The Super Bowl.

It's one football game every year that you're likely to have your wife or girlfriend watch with you. It's an event which had evolved into not just the hyped culmination of a sports season but an exposition to the masses for Wall Street, a global entertainment platform, and of course the anticipated epitome of what that the respective sport represents.Super Bowl XLV (45) achieved most of the expectations. Although the annual novelty ad procession was weak in content, there was still enough creativity to carry it.The football game itself was awesome for fans of the sport, with the outcome not decided until the final minute.There were unique ads, but not like in the past like those Bud Bowls, or the bears dancing to the YMCA in the 1967 Pepsi ad, or frogs croaking the name of a beer, or year's most-talked about commercial with the ageless Betty White getting smacked while playing football. Rosanne Barr had a similar role as White in an ad this year, but who noticed?Ad producers did score big this year with a few ads, such as the sitter putting dogs to work, a small child dressed as Darth Vader trying out his superpowers with a surprise twist, and bad chimpanzees blocking a car in a parking space.Overall though, most of the commercials were rather blase'. They didn't seem worth the $3 million for 30 seconds content wise, although the argument is that they got exposure.The two-minute Chrysler ad in the third quarter, showing Detroit making a rebound in the car industry and starred Eminem, cost $12 million to air and several million more to put together.Then there was the other entertainment; the pre-game events and the halftime show. At the half, a group called The Black Eyed Peas had a 10-minute performance that made other TV music shows look dull. You really didn't have to be a Black Eyed Peas fan to enjoy it; it was generic enough. But the acoustics and dance movements combined with the great song choices were done incredibly captivating - not to mention the choreographed, lighted mass of performers surrounding the stage.One negative aspect of the entire spectacular was the singing of the National Anthem. Christina Aguilera embarrassed herself by completely leaving out the line "O'er the ramparts we watched, and then sang, "What so proudly we watched" instead of "What so proudly we hailed." You would think that someone given the honor of presenting the anthem before a world-wide audience, would at least spend a few minutes learning the words that almost any school kid can recite.As bad as Aguilera's performance was, the reciting of the Declaration of Independence by many former and current NFL players was a classy introduction to the festivities.Certainly Pittsburgh Steeler fans are disappointed with the outcome of the game.But in conclusion, the Super Bowl show this year was a winner.By RON GOWERrgower@tnonline.com