Super Bah...or...Super Meh

I'm going to go on the record and say that the Super Bowl is overrated. I'm not going to say it's not a big deal because it's obviously a huge deal. It's always the highest-rated show of the year, it's a billion-dollar event, and advertisers treat it like their own version of Christmas. Even internationally, the Super Bowl is a major event that everyone stops down for.

I just think, to me, it's overrated.

It probably goes back to the idea that I'm a Cowboys fan more than a fan of the NFL. So if the Cowboys aren't playing, I don't really care a whole lot about the game itself. I have this issue where I can only really watch a sport if I have a rooting interest - it's one of the reasons why I play fantasy football...so that I can watch Browns/Jets during the season.

But it doesn't matter in the playoffs. Without individual players to root for, I don't care about a game between the Colts and the Ravens. Or the Saints and the Cardinals. And, no, not even the Saints and the Colts in the Super Bowl.

There are times when I root against certain teams. I rooted against the Patriots because I didn't want the smug Bill Belicheck to get a perfect season. I rooted against the Eagles because I despise their fans, and I don't want them to ever be happy. I rooted against the Steelers because my boss likes them, and he's a bit arrogant when his team is the champion.

Do I ever cheer for teams? Not really. If the Cowboys don't win, I don't really want anyone to win. And while there are certain guys that I like in the league (both Brees and Manning are examples), I don't particularly care if they win the Super Bowl or not. Both Peyton and Brees have millions of dollars, and they get to play football for a living. I think they'll be okay without this Super Bowl win.

And, yeah, the games have been pretty good recently, but I'm still typically footballed out by the time the Super Bowl comes around. Because if the Cowboys aren't playing, it means that I've probably been disappointed at some point in the season. And once the Cowboys' season is over, I turn my attention to the Mavs and Stars. It's just how I work.

But there's the other part of the Super Bowl - the commercials. I'll admit to being a bit of a girl in the sense that I usually like the ads just as much as I like the game. The Super Bowl is one of those rare times when you don't switch away when the game goes to commercial; in fact, if the game is dragging, you sort of hope that the game will just take a break so you can see the next funny ad.

Recently, though, the ads haven't been that great. There are three or four that are pretty funny, but considering how much money these companies spend, it's odd that more don't go all out. Do something elaborate, epic, or hilarious. If it doesn't meet one of those categories, I don't see the point in paying the extra money.

And then there's the other side to it - all the ads are now online before the night is over. It used to be that, if you wanted to watch a Super Bowl ad, you had to watch the game. They were never going to be shown again, and there was no way to go back and see something.

These days, if you missed something, you can re-watch it. And if you missed them all, there will be a million "top ads" lists where you can watch only the best. You can even go back and watch the best ads from previous years to feel nostalgic.

So, even if the commercials are good, you don't have to watch the game to watch the ads. Everything is pretty set for you.

All in all, the Super Bowl just isn't that big of a deal for me. The last couple of years, I've simply watched portions of the game by myself because I don't see a lot of sense in making an event out of it. It's probably crazy and un-American of me, but I stand by this opinion.

And I'm sure if more Americans were honest about it, many would agree with me.