Super Bowl XLII: It’s Going To Be Super!

Tom Brady. His other name is Matt Damon. They’re twins. They look alike. The only difference is, even if Matt Damon is well-built and can jump from 22-foot-tall buildings like what we saw in “The Bourne Ultimatum,” he’s unlike Tom Brady who towers at 6-foot-4, has graced the covers of GQ Magazine 235,280 times, has a child with actress Bridget Moynahan (from “I, Robot”) and whose current girlfriend is, according to the Guinness Records, the “world’s richest supermodel,” Gisele Bundchen.

And Matt, sorry—you’re not the most famous American in the world today. Tom Brady is! I’m serious. Tom is no Cruise or Hanks and he’s not on CNN running for President like Barack Obama, but later today—Sunday in the U.S.—all eyes will be transfixed on one man: Mr. Brady.

The reason? Super Bowl XLII.

It’s an occurrence that happens only once a year in America when all 300 million of them pause, munch on Doritos, sit on couches, and stare at a flat screen. You see, the Super Bowl is the year’s single most-watched American TV broadcast.

Tom? He’s the quarterback. And the QB, in this game, is the main actor, the Roger Federer at Wimbledon, the Will Smith in “I Am Legend,” he’s Sting in a The Police concert.

But what makes this Super Bowl unlike any other in history is this: It’s historic. It’s as rare as a Haley’s Comet. Because the New England Patriots, where Brady is the lead actor, has gone from Game 1 to Game 18 undefeated and, if they win on Sunday, they’ll not only conclude with a 19-0 scorecard but, in all certainly, will be proclaimed “the greatest team in NFL history.”

And isn’t football America’s No.1 sport?

Well, it used to be. Not anymore. It’s been relegated to No. 2—dislodged by a new sport that has gobbled up the nation called “Eating.” But seriously, football is no.1—not soccer, that’s Europe’s favorite—but the sport with helmets, foam paddings and that brown, odd-shaped ball that twirls and bounces funny.

So the stage is all-set: Brady and the Patriots, who’ve won three of the last seven Super Bowl titles, against the New York Giants. But before you think the Super Bowl is all about touchdowns and eleven 275-pounders versus eleven 285-pounders, it’s not. It’s more than a game. In the U.S., it’s a “holiday,” when dads and sons, buddies, and Budweiser beer all mix.

The SB XLII is also about the Half-Time Show. This year, it’s Tom Petty. Sorry, I’m unfamiliar with Petty’s songs but I am with the previous years’ performers: Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and, last year, Prince. The most infamous performers? Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, when the latter “accidentally” tore off part of Janet’s wardrobe to expose her bare breast.

What else? The Super Bowl is about TV commercials. No kidding. The year’s most-awaited advertisements are aired here—and they’re also the most expensive: a 30-second ad costs $2.7 million! But they’re excellent ads. I recall the Budweiser, Apple, Coca-Cola commercials of previous years as my favorite.

When is the Super Bowl? It will be played in Glendale, Arizona on Feb. 3 at 6:30 p.m. EST. Here, that should be at 7 a.m. tomorrow (Monday), RP time. The problem? It’s on Solar Sports. Yikes! This is bad. Same case with last night’s Z vs. V fight at the Waterfront—that was via Solar Sports.

So, like I did a few years ago when I watched with Ray Sangil, Harry Radaza, Carlos de los Santos and many in Cebu who play Flag Football, I’ll troop to find a bar that will air the game. I might go to Bravio, the new bar along A.S. Fortuna (it replaced Camp Zitro), or to Badgers (along Banilad), if they show it. Wherever the place, I hope you watch it. Or see the replay. For who knows, Tom Petty might bare his chest, Microsoft might show a TV commercial saying it bought Yahoo!, and, to top all that, the Giants win! GIANTS WIN? Now that, my dear readers, will be an upset worthy to be called…. SUPER!