AllThingsD Covers the Tech of Super Bowl XLVI (And the Ads, the Game and Madonna)
If you liked Footballmer, you are going to love AllThingsD’s coverage of the Super Bowl.
We’ll have a liveblog commenting on the game, the commercials, the apps and more, brought to you by tech-and-sports enthusiast Ina Fried, with possible contributions from other staffers, if they can be pried away from the game.
Our coverage will kick off just before the game does. In the meantime, check out our techie guide to the Super Bowl with info on apps, streaming and more.
2:17 pm: It’s still more than an hour to go until game time, but if you want to watch, NBC is streaming the pregame show. http://nflstream.nbcsports.com/
2:23 pm: Sharing a few of my friends’ comments re: The Super Bowl:
“The Super Bowl … keeping Roman numerals alive for 46 years.”
and
“so I heard there’s a Madonna concert on today, with some strange pre-show and post-show entertainment …”
Feel free to email me your observations on the game, the tech and more to ina@allthingsd.com, and I will add in some of them, as well.
2:32 pm: Here’s what NBC’s streaming of the pregame show looks like:
2:35 pm: The NBC app also allows, among other thing, reviewing the ads and switching of camera angles.
2:43 pm: Getting my gear all ready for the game, and to monitor the apps. So far, I have at the ready a MacBook Air for the blogging and, to see the coverage, a Verizon/Motorola Droid Razr Maxx with NFL Mobile. And an iPad. May dig out one or two more gadgets, as well.
2:46 pm: My colleagues at The Wall Street Journal note that there is a traffic jam with folks trying to get to the game — an air traffic jam. I hate when I can’t park my private jet:
3:07 pm: Another shot of my setup as we get ready for the big game.
Meanwhile, it’s time for the starting lineup. Some guy named Manning is starting for the Giants.
The Patriots have some guy named Brady.
3:11 pm: It’s time to meet the players for both teams. And/or heat up the five-layer dip.
3:12 pm: On the commercial front, meanwhile, it’s an ad for Hulu Plus. No Baldwins or aliens, though.
If you miss a commercial, by the way, NBC says you can rewatch it on their site.
Not sure if the same goes for key plays.
3:16 pm: “America the Beautiful,” with Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton. I missed who was singing on the TV. Luckily, NFL Mobile on Verizon Droid Razr Maxx is running about 10 seconds behind. Homegrown instant replays.
3:18 pm: Meanwhile, “American Idol” alum Kelly Clarkson is singing the National Anthem. So far I’d put “Idol” up by a touchdown over “The Voice.”
3:20 pm: Cut to commercial for Sacha Baron Cohen’s new film “The Dictator,” followed by a Verizon Wireless add for the Droid Razr, which now comes in colors. AJ’s excited: “You know me, I love colors,” he said.
As for me, I’m more excited by the Maxx and its extra battery life. Should have charged it up ahead of time to see if it could make it through the whole game.
Twitter is doing an interesting special Super Bowl page, monitoring how both teams are doing, tweet-wise:
3:26 pm: Meanwhile, on the field, New England won the coin toss and deferred to get the ball in the second half.
3:29 pm: As a reminder to all those enjoying the free livestreaming of the game by NBC, be thankful they have the game rights and not ESPN.
ESPN boss John Skipper told me at our D: Dive Into Media conference that he totally would have charged fans if he had the game rights.
3:38 pm: Quick game update: Giants will have to punt. Patriots will get it back, but deep in their own zone.
3:39 pm: Nice spot for Audi, touting the vampire-crushing power of its headlights.
3:41 pm: Whoa, intentional grounding call. Since Brady was in the end zone, it’s a safety. For you techie, non-sports fans, that’s two points for the Giants, plus they get the ball.
3:45 pm: Twitter is taking note of the fact that hashtags are everywhere in the Super Bowl ads, so far. Hashtags are the new URLs, says Gartner’s Michael Gartenberg.
3:50 pm: It was a catch and a fumble, but more importantly, the Patriots had an extra player on the field, so it’s just a penalty.
3:52 pm: Touchdown Giants, meaning Team Mossberg is off to a rough start, now down 9-0. Sorry, Walt.
3:54 pm: Best Buy just showed their cellphone ad — featuring, among other tech folks, Philippe Kahn, talking about the first cellphone camera. Also featured: Ray Kurzweil, the creators of Shazam, Instagram, Words With Friends and more.
It’s a fun spot.
3:56 pm: Also fun: The spot with a Chevy truck surviving the 2012 Mayan-predicted apocalypse. A bunch of guys in their trucks reunite, along with the Twinkies, which also survived. Not so lucky: The guy driving a Ford.
4:02 pm: Oh boy. Go Daddy at it again.
4:06 pm: Patriots kick a field goal to make it 9-3.
Meanwhile, colleague Joe Brown has dug up some most excellent Super Bowl related tweets, I’ll sprinkle in here:
@TheTweetOfGod notes this will be the last Super Bowl before the Apocalypse; @AndyBorowitz notes that porn sites are seeing a drop in traffic; while @JimGaffigan aptly points out that “The Super Bowl is like the Super Bowl of Super Bowl references.”
Borowitz also hypothesizes that Madonna’s halftime show will provide “a sneak preview of Lady Gaga’s halftime show in 2032.”
See something you like, send it my way to ina@allthingsd.com.
4:15 pm: Nice Volkswagen commercial mixes cute dogs and “Star Wars” to capture two key demographics.
4:20 pm: Aiming for equal time after that Go Daddy ad, there’s one that consists of just David Beckham in his underwear for 30 seconds.
4:23 pm: Interesting playbook for the Patriots, so far. I think it is the BlackBerry PlayBook.
4:28 pm: There are all these apps for making a game out of watching the Super Bowl. Hopefully, there is one that makes the Patriots make a game out it.
4:30 pm: Giants have to punt again, but they pin the Patriots deep again. New England will have it on their own four-yard line.
4:32 pm: It’s retro time, with Lucasfilm touting the 3-D version of “Star Wars,” and NBC touting the 53-year-old version of Madonna.
4:37 pm: Breaking: Teleflora steals ad team from Go Daddy. Then a funny ad from Sketchers, with a dog in tennis shoes.
4:38 pm: Wow, that Cars.com ad was creepy. With a capital “C” and a capital “REEPY.”
4:41 pm: Another tech note: NBC’s livestreaming is being aided by Vertigo, whose CEO, Scott Stanfield, asks everyone to help make the game the biggest streaming event ever.
4:43 pm: Grandma in wheelchair steals back Doritos bag by slingshotting baby to get it. Now it’s Etrade baby and pal “speed dating” in a hospital nursery. Babies are taking over.
4:46 pm: As for that football game thing, it’s almost halftime, with the Patriots in striking distance at the three-yard line, with 18 seconds to go.
4:47 pm: And Mossberg scores. Well, technically speaking, it was one of the Patriots on the field. Anyhoo, touchdown Patriots.
4:51 pm: And it’s halftime.
Or “game time” for many of my friends, who don’t understand why they are playing football at a Madonna concert, anyway.
5:00 pm: Hulu Plus gets another plug. Touts the ability to watch shows on all kinds of devices. Now it’s an evil(er) plan to take over the world.
Meanwhile, Shazam gets a shout-out in a Bud Light ad.
5:01 pm: And now, the moment you have all been waiting for … 1982.
5:04 pm: On the plus side, the wardrobe is fully functional.
5:06 pm: Meanwhile, if you Shazam the halftime show, you get a free LMFAO remake of Madonna.
5:11 pm: Dude, Madonna just stole the football field. We’re going to want that thing back.
5:16 pm: Here’s the Shazam app in action during the halftime show:
5:17 pm: And here’s how Madonna wrapped up her act, as seen on the one screen I haven’t talked about. It’s called a TV — people used to watch stuff on them:
5:23 pm: And, with some final halftime ads from Betty White and Clint Eastwood, we’re back to football. Brady and the Patriots have it just past their own 20.
5:28 pm: Walt carries it in again, as the Mossbergs extend their lead to 17-9.
5:31 pm: Just checked. RIM hasn’t made any personnel moves during this game.
5:36 pm: Some more great tweets curated by our fabulous Joe Brown:
@michaelianblack: Joan Rivers did an amazing halftime show.
@PFTompkins: That oughtta do it. World peace should be here by the next GoDaddy commercial.
@TheTweetOfGod: Patriots 10. Giants 9. Madonna 53.
5:39 pm: Giants did a kick-y thing. Now 17-12 Patriots.
5:39 pm: Update: Fiat also knows how to use sex to sell.
5:42 pm: I want to grab a beer, but I am afraid I might miss a commercial. Or accidentally grab a Bud Light Platinum, whatever that is.
5:43 pm: Meanwhile, NBC is plugging an NBC Sports Talk app.
Madonna gets a shout-out from her peers:
5:52 pm: It’s easy to miss, in all the tweets and ads and Madonnas, but there is actually a pretty good football game going on.
5:56 pm: It’s almost the moment you have all been waiting for … Samsung’s Galaxy Note commercial. It’s kind of like a futchdown.
6:06 pm: Loving the “Ferris Bueller” revamp Honda CR-V commercial with Matthew Broderick. #bueller
First Madonna, now Ferris Bueller. Glad my generation now runs all the companies. Or at least their ad agencies.
6:13 pm: Bud Light gets some “awww” points with its last ad, promoting the beer-fetching rescue dog, “Weego.”
6:21 pm: Woo Hoo. Careerbuilder monkeys. I’ve missed those guys.
6:21 pm: Fourth quarter, 9:24 left to go. You can text your vote to for Super Bowl MVP. Personally, I’ll need another 9:24 to give you my answer.
6:25 pm: Futchdown! Goofy ad for Samsung’s Galaxy Note phablet now on.
Not a lot of stylus fans on Twitter, as Samsung ad is getting roundly panned, as is the product.
6:29 pm: Dow Jones colleague Ian Sherr reports his stream of the Super Bowl is decidedly subpar. “None of the TV ads, and it doesn’t even break at the same time as TV.”
Of course, only at the Super Bowl does one complain there are not enough ads in Internet streams.
“I’ve missed several plays, and they keep playing the same ads with Dwight from The Office and “Act of Valor” over and over again,” Sherr said in a Twitter post.
6:32 pm: Meanwhile, it’s a two-point game, with 3:46 to play.
Giants have the ball, down two on their own 12.
6:34 pm: Throw to the sideline at 50-yard line ruled a catch. Patriots challenge, but looks pretty good. First key use of instant replay this game.
Yep, ruling on field confirmed, and will cost the Patriots a time-out.
6:37 pm: As for that Samsung ad, it was a first-ever commercial for director Bobby Farrelly, who is known for “There’s Something About Mary,” “Dumb & Dumber” and “Kingpin.”
If you need to re-watch it, it’s here.
I recommend doing so now, as there is another Go Daddy.com ad playing.
6:44 pm: Giants score, but likely would have rather used a little more clock.
New England will still need a touchdown, and have less than a minute to get it.
It’s now 21-17, Giants.
Sorry, was watching the game. First down, but clock clicking. Just 17 seconds left, though.
6:51 pm: Just nine seconds left now, with Patriots near midfield.
6:52 pm: Okay. Five ticks left, so this is probably it for both the Patriots and this liveblog. Hope you were at least entertained!
Incomplete. Giants win, 21-17.
6:55 pm: Disneyland or Disney World? That’s the only question that remains.