Aikman chose not to take part in the ad because of the scheduled filming time and locationGETTY IMAGES
Troy Aikman "declined an invite" to appear in the NFL's Super Bowl ad celebrating its 100th season, but has since "expressed regret" for doing so after seeing the final product during the game's broadcast, according to the DALLAS MORNING NEWS. Speaking yesterday on KTCK-FM, Aikman said, "They shot that commercial the Monday after the Cowboys played the Rams in the divisional game (on a Saturday), and so for me to be in that commercial, I was gonna have to stay in Los Angeles another 48 hours, and I just wanted to get home." He added, "I don't know why I thought that the commercial was not gonna air for another year, for some reason that was in my head. ... Then when it aired, then I realized it was for this year's Super Bowl and it was very well done." Aikman: "I thought, 'You know, I should've hung around and done that'" (DALLASNEWS.com, 2/5).
HOW'D THEY DO THAT? THE ATHLETIC's Greg Auman notes ESPN's Beth Mowins appears in the spot for a "split-second." There is a quick shot of Rams DT Ndamukong Suh, and in the background of his table are Mowins and Giants QB Eli Manning. Mowins said, "I’d never done anything like it before and thought it would be a lot of fun. It certainly was to be a part of all that." Mowins said that one of the "most impressive parts of the finished commercial was how well so many shots were woven together as one, even though they’d been shot over different days in different locations." Mowins: "I don’t want to ruin any Hollywood magic, but there I was at a table with Ndamukong Suh and Eli Manning, and I never saw them. I was sitting at a table with four extras, just actors in tuxedos" (THEATHLETIC.com, 2/5).
