With the burgeoning trend of people ditching cable in favor of Netflix, fewer people likely had the opportunity to watch the Super Bowl on their own big screens this year. But that didn't seem to pose a problem because for the first year, NBC streamed the big game live over the internet.

According to the New York Times, NBC reported that more than 2.1 million people (legally) streamed Super Bowl XLVI over the internet. The television network used Omniture and mDialog to collect their statistics.

The Times article reported that "the live stream represented the most-watched single-game sports event ever online."

The online stream, which I watched instead of hitting the power button on the remote control, offered a chat box, multiple camera angles and the ability to pause the game and watch multiple commercials a row.

Unless you have a 72 inch laptop, the game won't be larger than life in your living room, but will the perks of watching the game online trump seeing an almost-life size Tom Brady on screen? 

I think that as years go by (and as television fills up with more mind-numbing reality shows and even more viewers ditch cable in favor of Netlifx) more people will view the big game on the internet.

I can see a trend starting here and a good one at that. If internet viewing is more successful, perhaps NBC will add even more widgets to the online stream. Maybe a eventually there will be a running Storify of everything everyone is saying about the teams in the game - but that might be over the top. (It's the journalist in me.)

For next year's Super Bowl, if NBC is gracious enough to stream the game online again, I recommend that viewing venue. It provides more of an in-depth look at the game, more excitement and increased community interaction (not just with the dude next to you yelling "WHOOOOO!"). The only downfall is the laptop size. Tom Brady will not appear life-size on your screen.

Americans are suckers for cuteness. Even you, grizzly football fans.

This year's Superbowl featured children dressed as Darth Vader, babies and puppies among the standard mid-football game car ads and those that feature leggy women like in the  GoDaddy.com ad. Oh wait, that was Joan Rivers. (Why, I have to ask...)

My top pick was the Darth Vader child mastering the Jedi mind trick on a car. It not only melted my heart, but made me want to watch Star Wars again.

Since this is the first year I've noticed this - I don't want to jump the gun and call adorable Superbowl commercials a trend ... But it should be one. 

I think that Coke, which has had some truly stellar commercials in the past, failed during this game advertising-wise. They didn't play the cute card when it usually works so well for them. See adorable Coca-Cola bears below:

I know you all went "Awwww" when you saw this. This ad not only makes me smile but it works as an ad - it makes me want a frosty Coca-Cola - and I don't usually drink soda. The Lord of the Rings-esq commercial that aired this year made me wish that the hit movie Lord of the Rings doesn't become a cartoon series (if it isn't already too late for that.) This year's ad made me think more about the odd commercial than the product.

New isn't always better when it comes to marketing, especially for big brands like Coke. When I see the phrase: Open Happiness, I want to see small bears drinking soda, not dragons destroying a city (or castle ... Whatever.)

Entertainment Weekly cites the cluster of violent commercials that aired during this year's game and while some may have been fierce, the majority had redeeming cuteness. Grizzly bears mauled a group of friends eating McDonalds in their car, a cuddly pug knocked a glass door on top of someone all in the name of one Dorito and a jealous girlfriend blasted a blonde in the face with a Pepsi Max. While all of them are violent, they are also adorable and charming. 

So there you have it, football fans. You may be under the impression that you love violent commercials because, let's face it, they can be comical, but you may be smiling because that soft spot in your heart melted a little bit more from the cuteness of the commercial. 

Let's hope for more commercials like this next year. Oh, and a better team - Let's go Patriots!