Super Bowl XLV is in the books. Here are some final thoughts…

*Aaron Rodgers – The Brett Favre monkey is officially off Aaron Rodgers’ back. He capped off one of the most impressive post-season clips in NFL history by throwing for 304 yards and three touchdowns on 25 of 39 passing to lead Green Bay to a 31-25 win over Pittsburgh and earned Super Bowl MVP honors in the process. The victory finally allows Rodgers to step out of Brett Favre’s shadow and should allow the Packers’ bitter fans to get over the divorce and welcome the now-retired (or at least we think) Favre.

*Big Ben Blows It – As impressive as Rodgers was in the game, Roethlisberger was not.  His two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown by Nick Collins, led to the Steelers finding themselves in a 21-3 first-half hole that proved to be too much to overcome. The two-time Super Bowl champ looked far from super and finished the game with 263 yards and one touchdown on 25-of-40 passing. With a chance to drive Pittsburgh for a game-winning touchdown, he misfired on three straight passes to seal the deal.

*Packers Ultimate Cinderella – Despite being decimated by injuries all season long, fighting off elimination with three straight wins to close the regular season, and being seeded No. 6 in the NFC playoff bracket, the Packers prevailed and beat the odds.  It wasn’t the New York Giants beating the 18-0 New England Patriots, but it was still impressive.

*Black Eyed Peas Rock – I’ve read and heard mixed reviews on the halftime show by the Black Eyed Peas, but count me as one that enjoyed it.  It was refreshing to see an act that actually reached the younger generation back on stage at the big game. Usher was a nice touch. The visual effects were great. The sound and mix could've been better, but overall I was pleased.

*Cameron Diaz can feed me popcorn – Alex Rodriguez is catching all kinds of flack after being caught on camera with his girlfriend, actress Cameron Diaz, feeding him popcorn. Let me go on the record firmly here, you can call me whatever you want but I would let Cameron Diaz feed my anything in front of anybody.

*Dude, Where’s My Seat? – Jerry Jones didn’t get his record attendance as he had hoped, but he is going to get sued. You’ve heard by now about the 400 fans that were left without seats after they bought $800 tickets. The seats that didn’t exist, or at least not after the temporary seats failed fire code. The league has offered a refund of triple the face value of the ticket as well as tickets and accommodations to next year’s Super Bowl. While that is a decent consolidation offering it won’t do Packers or Steelers fans any good unless their team returns.

*Doritos Boast Best Ads – Overall I was terribly disappointed with the Super Bowl commercials this year. I liked the Dog’s Revenge for the Doritos teasing spot and the House Sitter who brought back dogs ashes spots for the popular snack chip. Both ads finished in the top 5 in USA Today’s Ad Meter.

Just For Fun, NFL super bowl xlv, green bay packers, pittsburgh steelers, aaron rodgers, ben roethlisberger, black eyed peas, cameron diaz, alex rodriguez