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From the Sidelines: Super bowl: commercials or the game?

Sports reporter

It's hard to tell if this year's Super Bowl will be a good game or not.

The Pittsburgh Steelers of the AFC are the first-ever six seed to make the big game, yet they are favored against the NFC's top-seeded Seattle Seahawks.

Without a ton of luck the Steelers would be at home right now, but it doesn't matter how they got there, especially if it means winning three games on the road.

Seattle coasted (no pun intended) all season in a weak NFC, and played two home games en route to Detroit for Super Bowl XL.

The Seahawks haven't had any drama this season, have no history, and about as much personality as a football itself.

Pittsburgh has the coach and the history, but make no mistake, this team is not even close to the team that won four Super Bowls in the '70s.

ESPN columnist Skip Bayless pointed out that team had nine future hall-of-famers.

This team has a second-year quarterback, an overrated running back, and a receiver who shares his first name with the venue they play in, Heinz Field. What are the chances of that?

It just plays to the fact this Bowl is strange. No huge stars. (Yes Seattle running back Shaun Alexander won the MVP, but he doesn't have the flash). No drama. No Hollywood types trying to soak up the attention during media week. Just plain, old-fashioned football.

So will fans outside of the two cities be watching?

The answer is yes, but not because of the game. The commercials this year better be good because that is what most people will be watching.

There are all sorts of polls to try and find out what percent of viewers watch just for the ads, and they range from seven to 14 percent.

This year it might reach a quarter.

It's not really fair to the teams because they are both good and deserving. It could be a good game, but the average viewer doesn't know that.

This year's Super Bowl could be one of the least-viewed games in a while. Last year it had T.O. vs. New England going for a repeat. In 2004 the up-start Carolina Panthers gave the mighty Patriots all they could handle.

2002 featured the then underdog Pats defeating what most people thought was an untouchable St. Louis Rams team. 2000 pitted the Rams and the Tennessee Titans in one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever.

Which all means the TV rating may be high, but the Seahawks and Steelers better put on some kind of show in the first half to get the commercial viewers to hang in the living room during the game.

Of course what do they care? They'll be hoisting the trophy whether the whole world or just their parents watch the game.

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