If this past Sunday’s Super Bowl XLV in Dallas showed us anything, besides that the Black Eyed Peas are absolutely atrocious live, it proved that not even NFL superstars are exempt from the effects of karma.  The Green Bay Packers fulfilled their role as the good guys, defeating the uncouth Pittsburgh Steelers in a messy yet riveting game filled with injuries, penalties, and dropped passes.  Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers won MVP honors following an outstanding postseason and Super Bowl that cemented his position as one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL.  After Rodgers famously fell to the 24th pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, he was forced to endure Brett Favre’s indecision on whether or not he would retire for three years.  But Rodgers never complained, continuing to work hard as Favre’s backup, and waited for his time.  When he finally got his chance, he made the most of it, and just three seasons later, he is the reigning Super Bowl MVP.

The Packers is a team full of guys like Rodgers, and a Super Bowl victory is a fitting reward for their avoidance of the cliché pitfalls that waylay NFL stars.  Wide receivers Donald Driver and Greg Jennings, as well as defensive stars Charles Woodson and Clay Matthews, have all played at a high level for the past few years while keeping their heads down and saying all the right things.

Pittsburgh’s stars have never been accused of keeping their heads down.  Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has twice been accused of sexual assault, and linebacker James Harrison has been fined hundreds of thousands of dollars this season alone for vicious helmet-to-helmet hits on defenseless players.  He also skipped the Steelers’ visit to the White House after winning Super Bowl XLIII, saying, “This is how I feel – if you want to see the Pittsburgh Steelers, invite us when we don’t win the Super Bowl.  As far as I’m concerned, he [President Obama] would have invited Arizona if they had won.”  That’s the whole point! If you win the Super Bowl, the President invites you to the White House.  To the victor go the spoils, and now they are going to the Packers, so Harrison won’t have to worry about feeling ‘offended’ by an invitation to the freaking White House again.

When the Steelers won Super Bowl XL, they beat the Seattle Seahawks in a game that featured a number of questionable calls, almost all of which benefited Pittsburgh.  The tables turned on them Sunday night, as they watched the Packers benefit from a few controversial calls and lucky bounces.  It seems as though the Steelers built up enough bad karma from that game, as well as the antics of their players since then, to prevent them from winning this past Sunday.

But I would be remiss without mentioning the off-field intrigue that also occurred on Sunday.  Dallas had record snowfall last week, slowing traffic and causing headaches for the millions who descended on the city for the big game.  For those of you who aren’t from below the Mason-Dixon line, it must be pretty hard to sympathize, considering the amount of snow New England has had this winter.  But you have to realize that most southern cities contain ZERO snowplows, and thus any amount of snow or ice is often crippling to infrastructure down south.  Besides the impact of the weather, the NFL itself helped screwed up its own big party.  Because some temporary seating sections weren’t completed by game time, 400 or so fans didn’t have seats.  They were refunded with triple the value of their tickets, and offered tickets to future Super Bowls, but it was nonetheless an embarrassing situation for the league and Cowboys Stadium. Speaking of embarrassing situations, Christina Aguilera messed up the national anthem, which is a big no-no.

All of these Super snafus remind me of a certain memorable “wardrobe malfunction” a few years ago at Super Bowl XXXVIII.  The location?  Houston, Texas.  Maybe the NFL should rethink holding Super Bowls in Texas for a little while.