The clear winner of the Super Bowl was Fox! Selling ad time for $3.5 million a spot, they garnered significant revenues. Combine this with the viewership, securing the President for an interview with his loyal opposition Bill O’Reilly and an exciting game, they gained the most benefit.

The game was interesting and exciting to watch this year. While the Steelers are immensely popular, many Americans root for the Green Bay Packers. In the world of modern professional sports, we just have to love a team from a town with 100,000 people that all wear cheese on their heads. And, they are so committed to their team that they do all they can to support it. Whether you are a bitterly disappointed Steelers fan or not, you have to honor the winning team and the winning town for all they’ve accomplished. Congrats to Green Bay!

Another highlight of the Super Bowl is the ads. For people who have become DVR addicts and watch networks without advertising, the Super Bowl is a time to capture their attention. This year, the ads were mostly boring. Snickers tried to re-create their Betty White ad with other actors as lumberjacks. It did not work nearly as well.

As a teacher of a class on women in politics, I have to admit that there were fewer ads that exploited females. Of course, there were a few – beer commercials mostly. But many of the ads did not feel the need to use sexy women to sell their products. Monkeys, babies, Darth Vader and more but not so much sexy women.

Maybe, after all these years, advertisers have learned that women like and watch the games too! In fact, women make up as much as half of the Super Bowl audience now. The NFL has even started a line of female clothing, designed to fit females better.

Share your thoughts on the ads, the game or even the O’Reilly interview.