Well, the Super Bowl is here, and this year's matchup features the teams that finished at the top of the AP's NFL Poll: the number-1 Seahawks and the number-2 Patriots. As a neutral fan, it's hard to think of another Super Bowl that featured two teams that were easier to dislike. The Seahawks are a bunch of violent blowhards led by a coach who was busted for cheating in the NCAA. The Patriots are cheaters who feature the most tiresome fan base in all of sports.
From the perspective of neutral fans, by the way, the most popular NFL champions since 1970 were:
1. 1985 Bears (this is not close)
2. 1992-93 Cowboys
3. Steel Curtain Steelers
4. 1980 Raiders
5. 1996 Packers
But none of those teams is here today. Instead, we have two teams who have mastered the modern NFL, which apparently rewards grim, almost paranoid coaching staffs and offenses that are really good at completing six-yard passes.
Anyway, they're doing a bunch of pre-game stuff on NBC. I can no longer get the BBC's broadcast for the Super Bowl, so I'm going with the Westwood One crew on WJFK-FM, 106.7.
Comments flow!
Idina Menzel is now doing the National Anthem, which will be the high point of the evening for fans of "Frozen" and the Broadway stage. She is in good voice, and does an old-school, over-the-top anthem that is very appropriate for the Super Bowl.
ReplyDeleteI picked the Patriots to make the Super Bowl, but I'm going with the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl.
ReplyDeleteOh, WOW! There's a new episode of "Blacklist" after the game! Be still my beating heart.
ReplyDeleteThe Patriots call heads, the coin comes up tails, the Seahawks defer, and the Pats will take the ball.
ReplyDeleteUniform watch: the Seahawks are still wearing those blue uniforms with green highlighting that look like they were picked up in an XFL garage sale. The Patriots have the same Flying Elvis helmets and white jerseys that you can see on CBS almost every Sunday afternoon during the season.
ReplyDeleteNew England takes the kickoff and will start from its own 18.
ReplyDeleteI have delayed the picture by about 30 seconds to sync with the radio broadcast, so these entries will be somewhat behind the live feed.
ReplyDeleteBrady tries a whole bunch of little passes that get one first down but not much else. The Pats punt to the Seattle 15.
ReplyDeleteWait, there's running into the kicker, so New England will punt again. No they won't, as they've declined the penalty. Boomer Esiason thought that should have been roughing the kicker; he couldn't have been more wrong.
Commercials. We have a very moving commercial about a woman with artificial legs who also drives a Toyota Camry. Then a complicated commercial about how TurboTax could have prevented the Revolutionary War.
ReplyDeleteNow the Seahawks have the ball. Boomer says that you have to gang-tackle Marshawn Lynch. I wonder if the Patriots have considered that tactic.
ReplyDeleteApparently they have, because the Patriots stuff Lynch on 3d and 2.
ReplyDeleteSeattle punts to the New England 32. 9:20 left in the First Quarter.
Commercials. Kate Upton is still doing those Game of War ads. Disney and George Clooney have a sci-fi movie called "Tomorrowland." Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel reunite for a car commercial that features a fabulous clip from the two of them in 1994 sounding absolutely clueless about the Internet.
ReplyDeleteI've been watching that Katie Couric/Bryant Gumbel commercial on YouTube the last few weeks and have really enjoyed it.
DeleteNew England, with a series of tiny passes and up-the-middle runs that would make Woody Hayes proud, has moved to the Seattle 26. Boomer says that the Patriots are being "methodical."
ReplyDeleteFacing 3d and 6 from his own 10, Brady throws another little pass, but it's INTERCEPTED by Jeremy Lane. Lane returns the ball to the 14, but he appears to be hurt. 1:39 left in the first quarter.
ReplyDeleteThe intervening commercial break featured an incomprehensible commercial that somehow connected the Brady Bunch, someone I've never heard of or seen before, and Snickers.
ReplyDeleteI was bothered by that commercial.
DeleteAfter one quarter, the score is 0-0. Fun!
ReplyDeleteNow we have a wonderful speech from John F. Kennedy about the sea that is somehow being used to promote cruise ships. I cannot overstate how strongly I feel this commercial is in bad taste.
ReplyDeleteThat's followed by a silly Skittles commercial, and a Matrix-style Lexus commercial. Now Kim Kardashian is here in a self-referential T-Mobile commercial.
Wow, these commercials are really grim. Where's the fun?
I'd never heard that thing where JFK was talking about the scene, and it was BEAUTIFUL. And then it was, I totally agree, in poor taste to try to attach that to the cruise line.
DeleteJFK did stuff like that all the time. Any speech from him contains jewels worth treasuring.
DeleteThe Seahawks really look as though they may be the first team in Super Bowl history to be shut out. They do very little on offense, and punt to the NE 36. 13:57 left in the 2d quarter.
ReplyDeleteYay! Here's the Budweiser commercial about the puppy, the wolf, and the Clydesdales. I love this commercial.
ReplyDeleteNow Mindy Kaling is pretending to be invisible. That was pretty funny.
And now apparently the Terminators are back. I finished the Terminator story with Terminator 2, but it's fine with me if other people want new stories.
And now the Patriots, who are somehow much quicker than the Seahawks, have used their usual array of junk passes to move down to the Seattle 12. 10:33 left in the second quarter. A field goal could be enough to win the game.
ReplyDeleteNow Boomer says that the Patriots have been "methodical" and "efficient."
ReplyDeleteOn second and 10 from the 12, Brady hits Brandon LaFell for an easy touchdown pass. Throughout that drive, the Patriots abused the back-up cornerback who replaced the injured Jeremy Lane.
ReplyDeleteSeattle 0 - 7 New England (9:47 left in 2d Quarter)
Except for that one interception, the Seahawks have looked terrible. I don't watch the NFL all that much; is Seattle's offense that bad?
Commercials. Another Fast and Furious movie. A Dove commercial encouraging men to be good fathers. A new spy show about Russian moles.
ReplyDeleteBoomer now thinks that the Patriots have been motivated by Deflategate. That's probably right -- if not for Deflategate, they probably wouldn't care that much about winning the Super Bowl.
ReplyDeleteThey might not have even been in it.
DeleteSeattle, starting from its own 20, does its usual three and out. New England will start dinking and dunking from its own 26.
ReplyDeleteNissan does a "Cats in the Cradle" commercial which is pretty much the story of my life, if I drove race cars.
ReplyDeleteSo far, New England has 140 yards to 22 for Seattle.
ReplyDeleteIt's not clear to me that Seattle will get 140 yards in the whole game.
ReplyDeleteThis time the Seattle defense holds. The Patriots go 3 and out, and they punt to the Seahawk 30.
ReplyDeleteSeattle 0 - 7 New England (7:07 left in 2d Quarter)
Whoa, talk about killing the mood! Nationwide comes on with a very depressing ad about dead children and the need for insurance.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I missed this one.
DeleteAfter the game, someone tweeted a picture of the kid from this commercial, saying "I would have given the ball to Marshawn Lynch. But I died."
DeleteWith 5:27 left in the half, Seattle completes its first pass of the game. They now have first and 10 at their own 40.
ReplyDeleteBefore the game, famous Boston fan Bill Simmons of Grantland wrote that he didn't like the fact that the Pats were playing Russell Wilson, because he doesn't like rooting against lucky people. Now Wilson, who has been terrible throughout this game, hits a LONG pass to give Seattle a first down at the New England 11.
ReplyDeleteWith third and 2 from the three, the Seahawks give the ball to Marshawn Lynch. Lynch, who is channeling Larry Csonka in this game, with hard, physical running on every carry, hammers the Patriots defense and pounds into the end zone FOR A TOUCHDOWN.
ReplyDeleteSeattle 7 - 7 New England (2:16 left in 2d Quarter)
Knowing how this game ends, I am just angry reading this comment.
DeleteCommercials. McDonald's is going to pick some customers who can pay with an act of love. Esurance has a moderately funny commercial involving that guy from Breaking Bad.
ReplyDeleteLynch has 11 carries for 42 yards. Wilson's long pass was caught by Chris Matthews, a rookie who played for the University of Kentucky.
ReplyDeleteI'm not commenting on any more commercials, unless someone has a good one.
ReplyDeleteTwo minutes left, and New England has the ball on its own 31.
ReplyDelete49 seconds left. 3d and 3 from the Seattle 48. The Seahawks jump offside. First down for New England. Boomer says that the Pats are methodically going about their business.
ReplyDeleteOn 1st and 10 from the Seattle 43, Brady dinks the ball to Shane Vereen, who scoots down to the Seattle 27. 40 seconds left.
ReplyDeleteWith 31 seconds left, Brady throws a 23 yard TOUCHDOWN PASS TO ROB GRONKOWSKI. Just a masterful drive from the Patriots.
ReplyDeleteSeattle 7 - 14 New England (31 seconds left in 2d Quarter)
When the game started, I thought the Seahawks would overpower the Pats much like they did last year against Denver. But so far, New England has clearly been the better team.
ReplyDeleteBrady has now tied Joe Montana for the most TD passes thrown in the Super Bowl, with 11.
ReplyDeleteSo far, Brady is 20-27 for 177 yards, 1 int, and 2 TD's.
ReplyDeleteWith 11 seconds left, the Seahawks have 2d and 10 at the NE 45.
ReplyDeleteWilson hits Ricardo Lockette, who skips out of bounds at the NE 21, but the Pats are hit with a facemask penalty. So with 6 seconds left, Seattle has a 1st and 10 at the NE 11.
Seattle calls time.
ReplyDeleteAnd then New England calls time.
With six seconds left, Wilson throws a TOUCHDOWN PASS to Chris Matthews (of the University of Kentucky).
ReplyDeleteWhat a fightback by Seattle! They went the length of the field in only 31 seconds.
Seattle 14 - 14 New England (2 seconds left in 2d Quarter)
The Patriots have been dominant for most of the game, but we are all tied.
ReplyDeleteThe half ends on Seattle's squib kick.
ReplyDeleteSeattle 14 - 14 New England (Halftime)
This is the first Super Bowl to be tied at the half since the Pats and Eagles hooked up in Super Bowl XXXIX.
I really have nothing to say about Katy Perry's performance, other than I hope it made her fans happy.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan, but I thought this was a pretty good halftime show. Somebody noted on Twitter last night that Paul Stanley of KISS has been doing that fly-around-the-arena deal for several years. I got to go to a KISS show in Washington, D.C., several years ago, and he was, indeed, who I thought of when that started going on with Katy Perry last night.
DeleteI did like how the dancing beach balls, sharks, and trees on that one song all had working mouths.
ReplyDeleteI was also impressed with all the technical aspects of the show.
ReplyDeleteI particularly liked how she flew on that star thing.
ReplyDeleteYeah, all of this.
DeleteEveryone, at some point in their life, should get the chance to fly on a star thing in front of a crowd of cheering people.
DeleteYeah!
DeleteOK, back to the game. New England looked better for most of the first half, but now it looks like it could go either way.
ReplyDeleteThe Seahawks take the opening kickoff. A big run from Lynch gives them a first down at the Seattle 38. And then Wilson THROWS A 45-YARD PASS to Chris Matthews (of the University of Kentucky) to give Seattle a first down at the NE 17.
ReplyDeleteOn 3d and 1 from the 8, the Patriots' defense stuffs Marshawn Lynch. The Seahawks are forced to settle for a field goal. But for the first time tonight, they have the lead.
ReplyDeleteSeattle 17 - 14 New England (11:09 left in the 3d Quarter)
Chris Matthews has 3 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown.
ReplyDeleteThe Patriots start from their 20. Back to the dinks and dunks.
ReplyDeleteOn 3d and 9 from his own 32, Brady throws his SECOND INTERCEPTION of the night. Bobby Wagner picks off a pass that was heading for Gronkowski. The Seahawks are penalized for an illegal block on the return, so they will start at the 50.
ReplyDelete8:07 left in the 3d Quarter, and now Seattle can put New England in a hole.
Chris Matthews, who had never caught an NFL pass before tonight, just picked up his 4th catch of the game, giving Seattle a 2d and 1 at the NE 41.
ReplyDeleteHe also caught the onside kick toward the end of the NFC championship.
DeleteNow a Wilson run and a Patriot penalty puts Seattle on the NE 18.
ReplyDeleteAnd now Lynch Csonka's his way through most of the NE defense to create a first and goal at the 4. He has been amazing in this game.
Urgh.
DeleteTwo plays later, the entire New England defense went for a fake to Lynch, and Wilson lofted an easy TOUCHDOWN pass to a wide open Doug Baldwin.
ReplyDeleteAnd suddenly the Pats are in big trouble.
Seattle 24 - 14 New England (4:54 left in 3d Quarter)
I think this play here is what explains Seattle's play-calling at the end. But this was a totally different play, in which there was no possibility of a turnover. I think the Seahawks decided that they wanted to use Lynch as a decoy, but they didn't want to run the same Lynch-as-a-decoy play that they had already used. So they used a different one, with disastrous results.
DeleteI thought it was nuts, too, that Belichick wasn't calling timeouts, but maybe he bet right that Carroll would flip out if he let the clock keep ticking.
DeleteNew England will start from its own 36. Will they now have to start throwing some longer passes?
ReplyDeleteThe Patriots are hit with a holding penalty on first down, and they are unable to overcome that penalty. They punt, and Seattle will start from its own 20.
ReplyDelete3:15 left in 3d Quarter.
And now Seattle is making New England look slow. Wilson zips a quick pass that gives the Seahawks a first down at their own 45, and Seattle is once more on the move.
ReplyDeleteBoomer says that New England's defense has to get a turnover. He says that the Patriot offense looks lost.
I wonder why they got away from their strategy of being methodical.
DeleteOn 3d and 3 from near midfield, Wilson throws a long pass that is dropped. The Seahawks are forced to punt. New England will start from its own 14.
ReplyDelete55 seconds left in the 3d Quarter.
The third quarter ends with the Pats facing a 3d and 1 at their 23.
ReplyDeleteSeattle 24 - 14 New England (15 minutes left in 4th Quarter)
On 3d and 1, Seattle crushes the New England line and prevents the Pats from running for the first down. The Patriots punt, and Seattle will start from its own 35.
ReplyDeleteSeattle 24 - 14 New England (14:17 left in 4th Quarter)
On 3d and 7, the Patriots sack Wilson. The Seahawks punt, and Julian Edelman returns it from the NE 17 to the NE 32.
ReplyDeleteSeattle 24 - 14 New England (12:22 left in 4th Quarter)
For the rest of the game, Boomer insisted that this sack was what sparked the Patriots back to life.
DeleteI will say that, after this sequence, I expected them to come back from commercial with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms and the game was suddenly going to become six AFC games a season I've watched for the last 15 years.
DeleteOn first and 10 from the NE 32, Brady is sacked.
ReplyDeleteOn 2d and 18 from the NE 24, Brady dinks a pass to Lafell, who goes for four yards.
On 3d and 14 from the NE 28, Brady zooms a bullet down the field to Edelman, who is down at the NE 49.
I thought it was this pass, rather than the sack on the previous drive, that really turned things around. Before this pass, Brady looked like he was about 80 years old. From here to the end, he was lights-out great.
DeleteOn first and 10 from the NE 49, the Patriots complete another little pass -- and the Seahawks commit a personal foul. Now the Pats are down to the Seattle 27.
ReplyDeleteWith about 9 minutes left in the game, New England faces a 3d and 8 at the Seattle 25. Brady zooms another pass over the middle to Edelman -- the second time that pass has worked on this drive. Edelman goes all the way to the Seattle 2.
ReplyDeleteI was so hopeful at this point that Brady had crossed the line of scrimmage when he stepped forward from the pocket before throwing that pass.
DeleteWith 8 minutes left, New England has 2d and goal at the Seattle 2. Brady zips a TOUCHDOWN PASS to Danny Amendola in the back of the end zone.
ReplyDeleteGreat, great drive by the Pats.
Seattle 24 - 21 New England (7:55 left in 4th Quarter)
OK, this is great, great stuff. What will happen now?
ReplyDeleteI totally disagree with this comment--both the initial statement and the use of the question mark on the second sentence.
DeleteThe kickoff is a touchback. Seattle will start from its own 20.
ReplyDeleteOn first down, New England tripped the Seattle receiver, which pretty clearly seemed to be pass interference. But it was not called. Boomer (and I were appalled).
ReplyDeleteAfter that break, the Patriots' defense held. Seattle is forced to punt. New England will start at its own 35.
Seattle 24 - 21 New England (6:52 left in 4th Quarter)
Cheaters.
DeleteSo it's all down to this -- Brady vs. the Seattle defense, for the championship of the world. It's hard to think of a better ending for this season.
ReplyDelete1/10, NE 36: 8-yd pass, Brady to Vareen
ReplyDelete2/2, NE 44: 4-yd pass, Brady to Vareen
1/10, NE 48: 9-yd pass, Brady to Edelman
2/1, Sea 43: 7-yd pass, Brady to Vareen -- CANCELLED because of PASS INTERFERENCE on Edelman
2/11, NE 47: 21-yd pass, Brady to Gronkowski
1/10, Sea 32: Pass, Brady to Vareern, no gain
2/10, Sea 32: 12-yd pass, Brady to Gronkowski
1/20, Sea 20: 8-yd run by Vareen
3 minutes left in the game
2/2, Sea 12: 7-yd pass, Brady to LaFell
With a first and goal at the Seattle 5, and 2:52 left in the game, New England calls time.
1/G, Sea 5: 2-yd run by Blount
ReplyDelete2/G, Sea 3: 2-yd pass, Brady to Edelman, TOUCHDOWN
Since at least 1958, NFL history has shown that even a great defense cannot stop a great quarterback. Brady simply dissected the Seahawks on that drive.
ReplyDeleteSeattle 24 - 28 New England (2:02 left in 4th Quarter)
Seattle will start from their own 20. They have all three timeouts.
ReplyDelete1/10, Sea 20: 31-yd pass, Wilson to Lynch
Two minute warning
1/10, NE 49: Pass incomplete
2/10, NE 49: Wilson calls time.
Seattle 24 - 28 New England (1:50 left in 4th Quarter)
2/10, NE 49: Long bomb to Matthews, incomplete
ReplyDelete3/10, NE 49: 11-yd pass, Wilson to Lockette (1:17 left)
1/10, NE 38: 33-yd pass, Wilson to Kearse
This was an AMAZING play. The ball was tipped, and appeared to be incomplete, but Jermaine Kearse (on his back), somehow FOUND THE BALL IN HIS LAP. He tipped it two or three more times before finally pulling it in. Maybe Wilson is lucky.
"They're not in yet," Cris Collinsworth said at this point, pretty much in unison with my brain.
DeleteBoomer Esiason on the radio ... Cris Collinsworth on TV ... Ickey Woods in the great Geico commercials ... I wonder what Sam Wyche was doing last night.
I really loved that line from Bill Simmons about not wanting to root against lucky people. I know exactly how he feels.
DeleteNow it's up to Lynch:
ReplyDelete1/G, NE 5: Lynch runs for 4 yards
2/G, NE 1: With only about 40 seconds left, and a second consecutive championship all but assured, the Seahawks decide NOT to give the ball to Marshawn Lynch. Instead, they decide to pass the ball to Ricardo Lockette. But the ball doesn't go to Lockette. Instead, it goes to Malcolm Butler, who plays safety for the New England Patriots. Butler INTERCEPTS the ball at the goal line, and the Patriots are going to win the Super Bowl.
I will never understand why the Seahawks didn't give the ball to Lynch one more time.
Seattle 24 - 28 New England (20 seconds left in 4th Quarter)
This report was good, and I'm glad you did it. The church's youth group got together to watch the Super Bowl at one family's house last night, and I watched in fits and spurts over there. "Why do they let cheaters play in the Super Bowl?" one of the girls literally asked her dad as Kraft and everybody celebrated; that made me a little happy.
DeleteThe NFL feels a little dead to me right now. But if the game ends up being the death of second-and-goal-from-the-1 passing and the league investigation ends up discrediting and penalizing the Patriots in some sort of meaningful way, it could end up being the start of a whole new world for me.
Wilson is lucky, but even luck can't overcome stupidity.
ReplyDeleteYou can just see the football gods saying, "Look we didn't want the Patriots to win because they're a bunch of cheaters. So we've given the Seahawks two interceptions (one on the goal line) and a miracle catch to put Seattle in position to win the game. If Pete Carroll insists on throwing the ball from the one-yard line, then he gets what he deserves."
DeleteRemember that time in the Ice Bowl where the Packers had the ball at the Dallas one-yard line, and Lombardi called a pass?
DeleteI don't either.
The Seattle defense, facing elimination for the first time in two years, surprises exactly no one by starting a fight with almost no time left. The Patriots run out the clock and they are Super Bowl Champions for the fourth time:
ReplyDeleteSeattle 24 - 28 New England (FINAL)
The Patriots, Bill Belichick, and Tom Brady now have four Super Bowl Titles: XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, and XLIX.
ReplyDeleteI think those Steelers teams and the Cowboys teams of the same era were more popular with neutral fans than those 1985 Bears.
ReplyDeleteI don't like either team, but I root for Russell Wilson, so it stinks that he threw the pick that lost them the game, but that's how my NFL season has gone this year. It feels like that's how the NFL has gone for me since 2002.
ReplyDelete"I knew what was going to happen," said Butler, an undrafted free agent out of Western Alabama who said New England was the only team that gave him a chance to reach the NFL. "I don't know how I knew. I just knew. I just beat him to the point and caught the ball."
DeletePerhaps Butler knew because he had seen the play before. During a scout-team practice, backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo beat Butler on the same play for a touchdown to Josh Boyce.
"We did and Josh got a touchdown in practice on it," Garoppolo confirmed in the Pats locker room. "It got him ready and he knew what to expect. Jumping the route like that, that's very impressive. That's all instincts."