Of Halftime Acts, Sweet Perfume and Power Outages

"Now the halftime air was sweet perfume
While Sergeants played a marching tune,
We all got up to dance
Oh, but we never got the chance

'Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died?"

  - February 3, 1959 - The Day the Music died, seven years before Super Bowl I

BOSTON - February 3, 2013 -- A mere forty-seven years into NFL Super Bowl history, the New Orleans Super Dome's halftime air was sweet perfume as the astonishingly charming, lovely and talented (read: Smokin' Hot) Beyonce fired up some amps and pumped some life into a very one-sided affair, that being the Baltimore Ravens' domination of the SF 49ers to the tune of a 21-6 thrashing that could've read 41-6 when the teams strode off to the lockers, the Ravens with visions of Bourbon Street dancing in their heads.

Then it struck. The lights were out and the dark side of the moon seemed like Times Square lit-up on New Year's Eve in comparison to the Super Dome, the 2013 venue of the greatest event on earth, the NFL's championship game. The game might go down in history as the most bizarre Super Bowl, complete with stats and scoreboards for "before" and "after" the blackout. 

Wackiness.  That is NOT how I like my Super Bowls. 

Wackiness at an All-Star Game, I can enjoy. Wackiness at the finals of a major sport's championship? No thanks.

In the true American way, we all looked for someone to blame. Yes the "Blame Game" is more American than Super Bowls, Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, American Pie or Chevrolet.

It was the Super Dome ... it was the NOLA power company. No, it was a conspiracy to break Baltimore's momentum. No, it was Clay Shaw, Oliver Stone and Lee Harvey Oswald.

The PR machines ran PR 101 - distancing themselves from the problem at hand, and both the NFL and Entergy NOLA Power brought out their PR swords.

I tend to think it was just nature playing its hand. The "powers" that be amongst the NFL event planners made several choices. They decided to bring in tons of lighting to bring its special effects into every household, right along with Beyonce.The halftime act drew enough power to light up Sal Lake City for a month, and it was only half the electric company's battle.  Tons of extra broadcasts, TV trucks, concession stands, media centers, computers, smart phone signal boosters - you name it. They all brought down the lights so Dandy Don Meredith could be heard with Howard, once again.

Glitz and blitz.

The game, with its bizarre nature, poor execution by the 49ers early and less than efficient game management by the Baltimore Ravens made us cringe at times, but mostly enjoy an exciting finish.

The glitz was over the top, maybe a little too much although one man can not complain about Beyonce.  Moi? I prefer the subtleties of the Greatest Halftime Show of All-Time.  The NBA Broadway All-Stars. Play On.

And NOTE: What was revealed? The burning bra sensation of the late '60s, that's what.