Tessa Climer, Staff Writer

The 50th Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 8, had the second highest rating in Super Bowl history, but it was a little less than an exciting game. The evening started out with a beautiful performance of “America the Beautiful” by the Armed Forces, followed by Lady Gaga singing her rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” (which she totally nailed, by the way.) These acts set the stage for the teams to storm the field with hope and determination.

For many fans, this game was a chance for Peyton Manning, quarterback of the Denver Broncos to retire from the NFL on a good note. On the other hand, Cam Newton, a young rising quarterback star lead his Panthers to the Super Bowl and had a large fan base coming with him.

As the game started to unravel, the excitement seemed to simmer out except for the one ‘Woo-er’ seated next to the cameramen. If you don’t know whom I am talking about, consider yourself lucky. But, to say anyone other than the Broncos defense won this game would be a lie. The Panthers made handfuls of mistakes during this game, only to have the Broncos take advantage of these mishaps. The game wasn’t much more than each team playing off of each other rather than playing the actual game of football.

Bruno and Mars performing during the Pepsi Superbowl 50 halftime show. Photo: Getty Images

The halftime show raised eyebrows with a unique group of artists joining together. Coldplay, Beyoncé and Bruno Mars collaborated to give us a visually pleasing dance off as well as including the crowd in a colorful banner that read, “Believe in Love.” For some, the combination of artists seemed too much, but the general consensus seemed to be that the half-time show brought more enthusiasm than the game itself.

One thing we can’t forget about the Super Bowl is the commercials. For individuals like myself, the commercials are the reason I watch. Some of the top favorites were: Doritos (the never fail), Mountain Dew (weird enough to stick in your mind forever) Puppy. Monkey. Baby! And of course, we can’t forget The Heinz running wiener dog commercial. Sure, I missed plenty of the other hilarious ones, but there were also some seriously cool commercials with great messages; the Budweiser commercial with Helen Mirren or even the Mini Cooper commercial. (Let us know on Twitter what your favorite commercials were @thedoahsu!)

Cam Newton and the Panthers may not have shown up in this game, but they will definitely have another shot at a ring in the future. Von Miller had an incredible performance in the game earning him MVP, and according to Peyton Manning, he was buying the celebratory beer that night. All in all, #SB50 was an entertaining night one way or another. And now, you can hear the sounds of crying fans all over the country who are already counting down until the next football season starts.