The greatest football game ever played.
It feels like we experience one of these every year. We thought we had it with Super Bowl 49. Before that, we thought we had it with Super Bowl 43. Before that, 42. But last night, we saw one that may; and I said may, have topped them all.
That is not to downplay other great Super Bowl games and moments, as there have been so many of them through the years. From Jackie Smith's dropped pass to Scott Norwood's miss to the Denver Broncos getting one "for John," to Pete Carrol's decision making, the Super Bowl has given us so many special memories over the years. But Sunday, February 6th, 2017, was something, unlike anything we've ever seen before.
As the big game drew near, my enthusiasm wasn't too high. I wrote in an earlier piece that the NFL postseason had been so weak that I saw minimal reason to get overly excited about its climax. On the surface, the backstory to this affair seemed intriguing enough. On one side was the establish veterans, while on the other were the new kids on the block, trying to prove that they belonged. However, because of previous disappointments, I had my doubts. Those doubts went away towards the end of the first half of the big game.
Yes, it looked like a blowout. But as far as blowouts go, this one was pretty fascinating. In what had to be a surprise to all rational civilians, the upstart Falcons pounded on the polished Patriots, getting out to a 21-3 halftime lead. Wow, this is pretty impressive. It looks like we may be seeing the passing of the torch. Bye bye, beautiful boy with the hot wife. Hello, Matty Ice!
The second half started, and it was more of the same, and with 8:31 left in the third quarter, the scoreboard read; Falcons 28, Patriots 3. The young guy was going to have his big moment, while Old Yeller was about to be put to sleep. Most of America was euphoric. The bully who always took your lunch money was finally getting beat up. Justice was about to prevail.
It seemed to make perfect sense for old yeller to go down. For the young guns to prevail over the enemy. But the tables turned. The established ones scored. Then they scored again. Now, it was a one-possession game. But never to fear. The deficit had to be too big to conquer. The birdies had to get their crown.
Atlanta took over, and they drove down the field, receiving a big boost from the magnificence of Julio Jones. Game over, right. Well, maybe so, if only Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan had a brain. But not so fast, as the New England Patriots tend to make smart coaches dumb. The Falcons passed the ball when they should have played it safe and ran it. As a result, they were forced to punt, and at this point, we all saw how this one was ending.
Now, the stage was set for the greatest quarterback in NFL history to prove, once again, that he is the greatest quarterback in NFL history. He did just that- aided by the greatness of Kent State legend Julien Edleman, and tied the game at 28, and the prediction of my college friend Mitch was right on the money. For the first time in Super Bowl history, we had overtime.
One drive. One touchdown. Five Superbowl Championships. Pats win, and the rest of the world is pissed off. I, for one, was far from upset.
While I understand why people hate the New England Patriots- the cheating, the winning, the arrogance, I have grown to like the jerks over the past three years or so. I've come to appreciate their greatness. I've come to love Tom Brady, and I've grown quite entertained by the various ways in which haters try to diminish all that the Sons of Kraft have accomplished over the past 15 years.
"They cheated!" "All Brady does is throw short passes!" "Everytime the pretty boy gets hit, they throw a flag!" These are all complaints from people who just don't recognize greatness when it is right on their nose. Is it ok to not be happy about greatness? Sure. All I care about is that people understand that it is there. Tom Brady is the greatest quarterback of all time. Nobody has done more with less. Nobody is better when it counts, and nobody has been so good for so long.
The Patriots are the greatest dynasty in NFL history; if they even qualify as such. In most cases, dynasties take place around a 5-10 year window (70s Steelers, 80's 49ers, etc.) However, the Patriots have been winning for 15 years. That exceeds the time of a dynasty. Call it multiple dynasties. Call it a prolonged reign. Whatever the case is; the Patriots are excellent.
Not only are they excellent, they are entertaining. So much so that one could easily make the argument that, of the 15 greatest Super Bowls ever played, seven of them have involved Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. and William Stephen Belichick. Going back to the beginning of this piece, I think last night might have topped them all.
Never before have I seen a torch passing turn into the continuation of a golden legacy. Never before has anybody seen a comeback quite like that on the biggest stage in sports, nor has anybody seen such a contest be decided by one possession. As I began writing this post, I thought that a good portion of my piece would involve me rambling about this being the "greatest game of all time," and my opening paragraph made it seem that I was indeed going that route.
However, I don't want to compare. I want to enjoy, and boy did I. The Super Bowl needed to be big to make up for the awful postseason and underwhelming regular season that came before it. Mission accomplished.
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