LAWRENCE, Kansas – I can sum up Super Bowl XLIV in a phrase: good but not great. Save a commercial here or a play call there, little about either the game or the telecast was particularly noteworthy. As much as the many fans who’ve proclaimed themselves members of the “Who Dat Nation” would like to think that this game will go down “as one of those sports moments,” it won’t.

Sure, the Saints have given hope to a city largely neglected well before the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. But it takes more than a championship and mentions of how the team and its players embody the spirit of a city to bring real recovery. I hope winning New Orleans’ first Super Bowl will bring more attention to the very real problems that still exist there, but the Vince Lombardi Trophy does not hold a genie inside.

The game itself failed to live up to the hype of being the offensive shootout so many had hoped it would be. Instead fans were treated to a generally mediocre first half complete with one touchdown, a questionable play call and three field goals. It doesn’t get more bland than that.

The Saints came out swinging in the second half, catching everyone off guard with an onside kick. But the real “action” wasn’t until the fourth quarter. A missed Indy field goal, New Orleans touchdown and two-point conversion and a Peyton Manning interception rounded out the last 15 minutes.

There simply was no standout performance on either side.

Television Coverage

CBS’ lead crew of producer Lance Barrow and director Mike Arnold did a steady job of managing a lot of equipment without overusing any one thing. They were judicious with replays and had necessary looks covered when the situation called for it, namely the Saints’ challenged two-point conversion attempt. One of the six “Super Vision” cameras, which shoot up to 500 frames per second, gave a definitive view of New Orleans receiver Lance Moore extending the ball across the plane.

Aside from that one instance, the coverage was fairly routine as Super Bowls go. With more equipment, more players were isolated, including Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney, who was always being covered from a low angle camera to document his pass rushing with a widely publicized injured ankle. But that was about it. To their credit, the CBS crew didn’t try to overcompensate for what the game lacked in excitement.

Yes, there were a few unfortunate technical issues scattered in the broadcast. Audio problems stood out during pregame festivities – edited packages introducing both teams included a number of clips of players and coaches that were entirely inaudible and noticeable feedback from announcer Jim Nantz‘s microphone during team introductions marred a largely seamless presentation. A cut within a “Super Vision” replay was slightly jarring but quickly remedied by returning to live action, and a jumpy first and ten line – including an instance of the on-field down and distance graphic being cut off by the end zone – provided a mild on-screen distraction.

The obvious winner of the night was CBS’ graphics. Unlike previous Super Bowls on ABC, where every Monday Night Football game felt like a rehearsal for the championship, CBS brought appropriate flair to their graphics package to give a bigger feel to the broadcast.

Super Bowl XLIV was also the first under Creative Director Pete Radovich, Jr., successor to the late Doug Towey – a 30-year television veteran who defined the position at CBS Sports. Radovich, who continues to work as a feature producer for CBS Sports and CBS News, as well as coordinating producer for Showtime’s Inside the NFL, is responsible for the CBS Sports on-air graphic look.

Often when new elements are thrown into the mix, network technical directors – the ones whose fingers literally press the buttons to execute every on-screen effect – can easily make mistakes or, at the very least, find equipment uncooperative. With many effects premiering for the first time on Sunday, technical director Jonas Einstein‘s sure hands never once failed him.

The show was also devoid of one ubiquitous convention of a Super Bowl: there was no sentimental tease to precede the Jay-Z/E.S. Posthumus collaboration to open the telecast. While it was missing, it wasn’t necessarily missed.

Halftime Show

The Super Bowl halftime show also experienced changes previously unseen since NFL Network began producing the shows following the infamous “wardrobe malfunction” in 2004. Veteran producer-director Don Mischer, who helmed each of the last six Super Bowl halftime shows and who is perhaps best known for his on-air meltdown during the 2004 Democratic National Convention, was notably absent this year.

Bringing in Hamish Hamilton, who has directed concerts for everyone from U2 and The Rolling Stones to Madonna and Jay-Z, is a hopeful sign that the super conservative approach to Super Bowl halftime shows may be slowly fading. The real indicator of major changes will require booking performers who are currently in their prime rather than rehashing days of old with outdated acts.

The Who would have been a great act for perhaps one of the first five Super Bowls. Forty years later, the effect is all but lost.

This year’s show threw out the convention of on-field extras – made popular most recently by (gasp) MTV, the people responsible for producing the “nip slip” – instead going for a massive pageant of big stage, bright lights and endless lasers. The major drawback was that, unlike some of Hamilton’s best shows, this stage design prevented more cameras from getting closer to the band.

Wide shots were king, capturing the big feel of the overall scene, but many shots simply felt far away. One camera was on stage, shrouded in black cloth and hidden behind a tall amp, and a couple of others poked up from spaces in the outer parts of the stage.

In general, Hamilton acquitted himself well on what was easily the biggest gig of his career. He didn’t rock the boat in ways that Beth McCarthy Miller, Louis J. Horvitz and Joel Gallen did in Super Bowls 35, 36 and 37, respectively. But his presence alone gives hope for bigger and better changes to come.

Filed under: Sports TV, Television