Clint Eastwood: "'This country can’t be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again, and when we do the world is going to hear the roar of our engines.' The [Super Bowl] commercial, '
Halftime in America,' didn’t reveal its sponsor until the final seconds, when Chrysler logos appeared briefly, but it has already become a classic, and perhaps inevitably in this election year, a
political football.
* [more inside]
posted by ericb
on Feb 6, 2012 -
182 comments
"
Gridiron League is a collection of idealized NFL insignias that pay tribute to each team's history and geography in a period-specific aesthetic that glorifies the Vince Lombardi-era over the
Cold-Activated-era. This is not an exercise in nostalgia but an interpretation of the league's founding principles through the symbols that we, as football fans, identify with most."
[more inside]
posted by Doleful Creature
on Jan 25, 2012 -
45 comments
Before there were yuppies, there were uppies—the term Up With People members use to refer to themselves. Most Americans over the age of 35 are vaguely familiar with Up With People, as its cast members have sung to more than 20 million people worldwide, and at the height of the ensemble’s fame it provided the halftime entertainment at four Super Bowls (1976, 1980, ’82, ’86). But many are unaware of the group’s cultish utopian ideology, its political connectedness, and how it was funded by corporate America, part of a deliberate propaganda effort to discredit liberal counterculture in the 1960s and ’70s. In the documentary Smile ’Til It Hurts: The Up With People Story (Storey Vision), writer-director-producer Lee Storey provides a thorough, balanced look at the organization’s history, demonstrating “what can happen when ideology, money and groupthink converge to co-opt youthful idealism.” [more inside]
posted by Trurl
on Aug 14, 2011 -
93 comments
The Who Dat nation is composed of
long-suffering,
widespread,
well-dressed,
ballsy,
divinely inspired (?),
stubborn,
parading,
boundary-crossing,
musical, and - as of tonight -
very happy citizens.
What's the deal with "Who Dat," anyway?
posted by honeydew
on Feb 7, 2010 -
87 comments
It's not uncommon for the mayors of two cities locked in sports competition to make
friendly wagers. But, do the cities' art museums do too? Apparently, they
do.
posted by Leezie
on Jan 28, 2010 -
26 comments
It's time to get ready for the Super Bowl... Ads! Adland has freely available archives of 37 years of commercials from the big game, over 2,800 ads - from 1969, when
Winston,
Salem,
Camel,
Tareyton,
Pall Mall, and
Silva Thins smoked up the Bowl *
cough-cough*, all the way to 2008, when the best-liked ad was
Bud's dalmation inspiration (how do we know it was best liked?
SCIENCE!). Some highlights of the collection include:
[more inside]
posted by taz
on Jan 29, 2009 -
40 comments
Hacking The Superbowl. John Hargrave spends $40,000 for an elaborate Superbowl prank -- duping the feds, cops, and stadium security in order to pass out thousands of lights to fans, who were told they would spell out "Prince" during the halftime show. Instead, they spell out, uh... well,
something. Just what they spell is unclear (though
some are having fun "
guessing") and Hargrave hasn't said yet (his write-up is up to
part 5, hopefully of 6).
Can you tell? And was it worth the effort, or is this just an expensive dud?
posted by notmydesk
on Feb 14, 2007 -
71 comments
Motown history traded for Super Bowl parking. (mostly audio) The Motown Center in Detroit was torn down a few weeks ago and turned into Super Bowl parking. Although not the main recording studios, and long abandoned, it still contained many Motown documents and memorabilia, most of which were lost in the razing. Covered by local bloggers: dETROITfUNK (
1,
2) , Detroit Blog (
1,
2,
3,
4), and
Kempa, plus local
tv.
posted by caddis
on Feb 6, 2006 -
46 comments
Jerome Bettis is a hometown hero. After "leading" (OK, he doesn't play much anymore) his
Pittsburgh Steelers to
Super Bowl XL in his native Detroit, the locals came out to celebrate the future Hall of Famer. Last week was declared "Jerome Bettis Week" in Detroit and Bettis was awarded the key to the city. The last person to receive such an honor from the city?
Saddam Hussein in 1980.
posted by b_thinky
on Feb 6, 2006 -
29 comments
The Steelers were 7-5, then won their final four regular-season games to secure the AFC's last playoff spot. They went to Cincinnati and won a wild-card game. They won at Indianapolis, which had the league's best record. And then they handed Denver its first home loss in the AFC championship game.
And now they're the first 6th seed playoff team ever to
win the Super Bowl. History made.
posted by allkindsoftime
on Feb 5, 2006 -
138 comments
It's All About the Puppy Bowl. To compete with yesterday's SuperBowl, the Animal Planet Channel aired three hours of puppies wrestling on a football field mat. There was no commentary and very little sound. 'Brilliant' does not begin to describe the result.
posted by schambers
on Feb 7, 2005 -
50 comments
Everything about the Super Bowl ads is here. You can vote on your favorites and least favorites, see what the experts picked, see the controversial spots that didn't make the cut, and more. (There are also links to info about some game that was played yesterday).
My favorites? The Ameriquest ads: the one where the cat knocks over the sauce and it looks to the girlfriend like the guy is killing the cat, and the ad where the guy at the convenience store is mistaken for a robber.
posted by braun_richard
on Feb 7, 2005 -
43 comments
Budweiser is pulling their "wardrobe malfunction" ad from the Super Bowl because they think someone might be offended by it. But, you can see the ad
here: -- after going through their tough "age filter" and then clicking to the commercial. When you can't even make fun of stuff begging to made fun of anymore, that will be a sad day.
posted by narebuc
on Jan 26, 2005 -
40 comments
If you like breasts and freedom, you might want to check out a new movement to
Boycott the Grammys. The site links to various
essays in support of Janet and opposition to the FCC and corporate reactions to the event. I suppose they want to send a message to advertisers by skipping it but it'll probably be about as effective as
the class-action suit at accomplishing anything.
posted by mathowie
on Feb 7, 2004 -
90 comments
Janet Jackson's
breast has
become the most searched-for image in (Lycos)
net history, even beating searches for 11 September. Nice to see everyone has their priorities straight.
posted by MintSauce
on Feb 5, 2004 -
47 comments
Janet Jackson pops out of dress at Super Bowl; CBS Apologizes. Note that this happened during Justin Timberlake's lyric of "I'm gonna get you naked by the end of this song." ..."It was not intentional and is regrettable," said Timberlake. Please direct all complaints to Viacom (owners of CBS, which aired the Super Bowl, and MTV, which produced the half-time show), if you felt offended. Me? I was pleased — it was one of the more entertaining half-time shows I've seen. Who needed the
Lingerie Bowl?
posted by Down10
on Feb 1, 2004 -
243 comments
