Kevin Harlan’s play by play of the fan on the field won the Super Bowl.

‘PUT UP YOUR PANTS MY MAN!’ Some people just thrive in certain situations in a given profession. Michael Jordan wanted the ball in his hands with the game on the line, NFL referees want a flag to throw when Tom Brady needs to get bailed out, and Kevin Harlan wants to be on the microphone when a fan gets on the field. Let me take you back to San Francisco 4 years ago:

I think I enjoyed last night’s even better, although both are classic.

Other random thought about last night:

• As a country radio morning show host, and self professed Eric Church fanboy, I was VERY nervous for the Anthem last night. I just wanted it to be good, otherwise I would hear about it all week. Well I though he and Jazmine Sullivan did a fantastic job:

Most of what I read in comment sections on Facebook and Twitter seemed to agree. I would say about 65-70% liked it, and 25-30% thought it stunk. And the people in the 70% group don’t understand the 30% group, and the people in the 30% group will ask the people in the 70% group what is wrong with their ears. Music is one of the most subjective things in the world, and the Anthem in particular has strong emotional ties to it. So you’ll never make everyone happy. I think Whitney Houston is the most hailed Anthem, Super Bowl or otherwise, of all time, and there are still probably 5-10% of people who think she stretched out too many notes. But a 70/30 positive/negative split is very solid, especially on social media where everyone loves to hate everything.

• ^Speaking of, The Weeknd halftime show. It got ROASTED on Twitter, but the more I thought about it, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone ever say they enjoyed a Super Bowl halftime show. One of Super Bowl Sunday’s greatest traditions is to hop online during the halftime show like the Comic Book Store Guy from The Simpsons and register you disgust on the internet:

I honestly wasn’t paying a ton of attention to the show itself because my wife, Lindsey, made her chili last night and I was face down in bowl #3 by that point. But someone who is a bigger Weeknd fan would have to tell me if he did well or not, I don’t really know.

• It is insane to me that we’re still watching Brady hit Gronk for touchdowns in the Super Bowl in 2021. Honest to God I fully expect to see that exact same scene play out in 2052.
• More than a few flags in the first half were ABSURD. Especially given how the league was calling things all year, up through the conference title games two weekends ago. If the NFL wanted to steer into a, ‘the league wants Brady to win’ conspiracy, no better way to do it than officiate the way they did in the first half.
• ^As annoying as that was, the Bucs defense won that game. Patrick Mahomes was running for his LIFE all game long. I still can’t believe an offense that potent, with a quarterback like Mahomes, only put up 9 points. Given the way that defense performed against Brees, Rodgers, and Mahomes in this playoff run, Todd Bowles is likely headed to another head coaching job if he wants it.
• I think Rocket Mortgage won the #1 and #2 spots in the USA Today post-Super Bowl ad meter rankings, but this was my favorite:

The Will Ferrell Norway ad was good too, and I liked the Blake Shelton/Gwen Stefani as well. I had the over/under on dog commercials at 4.5 (yes, that’s real), and that didn’t hit, which was a bummer.

So, I lost on the total points over, I lost on the National Anthem under, I lost on the coin toss, I lost on the Gatorade color, I lost on the dog commercial prop bet, I had to watch Brady win another ring, it wasn’t my favorite Sunday night of all time. And I know people are going to say that Brady couldn’t win without help from the refs, and that’s fine if that’s your take, but taking the long view, it seems impossible to think that a single player has been to 10 Super Bowls and won 7 rings. It’s the hardest game to get to in all of sports, but Brady just somehow gets there all the time. He dominated with the Patriots for two decades, then hopped over the the NFC and won one there in his first season. It’s inconceivable. And of course he said immediately after the game that he’s back next season. Why not.

PS: Meanwhile, on Saturday night, Aaron Rodgers won his 3rd MVP. And casually dropped that he’s now engaged??

WHAT?! Aaron you sand baggin’ son of a gun! Or are we goofin’?? It feels like it was only last week that Rodgers and Shailene Woodley were confirmed to be dating. If true, good for him. ‘WHO CARES’- every FB comment section that reported the story on Saturday night.

Double PS: The Packers also hired Joe Barry as their new Defensive Coordinator over the weekend. It sounds like the job was Jim Leonhard’s if he wanted it, but he decided to stay in Madison. I’m assuming he’s got some sort of agreement in place to, A) Get a raise, and, B) Someday become the head coach at Wisconsin. He’s only 38 years old, Paul Chryst is 55. Even if it’s in 10 years, Leonhard would still be a very young coach of a premier D-1 program. But to turn down a major gig with the NFL Team he grew up rooting for, there just to be some sort of agreement with Wisconsin as it relates to his future.

In terms of Joe Barry, I wouldn’t hit up his Wikipedia page to be encouraged by his previous stints as a DC. Matt LaFleur has gone 13-3 and reached the NFC Championship Game in each of his first two seasons, so he’s earned a good amount of trust, but we’ll see. Very excited to see #firebarry trending if they give up 35 points in Week 1 next season.