Green & Yellow, Green & Yellow! 31-25!

Tonight was my version of Black Friday. My own personal Christmas morning. The ultimate goal. The glorious culmination of the greatest sport on earth. The Superbowl.

Now, I'm no Nostradamus, but I may or may not have predicted a Superbowl appearance by the Packers in September.

Unfortunately for me, I also predicted the Ravens would be the representative for the AFC. Those damn Steelers...

At any rate, the game did not disappoint. Most of the game was spent pacing anxiously in my living room, making pessimistic comments and hiding behind my enormous cheesehead.

Blog-version of the highlight reel: Rodgers looking razor-sharp. TD pass to Nelson, 7-0, Green Bay. *cue the belt celebration* Big Ben throws an ugly interception to Nick Collins, which he returned for a TD. 14-0, Green Bay...and boom goes the dynamite. The Steelers' kicker actually hits a 33-yarder. 14-3. Green Bay had a ghetto fabulous, "Oh hell nah" moment - Rodgers to Jennings. 21-3. Sighs of relief from the Cheeseheads. No team has ever overcome a deficit of more than 10 points to win a Superbowl. Even I allowed myself some breathing room.

Then, suddenly, disaster struck. The Steelers began a nearly-historic comeback when Roethlisberger threw a touchdown to Hines Ward (the bane of my existence). 21-10 at halftime. Battered by injury, the Packers had a rough third quarter. Pittsburgh, 21-17. Who cares how or why? However, man-beast Clay Matthews took charge in the fourth quarter - combining with Ryan Pickett to force a key Mendenhall fumble. Moments later, Rodgers to Jennings (again), 28-17. Roethlisberger answered in his usual way - dancing on some bars, following young girls to the restroom, and making a huge pass to Mike Wallace. 28-25, still Green Bay. My mom expertly captured my exact reaction:

Of course, instead of calming my nerves and easily putting the game away, Green Bay marched down the field for a field goal, not a TD. 31-25, Green Bay with a couple minutes left. Too close for comfort. Nausea. Sweaty palms. Chewing on the cheesehead. Luckily, the Steelers turned the ball over on downs. Aaron Rodgers goes all Mortal Kombat with two "FINISH HIM!" knees. Game. Over.

The Green Bay Packers become the champions of Superbowl XLV and bring the Lombardi trophy back home to Wisconsin for the first time since 1997. Proud big sister moment. In addition, Aaron Rodgers was named MVP (3 TDs, no interceptions) - helping him move even further out of Favre's gloomy, sexting shadow of betrayal. Hooray!

All in all, the game was close to perfect. Dramatic until the very end. I forgot to mention: Midway through the game, the Packers lost their all-time leading receiver Donald Driver and defensive captain Charles Woodson to injury. Why not? Yes, waiter - I'll order another side of adversity, please.

I do wish my brother had been home to watch the game with me. He would have been in his green and yellow glory.

In other news, Christina Aguilera messed up the words in the National Anthem. Yikes. The halftime show performance by the Black Eyed Peas was just what I expected. Techno, light show, choreographed dancers, Fergie sounding awful live. Special appearances by Slash and Usher? Bizarre. What did you guys think of halftime and the commercials?

Originally, I intended on listing my top five favorite commercials, but I really didn't like any of them. Disappointment. The best one? The Doritos finger-licker commercial. Thank you for being creepy, Doritos. I approve.

Tomorrow, Man Meat Monday. Glee-cap on Tuesday. Promise.