Cats, Puppies, Deflated Balls, Commercials and More – It’s Gotta be Super Bowl Weekend!
And just like that – here it is, Super Bowl weekend. Before I get this post going, let me set the record straight for you. While I do watch football and enjoy it, I am by no means an expert on the sport. As a matter of fact, the only way I know if a team has done something good or bad is based on the tone of the voice of the announcer. In order to keep up with which team is winning, I have to look at the score posted on the top left side of my TV screen. And if the uniform colors of the teams playing one another are similar, I know even less about what is going on.
It’s not that I couldn’t learn the mechanics of the game, I probably could, I just prefer not to. I just beat to my own drum like that. I’ve been to actual games, I ran a football pool at work back in the day, and I’m always a loyal fan to wherever I live at the moment. Which means for the past 21 years, the Miami Dolphins have been disappointing me.
Rolz might be wearing a Patriots cap, but the only loyalty he has is to the pizza delivery person!
Since they are not in the Super Bowl (even though ironically they were one of the few teams that beat the Patriots this year), it leaves me with the dilemma of who to root for. Normally if my home team isn’t playing, I just root for whatever team has a cat name in it, but that logic won’t work this year. And to make matters even more convoluted, Dan and my stepdaughters are from Boston – clearly that is Patriot territory. Not to mention, Zeuss Catt lives in Boston. But the Patriots are one of the Dolphins biggest rivalries and I just don’t have any connection to Seattle.
My cats and possibly a bowl of popcorn… That’s all I really need to watch a football game. Now who’s playing again?
I guess I’ll just sit on the couch and watch TV, surrounded by my cats, like I do any other night and see what happens. That’s always a win for me no matter what. And then there is the drama of both #GoDaddyPuppy and “Deflate-Gate.” Personally, I had no idea there was so much to know about footballs. I didn’t care previously and I still don’t care, but if rules are being broken, that’s not right. The only rules that are meant to be broken, are those set by cats. I think we can all agree on that.
Deflated footballs? What’s that all about? Hmmm…. what about this toy of mine?
Zee takes the stuffing in his toys very seriously… Has there been stuffing tampering in the Zee/Zoey household?
He hits himself over the head to determine if the toy has the right amount of stuffing for playtime… Too much and it hurts, too little and it’s just a sad toy without stuffing…
The verdict? Whew! No tampering – let the playtime resume!!
As far as the GoDaddy commercial about Buddy the puppy that was supposed to run during the Super Bowl and has gotten pulled, that gets me much more riled up than a deflated football. In this ad, Buddy, a Golden Retriever puppy, is seen falling out of the back of a moving pick-up truck, which is already enough of a penalty in my mind. Buddy then manages to fight traffic and heavens know what other elements to find his way back to the only home he knows, whereby he gets the surprise of life to find out his owners are happy to see him, but only because they have sold him on a website they created on GoDaddy.
The outrage from animal lovers came loud and quick and – most believed the ad inadvertently promoted puppy mills and immediately a petition was created on Change.org, with thousands of signatures to follow to pull the ad. While I truly don’t believe the ad was created with the intention of promoting puppy mills, it certainly wasn’t created with any indication of responsibility either. From allowing the puppy to casually be riding in the back of a pick-up (which is illegal in several states) to not clearly defining if the puppy was raised with a refutable breeder, to the point thousands of dogs and puppies in shelters need good homes, the commercial was an epic fail in every sense.
I for one am not a fan of exploiting animals for the sake of entertainment (i.e., consumer sales). Perhaps if there were a larger message tucked within the concept, there would be some merit, but there was not. An apology by was issued by GoDaddy CEO and Board Director, Blake Irving, who said the ad was made with the intention of creating awareness for small businesses to help them succeed.
The easy formula of using a cute puppy to pull at people’s heartstrings backfired big time and conveniently, a replacement ad lay in wait. Does anyone win this one? Well, in an ironic sense, public awareness on puppy mills has increased significantly, which is a good thing. Does GoDaddy win? That’s hard to say. Some people will pull their sites from the company to send a message, some might not use them at all for future projects, some won’t care at all, and most people will probably forget about the whole thing in a week or two. Is it all worth the 4.4 million dollars the ad spot for 30 seconds cost them?
Truthfully, I miss the old days when Super Bowls were just regular super and not the current super, over the top super where the money spent on halftime entertainment and commercial spots could probably cause a significant dent in solving such issues as feeding starving nations, sheltering the homeless, finding a cure for cancer, and funding animal shelters and rescues worldwide. But what do I know… I still have hope the Dolphins will go to the Super Bowl again one year…
Memories of simpler times… Going to a Dolphins/Patriot game back in 2009 that the Dolphins actually won! L to R – my son Chris, me, my stepdaughter Crystal, Dan, and family friend, Stephanie. Of note – even though we were in Miami, I am the ONLY ONE rooting for the Dolphins. Even Chris who has lived in Florida since 1993 was rooting for the Patriots… Take about awkward when sitting in the stadium…
Deb, you can root for the Seahawks! ! Russell Wilson is a nice guy and went to Wisconsin. We like him even if he beat us two weeks ago. Packer fan Kathy
Agree on the money spent. Craziness.
Thanks for the suggestion, Kathy! I used to be a Green Bay fan many, many years ago! I had a teacher who was from Wisconsin and anything she liked, I liked!
LOL, Love the title. I’m a lover of football…..just not past the high school level. Dane played in HS…I lived and breathed it…some of my fondest memories are watching him play. Not a fan of college football…being from Alabama, in case you didn’t know people round her tak thar college fooootball rather suriously (Roll Tide / War Eagle)…..it is beyond me. And I just never got into watching or following pro anything…unless it’s golf and I have no choice there. ha! Great post Deb….love the pic from 2009…looks like fun was had by all 🙂
Toni – I can only imagine what wonderful memories you have of watching Dane play football. There is something so magical about the camaraderie at a HS game. I don’t get pro football either, although I do know more about it than it would seem – my Dad, my boys, and my ex-husband were all die-hard fanatics, so it was hard for me to avoid it!
That’s spooky! I’m just reading your post when I see a notification that you’ve commented on CATachresis!! We must be in sync lol
Speaking as a Brit, I have no idea about super bowls and the only football we have is what you call soccer, which I also know nothing about! lol But I hope you and the kitties enjoy whatever you do this weekend 🙂
The GoDaddy commercial stunk and I am glad it was pulled!!
xox
That’s funny, Carolyn! Sounds like you and I have about the same knowledge of sports – whether it’s football or soccer!
Ruby is routing for the Patriots. She says how hard can it be to take down a bird? 🙂
Good point Ingrid! I like how Ruby thinks!
We are sure cheering for the puppies in the Puppy Bowl and the kittens in the Kitten Bowl, go teams!
The only time I ever really followed football is when a former classmate played for the Steelers. Being from No Cal, my Dad was a fanatical 49ers fan and my husband also cheers for them. I won’t watch the super bowl but may look at half-time and some of the commercials. So happy GoDaddy pulled an irresponsible commercial. And I am so tired of hearing about deflated balls!!! On a happy note, Rolz looks totally adorable. XOCK, Mom Janet and Kitties Blue
We don’t know what is a Super Bowl except the one that is in the kitchen and is super only when it’s filled with stinky goodness ! Mum tried once to understand american football, but quickly gave up. Football or soccer, she’s not really interested to be true… We’re glad the GoDaddy commercial was pulled ! Enjoy your week-end ! Purrs
I am not crazy about football but it is fun to watch the commercials, especially the Budweiser one.And if it is a good game, it is fun to watch. So we shall see how long I last. Have a great week end.
I’m rooting for the #kittenbowl! Godaddy is known for controversy. I suspect they planned it all long and have another ad as a replacement. Hmmm, how convenient. Love your pics and agree, the event is all about super $.
We’ll be watching the Kitten Bowl, of course. Now that’s our idea of fun!
It looks like you have the right idea about how to throw a superbowl party… a lap full of cats is the only way, especially if you don’t plan on jumping up to cheer mid-game!
We’ll be tuning in for the Kitten Bowl for sure! All the controversy and extremely bad judgement surrounding the Superbowl, coupled with the huge amount of money (often taxpayer money) thrown at the professional football teams has us a little soured on the whole affair.
Go #TeamCat!
My sentiments exactly! A local like you, I have no sway for either team. Most people I know are for the Patriots. But like you said they are Dolphins biggest rival. Instead i was going to go to the Dolphins stadium and buy my Dolphins Bikini! haha–that is time well spent–shopping for my team. But alas I just learned they are undergoing $400 million renovation and store there is closed. Oh well.
I hardly watch the game! As a marketing professional I do enjoy watching the commercials. Having worked in a major ad agency, creating memorable ads is extremely difficult. The marketing surrounding the commercials is brilliant. Many nonfootball fans will watch the commercials even if it’s on the computer.
But I will be ordering my Domino’s pizza, have ready bottles of wine and snuggle in bed with my kitties and the FLU (yes pizza and wine and cats to cure my flu)
Ill be watching Kitten Bowl, Dog Bowl as I am proud bipetual!!! Go cats and dogs!
Peep #1 knows only the followin’ about football… If the peeps next to you cheer, you should cheer, too. If they boo, you boo, too. That’s all she knows and she says it’s all she needs to know.
I, on the other paw, am thinkin’ my peep needs to learn a little more ’bout this sport as I’m tossin’ about the idea of startin’ a pawball league of my own. Livin’ with eight other cats, I already have my own team!
Purrs,
Nissy
guyz….we bee late gettin heer with thiz commint coz oh weatherz….with all de hoop la
we wanted ta make a predictionz that de patriotz will win ….
2/3/2015
🙂