Super Bowl thoughts: Some people may be upset by this...

To conclude the preliminary clause in my title, "But that's their problem."

The New York Giants did exactly what I expected them to do, and won the Super Bowl by being (by far) the most complete team in the game.

New York is now a 4-time Super Bowl franchise, moving one ahead of the team they just took down.

I have a lot of opinions on this game, so I'm just going to go through them. I'm sure many of these will be upsetting, but when you call something weeks in advance (I said the Giants would sweep the Cowboys, make the playoffs and be the toughest out in the NFC field two weeks before the first game with Dallas) you get to say your final thoughts.

If you disagree, that's fine. I'd love a good debate, but first let me say that which I feel needs to be said.

Eli Manning today is better than Tom Brady

Please note that I did NOT say he is better than Tom Brady period (though I am one title away from putting him there).

I respect that Brady stretched that team further than anyone had any business doing, but his teams have been set up that way for a while. It's at the point where I really have to question whether it's Brady's greatness or more that Bill Belichick knows what kind of a system Brady works under and has organized the team to work with it.

That's not to say that Brady lacks skill. He does, and his three titles will make him an all-time great. But to be the greatest, two things he now lacks is 1) Definitive proof that he can be successful outside of Belichick's system and 2) A record that doesn't have no wins against the same team in multiple tries.

Eli, on the other hand, has doubled the championship total of his brother and has proven to be one of the most clutch quarterbacks in the NFL.

I do honestly believe when the defensive players said that they weren't worried when they were down in the fourth quarter once Eli got the ball. He has shown nothing less than brilliance when he steps onto the field late. The only criticism you could make about his fourth quarter performance Sunday was that he didn't throw a touchdown pass.

If I had to rate quarterbacks going into next year, it would be: Brees, Big Ben (if healthy), Eli, Brady and Rodgers (and unhealthy Big Ben after all of them).

Automobiles beat beers in commercial quality

Looking through this year's commercials, my immediate thought was "WTF happened to my funny beer commercials?"

I mean, sure, you had your "Wego" dog for Bud Light, but none of the other ads seemed to give me the kick I wanted.

However, the car companies, specifically Chevrolet and Hyundai, were incredibly strong this year.

My favorite of the car commercials was the 2012 apocalypse commercial Chevy did, where the guys driving Chevy trucks all survive. The best point in the commercial was when they asked about their friend and say he didn't make it because "he drove a Ford."

I also loved Hyundai's commercials, specifically the one set to "Rocky" music and the cheetah, who instead of chasing the car chases the much slower guy who released him.

Audi even achieved highly with their ad where all the vampires die in the headlights. Hopefully that was all vampires. Ever. Seriously. I don't want anymore vampire crap on my TV.

The only other really good ones were the m&m ad where Red gets 'naked' and the Ferris Buelher ad. Kind of a weak set this year, but plenty of highlights.

Madonna's act was fun, but it wasn't all-time great and wasn't what I want in a halftime show.


Don't get me wrong, this was a fun show, but after being treated to Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones in years past, I've gotten used to people singing.

There's a reason why I would pay for a Ke$ha show but never shell out a dime for a Britney Spears show despite the fact that I prefer Britney's old stuff to anything Ke$ha does. That's because although they're both spectacles, Ke$ha does her fans the service of singing live.

Britney and Madonna do a wonderful job of making their show interesting, but without authentic singing it's little more than watching her conduct a jazzercize class. It's great she's still in shape for her age, but to interrupt a football game for a half hour I want more than production value and gyrations.

Ke$ha may not be a great singer (she's solid on a good day but hardly passable on her worst), but she gets that shes a musician and people pay to hear her sing, and for that she has my utmost respect.

Until "Like a Prayer" it was clear she was completely reliant on the backing track. And don't give me the dancing excuse, because as the video below shows, Gwen Stefani sings live and dances around just fine.

Couple this with LMFAO's ridiculousness and M.I.A.'s little "finger malfunction" and you've got a problematic halftime show. As I said, Cee Lo Green and the final number saved it, and make it better than The Who and Black Eyed Peas performances, but it's still a ways behind the great shows in my opinion.

Here's a formal protest for a Bon Jovi halftime show. Or a Taylor Swift show. Or hell, even a Ke$ha show.

Other than all that, my final thoughts are that Kelly Clarkson and the couple duet of Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert hit home runs in their pregame performances. Also, kudos to whoever bet on the L.A. Tempation to win the Lingerie Bowl or the safety being the first score of the game.

See you football fans next year!