Despite all the hype, the superbowl really was super.

Friends and regular readers of the blog will know that I'm more of a cricket fan, and the showy, glitzy, cheerleader-led frenzy that defines American sports doesn't really do it for me. However, when younger I did used to like to watch American football, and the regular late night to watch the superbowl became a bit of a habit. Don't watch it much now that I have 'parental sleep disorder' but last night found me installed on the sofa, sorry, couch, with a big pot of coffee. The fact that the game was on BBC2 without adverts helped, but crucially the game was superb.

For anyone who doesn't know the sport, American Football is a cross between rugby league and a maths lesson. I know that doesn't sound very exciting, but the game offers occasional bursts of athletic and spatial brilliance interspersed with tactical play around field placings and calculations that is almost on a par with cricket. Whereas in football, English-style, much of a game can be spent making irrelevant moves (back-passes to the goal keeper, for instance), in American Football, like basketball and cricket, every play matters. Every 'down', like every drive to the basket or every ball in a game of cricket, is an opportunity to score, or a chance for the other side to steal a breakthrough. Perhaps that goes some way towards explaining why I find those three sports, above all others, interesting enough to keep me hooked over the years, even though they seem so different on the surface.

Last night's superbowl was predicted to be a walk in the park for the New England Patriots. Unbeaten in the regular season - a feat only acheived once before, and the season is two games longer now - they came in to the superbowl having recently beaten their opponents, the New York Giants. But New York turned out to have a grinding defence, that repeatedly closed down New England and forced them to give the ball away. Ultimately, however, it came down to one play - three and a half hours of pressure, in fact, six months of it, leading to a single period of five seconds or so, in which the Giants' quarterback, apparently tackled, closed down and on his way to the floor, somehow broke free and sent out a 32-yard pass which David Tyree clutched to his helmet. That play set up the score which won NY the superbowl, and it deservedly won Eli Manning the MVP award. I know it's what they're paid to do, and it feels a little strange to be eulogising over some guy not falling over and then throwing a ball to another guy, but like with any great drama you have to suspend your disbelief for a while to allow the events in front of you tell a story. And there's certainly a story in that few seconds. All of Manning's skill and training (his dad and elder brother were also NFL quaterbacks) took him to that point, but it was his refusal to fall under the tackle which mattered right then and there.

Don't believe me? You can read about it in the New York Times. Or watch it on youtube. Hopefully, even if you don't like sport, you'll agree it's worth a minute of your time.

And now, back to the politics...