Robert Goulet is Messing With my Stuff

Yesterday was the Super Bowl. I watched the game at Eric's house like last year. I don't really want to talk about the game, but to sum up, Rex Grossman proved to be the better quarterback by single-handedly winning the game for the Colts. Yet he was robbed of the MVP award just because of all the sentimental fawning over perennial bridesmaid Peyton Manning. Grossman (or "Gross, Man!" as every sports headline writer on the planet referred to him this morning) did everything he could to ensure the Colts' victory. He threw interceptions, fumbled, turned an easy second and one into third and twenty-two, and otherwise made sure that Chicago's offense was on the field for as little time as possible. And did anyone on the Colts' side even bother to thank him for his tireless effort to help their cause? Did Manning thank Lovie Smith for inexplicably not benching Grossman for Brian Griese in a game that was still totally winnable even up until the last moronic drive? I hope Indianapolis fans will at least send these two guys a thank you card or something.

Unless you're one of those people that are "happy to see a nice guy like Manning" finally get his dues and blah blah blah, the game was completely unwatchable after such a great first quarter. As for me, (and probably Dan Marino) I think Manning should stick to doing commercials. Especially since this year's crop was pretty weak. And by pretty weak I mean mind-numbingly awful. There were a couple of good ones, like the suicidal robot (which some people apparently found offensive. People need to lighten up.) And can someone please get godaddy.com to stop making what they imagine to be "outrageous and controversial" commercials? They're not outrageous or controversial; they're stupid and lame. Not as lame as trucks on giant see-saws, or Rex Grossman, but pretty damn close.

Also, I'm glad I'm not black, because I think the level of pandering Frito-Lay stooped to with their "Whoever wins, we all win"--or whatever it was with all the black people watching the game while eating Frito-Lay products--was borderline insulting. When the Bears beat the Saints, a big deal was made about him being the first black head coach to get to the Superbowl. And when the Colts won their game a few hours later and it was clear that both teams headed to the Superbowl had black coaches, the media took it and drilled it into our collective heads and made sure that every man, woman and child knew it. Hey, did you know that Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith are black? Really? And they're friends? You don't say! And that it's Black History Month? Let's milk this thing for two solid weeks! How long have they been black coaches? I did giggle like a schoolgirl when they said this is the first time in Super Bowl history that two brothers (Carl and Perry Paganel) were officiating the game.

It's 2007. Why is this a big deal? I mean, hey good for them (Smith and Dungy, not the brothers, but good for them, too, I guess). I think it's great, but the reason it hasn't happened until now is simply because no team that played in previous Super Bowls was coached by a black man. It wasn't malevolent forces keeping black coaches from going to the Super Bowl, just better teams (or being named Dennis Green). The Patriots got there and won it all three times with Romeo Crennel, but he was a defensive coordinator so he doesn't count. I don't know, making a big deal out of something that was inevitable but hadn't happened yet almost seemed like taking a big step backward. Aren't we beyond looking at people in terms of skin color? Can't they just be coaches? I guess what I'm really trying to say, when you get right down to it, is Rex Grossman sucks. Hard.