I need more time to fully review the game as I'm short on sleep and still buzzing in the aftermath, but that was an odd feeling game to me, and I'm not sure if I can put my finger on it.
At times it felt like I was watching a video-game version of American football where the parameters of the familiar sport are slightly skewed. There was almost no running by Green Bay. The Packers got into difficult third and long situations and then easily completed huge passes to keep the ball. The Steelers could seemingly score with ease towards the end of the game in a laissez-faire fashion.
I'm glad that this game was this way because it will attract those that stayed up and witnessed the near comeback to take an interest in the sport, and it certainly helps you stay alert in the early hours when the game is a close one.
This would have been an all-time classic game if Ben Roethlisberger had completed the improbable comeback for Pittsburgh, and although the scene seemed to have been set perfectly within the final two minutes to establish a game-winning drive, it petered out disappointingly.
If the Packers had lost despite causing numerous turnovers and capitalising on the mistake with points, the historical statisticians' brains would have been frying in attempting to recall a similar feat.
But it was an excellent and very watchable second half after a first that only entertained in fits and starts, and a half-time show that was spectacularly awful. The depreciation value of a show that has had memorable performances by Bruce Springsteen, The Who and Prince in recent years was in clear evidence.
The sound quality for the half time show was equally abysmal, and from having seen their playoff coverage this year Fox appear unable to correctly balance stadium sounds for a broadcast. Their noise suppression filters to dampen the crowd completely sucked the energy out of what otherwise sounded like a charged atmosphere in Dallas, and instead inverted it into an awful echoing tinny murmur.
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were their usual underwhelming presences in the Fox booth, and the BBC was hit and miss. Mike Carlson and Tiki Barber were excellent, offering the usual sharp insight with good humour and energy. But why was Jake Humphreys hosting on a day where he had already been involved with the earlier South Wales derby, and was clearly flagging as a result towards the end?
When Humphreys started to lounge backwards in his chair and make the stereotypically British-sounding irritation noises towards the Packers being labelled 'World Champions', he had clearly begun to lose interest. It was disappointing as Humphreys has hosted several Super Bowls before and has usually done a good job. We can blame tiredness for this poor display, so why didn't the BBC replace him with Matt Roberts who hosts the playoff highlights, or Gary Imlach from Channel 4?
It's patronising to believe that viewers here need a familiar face on their screen to make them feel at ease watching the programme. It would be far better to have someone with plenty of relevant knowledge to offer (not referring to Formula 1 during the game, for example), and energy for the long night ahead.
In contrast, from the frequent moments I tuned in during the night, Radio 5 sounded as if they did their usual sterling job in covering the game. Listening by radio is actually far more involving for most sporting events, and American football is no different. Darren Fletcher and Greg Brady were informative, enthusiastic and involved with the game from the kickoff, and the broadcast actually did a better job of conveying the carnival atmosphere to the listener than the television production.
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