Spiegel: Super Bowl XLV Living Room Over/Unders Results
By Matt Spiegel--
All results below, in italics. Some surprising, some right about where we set the line.
1. Of the total commercials in the first half of play, which will be represented more; beer or cars? 3 years ago, this was an even split…4 to 4, last two years it was 5-3…won't tell you which one.
This was a landslide, cars over beer, 11-3. It's a fascinating development, speaking to the economy's health, the car industry's desperation, or both.
2. Stole this one from a prop bet we heard…it's too good. Christina Aguilera is doing the National Anthem. How long will she hold the word "brave" at the end of the song? This includes any and all notes hit after the "b," and concludes when the sound out of her mouth is complete. An unexpected breath in the middle does not change the rules. Be ready to count…a stopwatch would be a plus. The over/under is 5.5 seconds.
This was way over…10.2 seconds by my stopwatch app count, and included a breath! Add in the lyric disaster, and she had a very odd night.
3. Predict the total verbal or image references during the game for the very special episode of GLEE, coming up on FOX right after the game. The over/under is 5 and ½.
This looked very low in the first half, but once Fox was done pimping the halftime show, the Glee numbers soared. Total was 7 or 8, way over when we stopped counting.
4. Predict the total verbal or image references during the game for AMERICAN IDOL, with new episodes coming up on Tuesday and Wednesday. The over/under is 6 and 1/2.
Way under…2 total. Fox spent a lot more time and money pimping their new series, The Chicago Code, which debuts tonight.
5. Predict the total number of camera shots of Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers and his absolutely horrific toupee. If FOX cuts to him several times in the midst of a conversation, all shots count individually. Bonus question: are we sure that's a toupee, or is it just an impossibly dark, full comb-over? It's Gene Keady-like. The over/under is 2 and 1/2.
Total was 2, under. Some at our party were praying for this to go over in the final seconds.
6. Predict the total number of camera shots of the skybox or seat containing Commissioner Roger Goodell. Will Joe Buck and Troy Aikman talk about the labor situation? Again, if FOX cuts to him several times in the midst of a conversation, all shots count individually. Same rules as the others; final gun is the capper. The over/under is 1 and 1/2.
Under, not one. Long commercial before kickoff, and of course the presentation after, but not once in-game.
7. Predict the total mentions, verbal or image, of the Chicago Bears. Same rules as the others; each shot or reference counts individually, and the final gun is the capper. The over/under is 3 and ½.
Over, but you had to look carefully. Each representation of the Bears in the excellent NFL commercial using the television clips counted as one, so there were two there, plus a halftime mention among others.
8. How many replay reviews will there be? How many times will referee Walt Anderson go under the hood? The over/under is 3 and 1/2.
Under; just one replay review, on the Swain incompletion.
9. Predict the total number of close-up camera shots of Brent Keisel's face, featuring his outstanding beard. The over/under is 3 and 1/2.
His first sighting got a lot of beard talk from Buck and Aikman, leading to optimism. But , it came in under, just barely…official total was 3.
10. Name 3 former super bowl winning quarterbacks who will be mentioned by name. This can be in the form of a comparison, or a statistical record, or in any other context. ________________, __________________, and __________________.
Should have specified that Ben Roethlisberger would not have counted…hopefully you made the adjustment. QB's named were: Joe Montana, Steve Young, Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, and Tom Brady. There was not a single Brett Favre mention, in a shocker.
The winners at our party tied with 6 correct answers, and each named 2 of the 3 possible QB's in question 10. They agreed to split the prize of a bottle of champagne and 20 bucks. The fact that one of the winners was 15 made the decision on how to split it an easy one.
Not a bad game, NFL, good job.
