What's Better, the Super Bowl or the Commercials?

Super Bowl Sunday is an American Institution, a day for family, friends, food and football. It's like Thanksgiving, only it's better because you don't have to see the in-laws and you don't have to feel guilty if you're not actually feeling all that thankful.

The funny thing about Super Bowl Sunday, though, is that the game itself is often the least interesting part. In fact, when I was growing up in the '80s and '90s, the Super Bowl was usually a super bore.

I remember when the Bears beat the Patriots 46-10, when the Redskins beat the Broncos 42-10, and when the 49ers beat the Broncos 55-10. (I'm starting to sense a pattern.) In fact, there was a long stretch there when the Super Bowl was little more than an opportunity for some dynastic NFC team to crush the dreams of some poor, overmatched AFC team (usually the Bills or the Broncos).

Because these games were generally unwatchable, the expensive, high-concept, big production ads that played during the many breaks in the seven- or eight- hour long Super Bowl broadcast became the stars of the show. These days they're an institution of their own, backed by big budgets and bigger hopes.

Apple shocked the world of 1984 with the Macintosh. Larry Bird and Michael Jordan played an epic game of HORSE. Bottles of beer battled for Budweiser supremacy. More recently we've seen Betty White and Abe Vigoda get hit hard, and Eminem let us know that Chryslers are imported from Detroit.

The games have been a lot better in the last 10 or so years, but I still feel like people look forward to the commericals more. They seem to spend more time speculating about what company will do what on Super Sunday, and more time talking about the best and worst commericals the next day than they do the game itself.