Enhance

Agreed. There's a bizarre revisionist streak in some pockets of the fanbase about that time. It was one of the most obvious hires to make and it was almost universally applauded around the country by fans, coaches, and media alike.

This move makes sense to me; still no guarantees for all conference champs (which is the correct move in this era of CFB) and addresses the flaw exposed from last year’s bye/seeding situation.

I wonder if the Browns are one of those teams daddy didn't want him playing for?

Yeah, the digs were kind of funny in the first round, but the longer this goes on the worst I do begin to feel. I don't want to see the kid fail. At the same time, they 100% brought this piling on to themselves, so my sympathy is infinitesimal. Deion didn't have to go on talk shows bragging about how he "wouldn't let his kid play for certain programs" and framing the narrative as if what can NFL teams do for Shadeur and not what can Shadeur do for the NFL. He didn't have to skip all the post-season bowls and workouts and combine stuff, acting like it was beneath him. And he also didn't need his dad running his mouth on social media for two years calling his ton a top 5 pick. The Sanders' treated Shadeur like he was Joe Burrow, and he isn't.

Retiring Hunter's jersey: totally get it. Retiring Sanders' jersey: comical.

I'm mostly laptop and for whatever reason I don't run into the issues other posters do and haven't seen the full page takeover stuff (not running an ad blocker or anything, either).

I had zero interest in seeing this movie ever since it was first announced, mostly because I'm not really into Disney live action remakes. But, the Rachel Zegler press tour on this a year or two ago also didn't do it many favors, in addition to the fact that I am rarely interested in Gal Gadot performances. The thing with Gal Gadot is that... I don't think she's as bad of an actress as some of her iconically bad movie lines would suggest. I wonder if her issue is that she is trying so hard to pronounce words and lines correctly that it just takes her out of the ability to actual perform the line in a believable way. It's pretty brutal at times, though, and the clips I've seen from the movie of Gadot on social media seem to suggest similar problems.

Done. Just in time for a new season, Lanfear.

Yep exactly - the Drake piece is critical to the overall narrative, but the general themes and messaging spoke to a much larger discussion. Like his line about "40 acres and a mule," the American flag symbolism, what he was doing with Samuel L. Jackson and Uncle Sam, the Squid Game reference, prison yard references, etc. I'm struggling to think of a good analogy for it all but the Drake portions of the performance are getting the most attention because it's a rap feud and that's sort of the sexy part of it all that sells the interest and hype. The song won a Grammy, Kendrick won five Grammy's, people were hyping up and wondering if "he would dare to play the song" because of the legal threats and just the audacity of doing something like that in front of a massive global audience. But even woven into his dislike of Drake is a bigger message, Drake's just kind of the vessel for carrying it in that particular song.

Yeah I think it’s really all about appreciating just a really solid a$$ whooping of another person. Snoop and Tom Brady: say no to hate Kendrick: actually

Serena and the dance were mostly just to s#!t on Drake as much as possible. The biggest reason to have her was because her and Drake dated (or were at least rumored to have been) and Drake name-dropped her in a song and also dissed her husband by calling him a 'groupie' at one point. The Crip Walk element is mostly because it's an iconic cultural dance, but also has ties into celebrating the aftermath of a hit (metaphorical in this sense). Serena also got criticized for crip walking at the Olympics once. Her and Kendrick are also both from Compton. That whole 5-sec sequence of her crip walking is kind of a microcosm of why so many people are hype about the performance last night because it was littered with various metaphors, innuendos, and messages, something Kendrick is very good at. I'm stopping short of calling it the 'best ever' though or making his performance into some massive political statement that should fundamentally change me (like some people are). He's still a multi-million dollar rapper performing at the Super Bowl, and he didn't perform some of his bigger hits, so there is a bit of break pumpage that needs to happen from some people IMO even though I really enjoyed it all.

Yeah halftime show criticisms have started to feel a bit weird to me in recent years. The same people who will dog on Kendrick will turn around and act like Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen were universally beloved. Huge portions of America are always going to dislike one performer over another. I can understand not liking Kendrick's music - personal preference - but I draw the line at people being just intentionally ignorant for the sake of making a hollow and unoriginal statement. Personally, I loved the show. Been a Kendrick fan ever since his maad city album. The performance had a lot of strong messaging and subtle callouts, too, for those willing to look for it. Plus, Kendrick's hatred for Drake has hit unimaginably entertaining levels. I wish I hated something so much that it motivated me to five Grammy's and one of the most hyped SB halftime shows in modern history. Drake loves the SB and he chose instead to fly halfway around the world to escape it lmao.

Halftime show was by far the best part.

Speaking personally, I do think America is a meritocracy in a very board sense (or, at least, we like to think of ourselves that way) but the reality is that we've been transitioning for some time further and further into a society dominated by inherited wealth and power.

I agree I think the focus should be on “what can we do to make it better” not just throw it in the waste bin. I would also argue more attention/resources should be devoted to improving education and opportunities for minority groups and at-risk youth at a younger age. Building up communities. That’s where the problems really live and DEI is trying to right inequities later. Unfortunately, one thing I’ve noticed about Republicans specifically over the years is that they’re quick to want to gut efforts (like DEI) but then scoff at the idea of spending money to help fix some of the root causes of the problems.