TV: Superbowl XL

Superbowl scribblings

The build up to Superbowl XL in Detroit focussed on one player overall - Jerome Bettis. Jerome may play for Pittsburgh, but he is a Detroit boy. Better yet he's in the last year of his career, and has made it to the Superbowl for the first time in 13 years of trying. I lost count of the number of times different commentators and interviewers used the word "fate" when they talked about him. It made me wish I'd bet some money on the other team because fate rarely turns out how you expect it to.

However, when it comes to fate, you have to wonder if the people who chose the entrance music knew what was coming next? The Seattle Seahawks ran out to Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve, while the Pittsburgh Steelers came out to the much more upbeat Right Here, Right Now by Fatboy Slim.

Their entrances followed a Motown tribute led by Stevie Wonder. With The Rolling Stones stealing the half-time gig, the legends of Motown had to make do with opening the game's proceedings in their home city of Detroit. Besides, did they even tell Stevie Wonder he was at The Superbowl? I bet they just told him it was Live Aid 3 and kept his fee.

What followed was a medley of classic hits by Motown greats. And Joss Stone. I think she was there so that middle-American kids didn't get too scared by all the old black people. If little old Joss can handle it, then they can take their Klan hat off for one day.

There was one surreal moment when Aretha Franklin was announced to the crowd and the cameras cut to Aaron Neville. "Wow, she's really let herself go" I thought before my brain kicked in properly. What followed was a version of the Star Spangled Banner that Bleeding Gums Murphy would have been proud of.

You have to feel sorry for the two Sky Sports commentators who had to keep plugging the interactive service. What they're basically saying is, "You can listen to the crap we're going to spout, or you can press red and choose Option 2 to listen to brilliant live ABC commentary by John Madden and Al Michaels." You can't tell me the entire UK audience didn't immediately press the red button.

The game itself was a bit of a let down - low scoring in the first half and not enough fight from the Seahawks once they went behind. If anything, the one thing that stood out was the number of mistakes and penalties that stopped the game really catching fire. Pretty much every time the Seahawks needed a big play they had a shot at it. But a flag on the play would bring them back to where they started, minus five or 10 more yards. The Steelers were also pretty sloppy and neither side played like the champions of their division.

As for the Rolling Stones' half time performance, well what is there to say? If you saw The Stones in the 1960s or 70s you must be disappointed with them these days. Mick Jagger tries his best to fill the stage in the same way he must have done back then but I came away thinking they wouldn't be worth the extortionate money it costs to see them live - hardly a great advert. They weren't terrible, just poor by their early standards.

There was one point where Jagger was running around the mouth-shaped stage that had been constructed in the middle of the pitch and it all got a bit Last of the Summer wine. "Oh, watch your step old man, he's going over the edge!" They should get him on there for a guest slot. I'd love to see him flying by in a bathtub with wheels singing Paint it Black.

Matt Chapman is available to write TV reviews.