Super Bowl Surprises

Let's have a moment of silence for the Broncos.




Thank you. Moving on to what's important: good things about the Super Bowl. Because for once, there were so many!!

If you didn't watch, I understand. First of all, not everyone loves football. Secondly, who could even want to love it when the commercials are primarily composed of beer and half naked women?

No thanks.

But this year, something about the whole Super Bowl was completely different. So different, in fact, that it kept my husband and I talking the whole drive home from my sister's house. Instead of focusing on the beer, hyper-sexualized women, dirty jokes, and straight-up potty humor, the Super Bowl had a sort of...soft feel to it. Commercials included puppies, soldier's homecomings, "if you're happy and you know it," a new definition of American unity, and the most adorable return of Cheerio's best spokesgirl.

It pretty much blew America's mind.

Not to say that the old ways were obsolete, but there was really an entirely different atmosphere about the commercials and the Super Bowl production itself. The pre-game show included a wonderful tribute to how awesome the U.S.A. is and a beautiful segment to pay respect to one of the announcers (commentators?) who couldn't be there due to the death of his father just a few days before. If you've got some time, you can watch that here:

Tell me you aren't impressed. Seriously, cool points to the pre-game show producers, because wow. Not to mention the second tribute to the troops during the incredible half time show by Bruno Mars.

I will shamelessly freak out over that performance. It was so good. My favorite part? No naked women. Not a single one. Granted, there was a shirtless 51-year-old dude rocking out pretty hard (thanks, Red Hot Chili Peppers), but somehow that isn't nearly as offensive to me as thirty 20-somethings walking around in what (sort of?) used to be some kind of bathing suit before somebody's Catnip-crazed feline got a hold of it and tore it to shreds.

Bottom line: Bruno Mars blew everybody away with actual talent and pure entertainment, without any need of gimmicks to pull it off. With the exception of the first song (and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, sorry), it was good old fashioned performing at it's best. Here's the finale song with troops dedicating the song to friends, family members, etc. If you're me, get the tissues:

It was so refreshing to not have to switch stations because of the crude content that usually accompanies the Super Bowl. I am really hoping that everything that happened this Super Bowl is a sign of things to come and not just a fluke!