It speaks to the quality of the football on display at this year’s Super Bowl, perhaps, that the most-talked-about player in the days after the event didn’t spend a single second on the field. Which is not to say that linebacker Terry Tate didn’t get in some terrible, bone-splintering tackles on the day of the game.

Tate — actually a six-foot-seven, 320-pound actor named Lester Speight — is the star of Reebok’s Super Bowl ad, " Terry Tate: Office Linebacker. " In the spot, Tate takes out a succession of office laggards — a worker playing solitaire, another making an unauthorized long-distance call — with a series of painful-looking tackles. The ad certainly puts the slap in slapstick. As Phoenix custodian Pat DeGregorio says, " Those weren’t just your everyday takedowns. Those were vicious hits. I couldn’t stop laughing. " He adds, " I wish I could do that in the office. "

Apparently, DeGregorio isn’t alone. " We’ve all been exposed to someone who’s left a paper jam or an empty pot of coffee, " says Doug Scott of Hypnotic, the production company handling the ad. " We’ve all wanted to be Terry Tate at some point in the office environment. He embodies an urge we’ve all had. "

While hospitalizing colleagues may not be on everyone’s agenda, there’s no doubt that Tate has sparked interest. Forty-eight hours after the ad screened, a Web site dedicated to the character (www.terrytate.reebok.com) had scored a million hits, and Tate had imposed his rather severe brand of discipline on the Today show’s Al Roker and Matt Lauer (Roker for not switching his cell phone off, Lauer for not recycling a soda can). " He’s become monstrous, " says Reebok marketing head Micky Pant. " Every television show is clamoring for him. "

Pant hasn’t always been quite so blithe about his latest marketing campaign. In fact, in the run-up to Super Bowl XXXVII, there were a few sweaty palms at Reebok’s Canton headquarters. " We’ve been out of Super Bowl advertising since 1994, " Pant says. " So we were very anxious. We bought 60 seconds, which cost us $4 million — overall, we spent $6 million. The second thing is that the spot, it contains graphic violence. I said the week before it ran, we’ll either have a celebrity on our hands or [the public] will have our heads. Fortunately, we survived. "

Still, there are those for whom the Tate ad poses troubling questions. " Personally, I thought it was fine, " says Katy DiCara, manager of the local sports bar Champions. " But I know others thought it was a little too violent. Some people had an adverse reaction to it. " Dana Van Fleet of the Cask ’n’ Flagon says these people need to lighten up. " Society is way too analytical these days, " he says. " And that is a perfect example. Just the fact that there’s this enforcer in the office tackling everybody. I thought it was funny, and people I talked to thought it was funny. "

Those in the business of workplace safety, meanwhile, disagree. " Workplace violence is not funny, " says Stan Koehler of the Occupational Health & Safety Administration. " This is a serious thing. " And though Larry Chavez, a workplace-violence consultant, admits that the ad made him laugh, he understands why some may be uncomfortable with it. " For someone who has been assaulted, " Chavez says, " this is not a good commercial. It makes light of that kind of violence. "

Doug Scott, for his part, brushes such criticism aside. " Some have expressed their concerns, as is the case with any visible campaign, " he says. " There’s always some group or movement opposed to any activity. If it’s related to animals, you’ll get animal-activist groups expressing themselves. It’s very clear that this campaign is by no means intended to encourage violence in the workplace. "

In any event, it seems likely that Terry Tate is poised to become America’s latest promotional superstar. Two days after the ad aired, Reebok had already lined up more installments of the saga. " We have one where Terry goes on vacation, " says Micky Pant. " He takes out people who are late with his breakfast and that sort of thing — the remote doesn’t work, the towel is too small. " The arrival of Terry Tate T-shirts and Terry Tate action figures, presumably, is only a matter of time. And then there’s the Terry Tate world tour.

" He’ll be going to key cities around the world, learning different cultures and handling problems for them, " Pant says. " There is a very good side to Terry. He does treat people with a degree of brutality, but it’s always for a good cause. "