The gang fails to follow through with their tradition of watching the Super Bowl together every year due to a funeral, but try to do it again the next night without finding out who won the game.
This episode provides examples of:
- Accidental Misnaming: Ted kept calling Mark "Matt".
- Actually Pretty Funny: Before going to Mark's funeral, Barney declared that his own funeral would be on his "Birthday Suit" and open casket for the ladies, which makes everyone roll eyes at him... until Marshall gave him a quick high five and a snicker before leaving.
- All for Nothing: Downplayed: although the gang made a point to not find out who won the game before they watched the recording of it, they all ultimately find out due to unavoidable circumstances:
- Robin's newscaster job meant it was only a matter of time before the winner was spoiled for her (the Bronx Zoo had a baby panda named after the winners).
- A janitor at Lily's kindergarten was listening to a discussion of the game on his radio (although Lily managed to cover Marshall's ears in time).
- Barney's gambling addiction and poor means of restraining himself meant he was able to escape the apartment and grab a newspaper to find out who won.
- And finally, mere moments before the gang started watching the game, Barney excuses himself to head into a different room... only to then be heard loudly berating himself for his poor betting, which indirectly spoils the game for Ted and Marshall, since they (and the others) knew which team Barney bet on.
- Big "NO!": Barney kneeled on the ground after failing to find out who won... while Ted was still trying to get back to the sports bar behind him.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Lily's student who blackmails Marshall with the game results.
- The Cameo: Barney, desperate to find out the results, runs into Emmitt Smith from the Dallas Cowboys, who apparently forgot to watch the Super Bowl.
- Cargo Cult:Ted: Almighty TiVo, we thank you for all the gifts you have given us: the power to freeze live TV to go take a leak is nothing short of Godlike. Let's not forget fast-forwarding through commercials. It seems greedy to ask anything more from you, O magic box, but if you malfunction and miss the Super Bowl, we will destroy you in the alley with baseball bats.Marshall: Amen.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The kid Marshall argues with about the winner of the Super Bowl will be central to an episode one season later.
- Did Not Think This Through:
- Barney's plan to handcuff himself to Ted's radiator to avoid learning who won the Super Bowl lacks a plan for going to the bathroom, something Ted points out. He even removes the fern that Barney eyed.
- As it happens, Barney wound up handcuffing himself to the part of the radiator that had an exposed end, meaning he could slip out and escape.
- No one thought about the fact Robin would be reporting the news the day after the biggest sports event of the year and would thus be surrounded by the results all day.
- Faux Horrific: Zig-zagged: Ted learning the wings he got did not come with dipping sauce is described as being "a horrific realization"... except that it meant he had to go back to the sports bar.
- The Gambling Addict: Barney's gambling addiction started by accidentally winning one dollar during a game. The following year, Barney couldn't make bets minor to 100 dollars.
- Gilligan Cut: Robin predicts that they will get home by eight. The time stamp on the next scene is 2:36am.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In order to prevent Marshall from learning the score to the Super Bowl, Lily covers his ears.
- Hot for Teacher: Lily's student admits he's torturing Marshall because he's in love with Lily.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The majority of the plot takes place on the Monday after Super Bowl XLI (which took place on February 4th, 2007). This episode aired that same Monday.
- Locked Out of the Loop: The only ones who didn't know the results of the game were Ted and Marshall. Lily and Robin accidentally found out before Barney had his rage fit.
- Male Gaze: While in first person view of Ted's sensory deprivation gear, he does a double take back to a waitress's cleavage.
- Potty Emergency: Although Barney managed to get to a toilet, we are informed that he took 8 minutes and 23 seconds to finish what is implied to be only a pee.
- Serious Business:
- The gang treats their Super Bowl tradition this way. They all go to incredible lengths to keep from finding out the score before they can watch it together.
- Carl furiously calls out a patron when the patron said he would rather watch the Super Bowl than attend Mark's funeral.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Averted for Barney. According to him, Funerals are one of the few moments where he doesn't suit up, since he considers his suits full of joy.
- Spoiler: The live report from the Bronx Zoo, the janitor's radio, a newspaper, and Barney's freakout before the gang watches the recorded game all wind up causing it to be spoiled for the gang collectively..
- The Unreveal: Although justified with Future!Ted not remembering, we get no details on the Super Bowl game in this episode (the closest we get is that the team Barney bet on lost).
