washed down with a beer. Maybe alongside some chips. And salsa.