Shilling

Is there anything else to say about tomorrow's Super Bowl?

Actually, there is.

If you read the profile, you may be aware that sports media is one-half of my professional life. The other happens to be in a (at least to me) equally fascinating world of advertising. Now, because of where I work (hello, fellow colleagues), there's is supposed to be a move vested interest in the extravaganza because of the commercials produced and purchased for some clients. While I cannot reveal (nor would I) who they are, I will say that they will be some of the most talked-about and Googled offerings during and after the affair on Monday morning.

However, with no disrepect to my company nor the industry at-large, don't expect me to jump in.

I may seem like a football elitist to anyone who has read that statement and that really doesn't bother me. As discussed in the past, this NFL championship game is the culmination of five months of hard work from the players, coaches, executives (most of them) and the good football media along with the passion of fans. The Super Bowl is the most watched event in the American sports calendar because from early September until now, we spent six days a week from in anticipation for a few hours on Sundays. While the sway of advertisers is nothing new to football (as it has helped the league grow from nearly-outlawed status to pop culture phenomenon), it's a little frustrating to know that most of the onlookers are only going to turn to NBC tomorrow for a few poorly-written ads that in an absurd way, determines if they enjoyed the game itself or not.

Hey, I can't say that I won't watch the commercials (I'll pass on halftime for reasons stated in a link below), but on Monday, be prepared to discuss what happened on the field before discussing which company's ad came on the third pod during the second quarter.

However, I do ask that if you are part of the extras who haven't watched a game all year (and there are millions of you), read this before taking part in the unoffical national holiday festivities.

Meanwhile, here are a few articles for your perusal. Most are thoughts related to tomorrow's game, but a few are related to other happenings in the sports world that you should key in on throughout the week.

• Your Class of 2009 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame - Baseball has their great two-man class and this is certainly one of the best in the history of the game. There's another HOF that you will hear about in a few weeks, one that is relatively low-key compared to the others... until this year when one player will officially become eligible.
• An excellent piece from Yahoo! Sports' Charles Robinson about Arizona's Darnell Dockett.
• Sticking with Yahoo! Sports, MJD at Shutdown Corner tells the truth here: why no one will ever enjoy the halftime show.
• Your last minute pre-game rundown of your advertisers from Ad Age.
• WIRED Magazine gives you the online aspect of the game's biggest advertisers.
• BusinessWeek's Burt Helm says that the ad world hopes for the best in what will be a SB with a few less eyeballs.
• Straying from the pros for a bit, my blogging buddy over at Mixed Race America goes on a tangent from her usual subject matter: imagine your favorite Division I (or whatever it's called now) college football team having a bake sale to stay afloat... just imagine because it's highly unlikely, but read on.
• Finally, because you need a laugh.

Please, oh PLEASE: if you head out for a SB gathering and throw down a few drinks, just leave your keys at home or make nice with the designated driver. DUIs/DWIs are far too commonplace (one is too damn much) and because our wallets are a bit more strectched these days, no one can or should bail you out for being stupid.