Erin Cochran/Winonan

The Super Bowl is one of the biggest events for fans all around the world.

For a die-hard football fan and mass communication student like myself, it’s everything.

I can’t stress enough how much I love the Super Bowl. It’s the marriage of two great loves.

There are many sides to people who watch the Super Bowl — those who watch solely for the commercials, those who just want to see an amazing game, those tuning in for the half time performance (can we just take a moment to revel in how amazing Beyoncé was? I mean seriously, I can’t get over it. Tears form from just the thought, but I digress) and then there are the people who tune in for any mishaps that could happen—cue Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction or this years’ power outage.

Ah, the Super Bowl is great and so many cultural references come with this celebration.

As I stated, I am a huge football fan. It’s not even healthy how into the season I get.

But alas, I’m a Vikings fan so naturally my season gets shut down pretty much right after we get our playoff dreams up.

This Super Bowl was a phenomenal game. It seemed so one-sided in favor of the Baltimore Ravens but the 49ers kept in it and with seconds left, looked as though we would be going into overtime.

As fate would have it, the Ravens pulled out the win and are headed to Disney World.

I can’t even imagine what the Harbaugh family is feeling right now.

It is such a monumental win and devastating loss, all in one family. I predict some awkward family reunions.

I’m sure Jim will play a trick on John and switch off the power at the next family dinner.

Oh how I wish to be there, I’m sure ESPN will be all over that though.

Enough about football, let’s talk about the advertisements. Oh, those glorious ads.

They had me crying, laughing, cringing (talking to you GoDaddy.com) among other emotions.

Another smart move by advertisers is using celebrities to endorse their product.

I think the best ad was the Samsung “Next Big Thing” ad that featured Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen with a guest appearance by LeBron James.

That was such a smart ad because it targeted a specific market who love those comedic geniuses and people who idolize LeBron.

I just described my brother, who immediately texted me saying he wanted that phone.  Some other mentionable ads are Best Buy who featured comedic goddess Amy Poehler, Mio Fit, who landed Tracy Morgan, Got Milk? featuring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Mercedes Benz with Willem Dafoe and Usher.

The always-enjoyable E-Trade commercials with the talking baby had an adorable commercial and so did Gildan with a funny spin on a one-night stand and trying to sneak out with the beloved t-shirt.

I know what you’re all wondering, “enough with the summary, Erin! What were your favorites?!” Well don’t you worry; I definitely had favorites, which I will elaborate on now!

Ok, for sure have to put the Budweiser “Brotherhood” commercial on top.

This commercial started off with a guy bringing up a baby Clydesdale. It shows clips of the two, growing together, building a bond and a friendship and just melts your heart.

Then, the owner lets the horse go to become a Budweiser horse and you feel so sad watching them say goodbye.

The man sees an advertisement for a parade three years later and you can see him pondering if his buddy will be there.

The next shot is the horse walking down the boulevard and the horse and trainer lock eyes. It’s magical.

The reigns get taken off the horse and he sees his owner walking down the street.  He gallops full speed down the empty street into his owners’ arms.

Cue instantaneous tears. Mind you, this whole commercial is set to “Landslide” a ballad that can bring someone to tears without such touching imagery.

I also loved the Volkswagen “Get Happy” ad. It features a normal guy working in an office on a stereotypical Monday.

No one is cheery, everything seems to go a little wrong but not for this guy.

“No worries, mon! Everything will be alright!” My favorite line is when the boss asks him “hey, you’re from Minnesota right?,” implying why are you talking like you’re from the Caribbean and not stereotypically elongating your “O’s?”

He replies, “Yes, I! The land of ten thousand lakes!”

This commercial is just a feel good, no worries, everything will be all right commercial.

It makes me smile every time! What a great reminder to just slow down, enjoy life and take in everything that goes right instead of everything that goes wrong.

My final favorite was the Taco Bell “Viva Young” commercial where a group of elderly people sneak out of their retirement home for a night out on the town all to the backdrop of “We Are Young” sung in Spanish.

They sneak into a random swimming pool, light off firecrackers on people’s doorstep, dance the night away with young, beautiful women, one of the men gets huge tattoos on his back and the night ends as the group sits on their car, laughing away eating Taco Bell trying to look innocent as a cop drives by.

The ad tenderly ends with the group moseying back into the retirement home at the crack of dawn with loads of memories of the night before all including the always-delicious Taco Bell.

I just hope that I can live this way when I’m older.

What an inspirational and humorous ad! Remind me to do this when I’m that age.

The Super Bowl is the greatest time of the year and gingerly passes the torch from my favorite sport into my second favorite sport, baseball.

Now I can put my hopes and dreams into another team that will inevitably let me down, the Minnesota Twins.

Contact Erin at [email protected]