Super Bowl XLVIII: Halftime provides sweet relief for Manning and Broncos

The National  Anthem was sung by Renee Fleming, an opera singer who has performed on both David Letterman and with the Muppets. Some people found reason to complain before the kickoff, possibly because they bet she was wearing the wrong colored gloves.

Then the football game – which is apparently what all this has been about – started.

The first play was an interception.

The third play was a safety.

And things just kind of went in a Pacific Northwesternly direction from there. The Seahawks got the ball and notched a field goal, and then another. At one point, the Broncos had only run seven plays, with three of them leading directly to them losing the ball. Peyton Manning could do little on the sidelines but shake his head as Kam Chancellor picked him off.

And Marshawn Lynch punched in for another touchdown to make it 15-0 and we all worked really hard to shoehorn in our jokes about Skittles. Suddenly, the "more like a baseball score" jokes ballooned from Carlos Marmol to Joe Blanton.

Yes I can, Mr. Jackson. Yes I can. When Manning's arm got plucked in mid-pass and the Seahawks' Malcolm Smith was there to snatch the miscue out of the sky, all those hoping for at least a good game were left with only their wildest fantasies for the halftime show.

The Broncos headed to the locker room with no solace from the Seahawk's offensive onslaught, met in intensity solely by their defensive onslaught. 22-0 sounds very much like

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with duel rings.