Super Bowl vs. Stanley Cup Finals

Last night was the first time I really watched a Super Bowl (well, ok, I almost fell asleep during the first half but I was wide awake during the 4th quarter) so I can finally make a comparison between America's favorite game and my favorite time of the year.


Why the Super Bowl (SB) is better than the Stanley Cup Finals (SCF)

1. The SB is only one game so you better have your A-game otherwise you're done. If the Giants and Pats played a best of 7 series there's no way the Giants would have won: exactly why last night's game was so exciting.
2. It presents itself as the perfect setting for a party, either at a friend's house or a bar. It's more of a social gathering than a celebration of a sports game. Maybe the kids in Canada hold SCF viewing parties but not in SoCal. However, if the Kings ever make it to the SCF again you can bet your life savings that I'll hold a party for every game as long as I'm not attending it.

Why the SCF is better than the SB

1. One 60 minute game isn't drawn out into a 4+ hour festival. Especially since most of the game was exceptionally boring the game seemed to last forever. However, I realize the game has to be exceptionally long because of commercials and corporate sponsorships, which leads me to...
2. The SCF isn't commercialized like the SB. Every year pseudo football fans say they're going to watch the SB for the commercials. Sure, I look forward to them but every year I'm disappointed with the quality of the commercials and yesterday was no exception. I think Coca-Cola had the two best commercials (the best going to the ad with Stewie and Underdog competing for a coke and Charlie Brown coming out the victor). Pepsi probably had the third best ad with the slight parody of "Night at the Roxbury". Bud Light's ads, which are normally clever and amusing, were so-so this year. All of the car commercials were utterly gay. The Go-Daddy ads and the ones with the talking baby were God-awful. Need I continue?
3. In order to make room for the trillion commercials, it was so frustrating when the game would come back on, a kick-off would happen, and then another TV timeout would take place. Talk about disruption of flow...well, not that there's much of that in football to begin with...
4. The award presentation is far superior in the SCF. The game is over, the commissioner comes out, the CUP comes out with handlers wearing white gloves so they won't smudge the Cup with nasty, greasy fingerprints, the commissioner makes a quick congratulatory speech and the Cup is handed off to the Captain of the winning team. (I know the MVP is awarded somewhere in there but it's a fairly quick presentation.) No oldtimer makes a speech. No owners take time away from those who won it...the trophy goes straight to the winners who kiss the Cup, lift her over their heads, and skate gloriously around the rink.

And don't even clobber me in the comments by making false statements that I'm "biased" because that is so not true. What can I say, the Stanley Cup Finals is just unbelievably awesome.