A snoozer of a first half. A metaphysical drama of miracles in the second. Whether a Patriots fan, Seahawks supporter, or somewhere in between, you have to admit that was one heck of a Super Bowl.
Then there were the ads. Yawn. For the most part. Except when Nationwide had a kid come back from the dead. What a buzz kill Nationwide. As one tweeter aptly explained, after all those dad oriented, tear-jerking, heart-string-pulling commercials it was the psychiatrist's industry that had the best marketing at the Super Bowl.
What about religion? In some television markets, Scientology released its annual ad, this time entitled, "The Age of Answers." But there were other, more subtle and less evangelistic religious sightings during the Super Bowl and I was there on the front lines, at the edge of my seat, with beer and buffalo wing in hand to faithfully report on all the religion at Super Bowl XLIX.
*Read "Scientology at the Super Bowl" from Sightings
To be fair, I warned everyone:
So then, the tweets and Facebook posts rolled on. Here are the top tweets of the night:
Beginning and End, Alpha and Omega
It was Terminator Genisys who not only gave us a glimpse of some apocalyptic future, but also gave a shout out to back in the day. And I mean way back in the day. Like at the beginning. With over 600 impressions on Twitter and a few comments on the book of faces the Hebrew hash-tag was a hit.
Then Mophie, a battery phone case company, made a big splash by pulling in a major star for their TV spot -- God himself.
Their line, "when your cell phone dies, all hell breaks loose." Even the creator of the cosmos has some issues, as they said, "when your cell phone dies, God knows what can happen."
The Dude Abides
If you didn't know it yet, the Dude came out with an ambient drone album meant to help you fall asleep. It's also meant to boost Squarespace web platforms (FYI, this is a Squarespace site, full disclosure -- it's awesome). In his ad last night, the Dude played a Tibetan Buddhist Singing Bowl (a.k.a. a rin, or suzu, gong) to help lull us to sleep. Yes, the Dude abidezzzzzzzzzz.
Not to be left out of the Asian religion market, Katy Perry flashed her Sanskrit tattoo during her awesome half-time show (fyi, Christ Matthews flashed his cross tattoo after his late first-half TD too). How is Perry's mantra a religious sighting? Sanskrit, while used outside of religious contexts, is a highly ceremonial language used in Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Here, Perry co-opts the idea of the 'mantra' and the spiritual script to undergird what could be called a "life motto" with more spiritual significance.
Not only was Perry's show a hit, she lit up my Twitter and Facebook when I shared her civil religious shout-out "God Bless America" and earlier posted an interview of hers that talked about her religious upbringing and her first CD...which if you didn't know, was a Christian music album. Wha?!
The BIG One
It was the catch heard round the living room. No, not the bobbling miracle at the three yard line for the Seahawks (almost a legend), I'm talking about the game-winning interception by Patriots #21 Malcolm Butler.
Along with a bit of snark...
I posted this, with over 1,200 impressions, 15 shares/retweets, etc. It was the talk of the #SuperBowl #religion evening!
Call me a "religion nerd," like CBS's @lizkineke did, a "crazy religious nut" like my buddy Pat did on FB, or "the Neil deGrasse Tyson of religion" like @LinkChef (btw, best. compliment. ever), but the fact of the matter is that my point was well proved last night.
Religion is everywhere.
On the field. In the commercials. In our homes or in our hearts. #FaithGoesPop