Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass/References

Cultural references

 * Legendary character Mario of  makes a cameo in this episode, where a disgruntled Homer fights with him due to his annoyance. The fight is a direct parody of the arcade game , with Homer tossing garbage cans just like how Donkey Kong tossed barrels at Mario.
 * Flanders' violent films are an obvious parody of.
 * Michelle Kwan's line, "Beware the wrath of Kwan!" is a reference to the movie 
 * When Homer was watching old half-time shows, one of the shows he watched was the wedding for Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man. The ghosts were there too as they all danced to the song "Physical."
 * Mr. Burns' company logo is a parody of the logo.

Trivia

 * We learn Comic Book Guy's real name is Jeff Albertson.
 * With 23.1 million viewers, this episode is one of the highest-rated episodes in the show's history.
 * Homer is called a "jerkass" by a sports commentator. This is a possible reference to "Jerkass Homer", which is what many internet fans called Homer during the Scully era (Seasons 9-12)
 * Ned is dressed as the Devil in his film in the same way he appeared as the Devil in "Treehouse of Horror IV".
 * Quarterback Tom Brady, who made a cameo in this episode, led the New England Patriots to victory in Super Bowl XXXIX, which aired immediately before this episode.
 * Bart's treehouse is located beside the house while Homer was throwing trash cans at Mario.

Goofs

 * Ned reads from the Bible at the top of the Super Bowl stadium - how could anyone hear him without a microphone?