Prince Superbowl Priapism?!

Maybe Prince wasn't so 'noncontroversial' after all

As this photo shows, for more than just an instant Prince was somewhat larger than life during his performance Sunday night at halftime of the Super Bowl.

His stadium-sized silhouette was shown on a billowing screen toward the end of his appearance, his uniquely shaped guitar adding an extra effect as he twirled and played. The effect continued far longer than the brief "flash" during Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" in 2004. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel of Getty Images.)

USA TODAY ("No malfunctions with Prince show") and The New York Times ( "A Noncontroversial Prince, Just the Way the N.F.L. Likes Him") are among the many media who wrote today that Prince delivered a malfunction-free show for CBS.

But some bloggers think he slipped one past everybody:

• Danwendi at Daily Kos says it was "some very suggestive shadow puppetry" and a "giant poke in the eye to the NFL, FCC and puritans everywhere." He also comes up with the best headline so far: "Was Prince's guitar just a guitar?"

• At New York magazine's Daily Intelligencer, Sam Anderson notes that "during the annual Janet Jackson "Scandalize the Heartland" Halftime Challenge, a giant shadow of Prince fingered his phallic guitar while the NFL embarked on its most ambitious attempt yet to answer the age-old question: How many fireworks do you have to shoot off before anyone starts to care that you're shooting off fireworks?

• Says Tim Malcolm at Ourage: "The Colts won the Super Bowl tonight. But the big story ... Prince shows off his big guitar. Seriously, are we going to be talking about this tomorrow? Where is the FCC? Anyone? Anyone?!"

• "Janet Jackson has got to wonder how Prince can get away with a phallic symbol of a guitar," writes the Wager7 blog.

So far, CBS publicists tell USA TODAY's Life section, the network isn't aware of any complaints.

Update at 5:30 p.m. ET:

CBS spokesman Dana McClintock tells USA TODAY that the network's switchboard received "very few" complaints about the halftime show. "Mostly, what they complained about was (that) the announcers were too pro-Bears or too pro-Colts," McClintock adds.

Update at 6:15 p.m. ET:

The search "prince + 'super bowl' " is now No. 1 at Technorati.