There's no

Full disclosure: I did not make the trip to the Super Bowl this year. I offered to take my daughter 12-year-old Caitlyn to the Big Game in Indianapolis. We had a great father daughter road trip the last time the Patriots and Giants played in the Super Bowl. My hope was that she would travel with me once again and she was excited about the trip... until she took inventory of her responsibilities, namely school and basketball.

Caitlyn hates to miss school for any reason. She honestly feels she is letting her teachers and classmates down when she does. I knew school would be an obstacle but basketball surprised me. I help coach the team. We moved up a division this year, struggled and have no playoff berth at stake. If there were any season for this volunteer coach and player daughter to skip a game for any reason the Superbowl would be the one. Yet Caitlyn did not want to. We won our last game and Caitlyn does not feel right about disrupting the team's momentum before this so called meaningless game. She was fine with me going to the Super Bowl without her but her actions reminded me of the commitment we both made to the team. Thank you Caitlyn for reminding me that there is no such thing as a meaningless game as long as even one player will be playing her heart out.

A game much more super than the Super Bowl

Having attended three Super Bowls I can honestly say that the AFC and NFC Championship games are an infinitely better game experience. Don't get me wrong, Super Bowls are great spectacles with fabulous networking and celebrity spotting. The parties and corporate hospitality that accompany it are world class but when it comes to the actual football fan game experience the conference championships kick Super Bowl butt.

Conference championships are authentic home games for real fans. Super Bowls have only a small percentage of actual, honest to goodness, diehard fans in attendance. Super Bowls are played at neutral stadiums and allotments of tickets are given to every NFL team and corporate sponsors leaving only a small percentage reserved for hard core fans of the teams who made it to the Super Bowl. At my first Super Bowl I sat next to team executives from the San Diego Chargers who had no vested interest in the game. They rooted against both teams. Boring. In Houston I had seats next to then Patriot Willie McGinest's entourage which was more fun. Yet they were more Willie fans than true Patriot fans so there wasn't the same degree of passion. In Arizona, I sat surrounded by Giants fans during their historic upset of the then undefeated Patriots. Enough said about that. The fact remains that the vast majority of people attending a Super Bowl are not invested emotionally in the teams playing or the outcome.

The energy and excitement of a home conference championship game is off the charts compared to the generic fan feel of the Super Bowl. If the game itself means more to you than the invitation only NFL sanctioned events, celebrity parties, and corporate hospitality, then I suggest taking "attend a Super Bowl" off your bucket list and add "seeing your favorite NFL team play in a home conference championship game."

The Miraculous MHK

Speaking of the AFC championship game, I was there at Gillette Stadium when Ravens Kicker Billy Cundiff inexplicably missed a short field goal in the closing seconds giving the Patriots a berth in the Super Bowl. Patriots owner Robert Kraft suggested his beloved departed wife Myra had a hand in the miraculous finish. While I do not know for sure, what I do know is that Myra's spirit was large enough to be bigger than this world. With her initials MHK adorning Patriots jerseys, I will never forget the conversation I had with Myra in Houston before the Super Bowl game against the Panthers. We didn't talk Patriots, football, sports or even business. It was a real conversation on the importance of family and living life to the fullest. Anyone who met Myra H Kraft would tell you that she was as genuine and generous a person you could meet on this planet.

And the Super Bowl Ad winner is??

You won't get the answer from me. I declined to review Super Bowl Ads for the media this year for two reasons. First, (add)ventures has three client partners with ads on the Super Bowl. While we did not produce those spots I would still be biased toward our friends. Of course the great companies, brands and people we know would win our vote. (add)ventures only aligns itself with winners. Second, as a Patriots Season ticket holder I planned to enjoy the game with my family and friends. Also, much of the drama surrounding Super Bowl ads are gone these days with pre-releases on YouTube, Facebook and other social media. Thanks to the advent of social media, corporations are realizing what (add)ventures has preached for over 20 years - that there are better and more cost effective ways to deliver brand messages.

Steve Rosa, ceo

Follow Steve on Twitter @StephenRosa