Nothing succeeds like excess for the network covering the Super Bowl.
NBC succeeded by sticking to the formula, starting a full 5Â 1/2 hours before kickoff with its John Williams-penned "Sunday Night Football" theme music -- the tune that sounds like it was borrowed from a sword-and-sandal flick.
Cris Collinsworth and Bob Costas appeared on the pirate ship at Raymond James Stadium, and Costas promised: "Super Bowl Sunday is a game, yes. But it's also a national party, and over the next five hours we'll capture as much of the football and frivolity as we can."
Some of the show inevitably felt forced and foolish. But, overall, NBC delivered solid coverage, using a 300-frame-per-second "X-Mo" cam for replays on each goal line and at midfield.
There was face time aplenty for stars of NBC Universal's various programs and outlets: NBC's "Nightly News" anchorman Brian Williams, "Today" host Matt Lauer, Bravo's "Top Chef" martinet Tom Colicchio.
Even CNBC's Money Honey, Maria Bartiromo, got to offer a "Business Brief" culminating with her crowing that NBC set an ad revenue record for its Super Bowl commercial sales.
Once the game got under way, Al Michaels provided spot-on play-by-play -- as always -- keeping on top of the action with alacrity and accuracy. And when he gets excited, it feels real -- something we've known since the 1980 Winter Olympics.
And while it's hard not to think of Frank Caliendo's John Madden impersonation, marked by incoherent ranting, the former coach clearly delivers observations and insights without devolving into the arcane world of X's and O's.
Michaels and Madden played off each other as well as ever, too.
When Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went over to the sideline trying to decide what play to call, Michaels said:
"He has 150 to 200 plays on that wristband so maybe they needed some help with the Dewey decimal system to find it."
"Just imagine what the print looks like on that," Madden responded.
"You gotta have Ted Williams' eyesight," Michaels theorized.
At the football desk, Matt Millen's rehabilitation as a studio commentator continued in the aftermath of his firing as team president of the Detroit Lions. He joined former coaches Tony Dungy and Mike Holmgren, who came across as fresh faces.
Unfortunately, NBC had audio problems during Lauer's interview with President Barack Obama. But the network didn't pull away, and quickly fixed the sound, allowing viewers to hear him talk seriously about foreign issues and the economy before turning to football and reiterating that he's rooting for the Steelers.
NBC's pregame marathon succeeded in being fast-paced, using shorter features and allowing the talent to tell stories.
First Published: February 2, 2009, 6:00 a.m.