By Jennifer Davies, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
Pete Townshend and The Who will perform at halftime.
The Super Bowl is tomorrow, and while our beloved Bolts aren't in the big game, we can't just ignore the whole thing now, can we? Beyond the X's and O's, here are some other things to watch for:
Odds. The Colts are favored by anywhere from 4 1/2 to 6 points. The wide range in point spreads means Las Vegas isn't quite sure how this Super Bowl will go down, says Christopher Costigan, founder of gambling911.com, which tracks the industry. Of course, oddsmakers are hardly infallible. At the start of the season, Costigan says, the Colts had 10-to-1 odds to win the Super Bowl, and the Saints' odds were at 18-to-1. Who were the favorites back then? The Patriots at 3-to-1. Bwahahahaha! On a more somber note, the Chargers had 8-to-1 odds to win the Super Bowl. Sniff.
Ads. The ads are supposed to be half of the fun, but plenty of perennial Super Bowl advertisers such as Pepsi are taking a powder this year. Sure, there will be beer commercials, but there will be some frothy controversy, too. Opinions are all over the map about an anti-abortion ad starring Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and his mom.
Halftime. The NFL apparently has decreed that no one born after the Paleolithic era can perform in the halftime show. Tony Bennett must have been booked, so instead we'll get a scorching performance by The Who. Wonder if they'll smash their guitars? Oooh, edgy!
Creepy. Despite the band's advanced age, their appearance is not without scandal. Guitarist Pete Townshend was listed as a registered sex offender in the United Kingdom for five years after his arrest in a 2003 child pornography sting. In case you're wondering, he said he was just doing research for a book.
Stadium. What's in a name? Apparently not much. The site of Super Bowl 2010 has had seven different names since 1987, and three of those have been in the last year. In January, Sun Life Financial bought the naming rights. Before that, it was Dolphin Stadium for a whole two weeks. Before that, it was Land Shark Stadium for eight months in honor of Jimmy Buffett's beer. Hey, maybe he's available for next year's halftime show.
