Everyone is so caught up in the rush and excitement of bowl game season that a glaring fact seems to have alluded most people. In this financial suckfest, where did the advertisers get the money to put on these big budget productions?

Let's texamine just who these advertisers are exactly. Well, there's Citigroup, Capital One and GMAC. Why do those names sound so familiar? Could it be because they were just on the receiving end of a big, huge government payout?

While sports are super fun, some people aren't so super happy about the use of our bailout funds. The Wall Street Journal reports:

The cost of these sports promotions were small compared with the billions of dollars the financial institutions lost on bad loans. But critics of the federal bailouts have seized on the high-profile sponsorships to take shots at the financial industry and the government.

"Some of the advertising folks at these firms might think it's important to put their corporate brand on public events, but taxpayers might think they're being taken for a ride," said Pete Sepp, vice president for policy and communications at the National Taxpayers Union.

Seeing companies sponsor a major athletic event while holding out a hand out for public money from the $700 billion rescue plan highlights one awkward aspect of the government intervention. Treasury has been reluctant to put restrictions on the funds. Typically, big-game sponsorships can cost millions of dollars.

But what's a little misappropriated use of taxpayers money when it comes to sharing with the world the joy of men in pads hitting eachother and throwing around a ball? Ah, government... you've got to love it.