Super Bowl XLII
Let’s hear it for old rock ‘n rollers and underdog teams, with the NY Giants thrilling win over the Patriots! Tom Petty–looking dapper and not much the worse for wear since Hearbreakers broke out…can it be 30 years ago?–rocked the crowd with a four-song set of American Girl, I Won’t Back Down, Free Fallin’ and Runnin’ Down a Dream. It’s all about the hair. See, just as a few examples: Jackson Browne, Mick Jagger. Don’t see: James Taylor, Paul Simon. (Nothing against their music, after all these years. Rock on.) Not a nipple in sight, or any phallic symbols, a la Prince’s guitar shadow last year. Wait, what about those arrows moving toward the heart of the Heartbreakers?
Massive, huge ratings. A record 97.5 million people watched the Fox broadcast, a number that ranked second only to the MASH finale in 1983. That show drew 106 million viewers back in the three-network television day. Previous Super Bowl record audience: 94.08 million, set when Dallas beat Pittsburgh in ’96.
And about those dancing lizards: not gonna make me want to drink Sobe Life Water….
