Superbowl thread
[See postgame UPDATE below.]
I can’t pretend I care all that much.
But the Patriots are playing, so I’m rooting for them. And I’m watching—sort of.
So here’s a thread for those of you who have something to say about this particular institution. There’s always the ads, too. And Lady Gaga—oh, whatever will Lady Gaga do or say?
Another thing I don’t much care about.
UPDATE 11:35 PM
I take it all back. It’s not so much that I suddenly care about football—but that, THAT was a game. Everyone says it was the greatest game in Superbowl history. Since I’m no Superbowl expert I don’t know, but I can easily imagine it. I think it was one of the greatest upsets, greatest performances by greatest number of people, greatest come-from-behind victory, and other superlatives too numerous to mention.
New England’s going crazy with joy.
For me, the turning point of the game was the catch by Julian Edelman. The terrible performance by the Patriots in the first half only made their stunningly great performance in the second half that much sweeter.
Funny comment from Ace’s: The Patriots won fewer quarters, therefore their victory is illegitimate.
Well President George H W Bush just tossed the coin. I take that as a sign that the NFL decided they needed to counterbalance Lady Gaga.
And the kickoff!
Snow here in Seattle. Global warming, I guess.
I have to root for Atlanta. Closer to home, and Julio Jones is a local hero.
Lady Gaga loos shockingly unattractive in that costume. Her legs are too short. I’ve pressed MUTE and am no longer paying attention.
It’s too bad the game is another blowout.
I’ve always hated this MTV/Paula Abdul style of dancing, violent gesture upon violent gesture, hyperkinetic and dependent for its effect on backup dancers amplifying the star.
I compare this to James Brown in the early 60s, before his body thickened and he became a parody of himself. I remember seeing him on the Ed Sullivan Show when I was a child and being just galvanized and thrilled.
Miklos:
In ballet, for certain types of movement it was important for us to have what was called attack.Well, this sort of dancing tonight is ALL attack.
I give Gaga props for her brave acrobatics and for no politics. Thank you, Lady Gaga! I also think she’s moderately good -looking, although not a great beauty.
The only superbowl I watched was when Broadway Joe quarterbacked the Jets. I am a baseball man; or at least my chromosones say I am male.
Well, at least the Pats have made it into a game.
Crazy game! Tie. Am I the only one watching?
It’s turned into a great game.
Here in Pittsburgh we HATE the Pats (they beat the Steelers in the playoffs) so many of us Yinzers are pulling for Atlanta.
Now that the game has gone into overtime, my husband has stopped watching, certain that the Patriots will win once again.
So much winning! We’re TIRED of all the winning. Sad! 😉
Was that a cliffhanger or what? My only question is, why didn’t the Patriots play like that a lot earlier in the game? The Falcons probably feel cheated.
F:
Because that would have been boring. This way it was the most exciting Superbowl in history.
That’s why.
I played one year of high school football, in which I was a star….and I found that in football, the mind over matter, exertion of the will factor was much more significant than in baseball or basketball.
Oh, and by the way, when you watch a sporting event and you’re emotionally invested, if your team wins in exciting fashion, you as spectator receive a vicarious jolt of dopamine via your brain chemistry. In other words, it gets you high.
I can’t believe the way the Falcons collapsed. Or the Patriots surged, however you want to look at it.
I put the TV on mute and did other things during the half-time show, but caught a few glimpses. And what y’all are saying about the dancing: yeah. I find that style, which seems to be the norm now, extremely off-putting, and not at all attractive. Can’t say for sure about this one since I saw so little but, for instance, in Beyonce’s show last year, the dancing conveyed active hostility and aggression. But then they don’t care what an old man like me thinks.
Unbelievable comeback. Falcons had managed to get into field goal range with only 3-4 minutes to go, and probably would have iced the game if they’d played conservatively and kept it on the ground. The sack that took them out of the kicker’s range was a huge play for the Pats.
The precision Brady showed on his first two passes in OT was remarkable, after having thrown so many times in the contest up till then. And imo his winning performances in Super Bowls are even more impressive, considering he seldom has had targets like Julio Jones or Jerry Rice.
Now I know how all the Hillaryites felt on the morning of 11/9/16. Heartbreaking for us Falcons fans but at least it was incredibly exciting.
That catch by Edelman was impossible to believe – until you saw a few slow-mo replays; even then it was uncanny!
Hats off to New England.
Experience happened. Atlanta hadn’t appeared in a Super Bowl in 18 years. None of the players on their roster have played in the big one. They were over hyped and just plain got tired.
I am a football fan, but did not have a strong preference in this matchup. But, then I heard that Trump-hating leftists were against the Patriots because Brady, Kraft and Belichick are friendly with Trump. I am glad those people are disappointed. It was a great story of steady perseverance.
Don Surber shows a tweet from Hillary Clinton’s press secretary that was supposedly written when the Falcons had their 25 point lead.
“The Patriots are winning if you exclude California and New York.” – Brian Fallon
As Bob Uecker said regarding a different sport, “Just a bit outside.”
Unbelievable game. The mental toughness of Brady and the Patriots is unreal. I remember the first time I saw Brady and the Pats win the Super Bowl, they came from behind at the very end and marched down the field and scored and one the game, with like two minutes left. But they weren’t as far behind as today, but they were still really quite far behind, I never thought they had a chance to win.
Today I must confess i didn’t think Brady could do it because he is no spring chicken, and they were just so very very far behind. I absolutely was stunned when he pulled it off like that. I do think sometimes he lets the other teams get ahead, and then they are so excited that they are winning they then try not to lose. Instead of trying to win. And then he just lays on the intensity and they completely lose their heads. He messes with their minds, and they are young and inexperienced. Wow. Brady. just unbelievable. So inspiring. One for the history books. Go Pats!
Question about the New England Patriots. Do all (really in general) of New England actually support the Patriots as their football team? Say if Boston Red Sox or the Boston Bruins won their respective league would New England be celebrating or just mainly Boston, granted they don’t have the qualifier of “New England”?
GRA:
All of the Boston sports teams belong to New England, not just the Patriots. The Red Sox, the Bruins, the Celtics; everyone in New England roots for them.
There’s one exception, though. Hartford Connecticut is the great sports dividing line. South of Hartford a lot of people are fans of the New York teams. But north of Hartford, it’s all Patriots, all Red Sox, all Bruins, all Celtics, all the time. Intensely so, rabidly so.
I don’t really follow professional football any longer, and I haven’t watched a Super Bowl game since the Steelers beat, I think it was Seattle, about 10 years ago. However, the progressives managed a small miracle in making me care about the result tonight. Go Patriots!
That was an unbelievable game! I was at a pub and a woman next to me said she was leaving since “no team has ever won when they are this much behind.” At that point. Atlanta was ahead by three touchdowns I think. I told her “yeah, it’s probably over.” WOW! Were we wrong! This is the year of the upset, or the season of the upset. Unbelievable! Amazing football!
I generally tune into Super Bowl games late. Tonight I tuned in early and was intrigued by the the surprising direction in which the game seemed to be heading.
And then it turned into a spectacular game.
So, there I was, watching the game (and the commercials) with no distractions save for eating and drinking. Thus, no Internet cruising.
I even watched the Lady Gaga show. While I am no Gaga fan, I was very impressed by her physical stamina.
More kudos to the Patriots’ defense should be forthcoming. Check out the stats at http://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=400927752
What jumps out to me is that Ryan was sacked for 20 more yards than was Brady. I think that explains the Patriots’ getting the opportunities to be on offense.
Chicago Cubs, Donald Trump, New England Patriots.
Three come from behind winners.
I told my wife last night that the game should never have gone into overtime. Kickers almost never miss the PAT (point after touchdown), but the Patriots’ kicker missed a crucial one, and that brought about the tie and pushed it into overtime. Had he made that PAT the Patriots would have won by one point with their last touchdown.
Watching the game was like watching a cat play with a mouse — let it get away, then catch it again, etc. But there’s no way the Patriots would have done that. Too much on the line. They wanted to win from the git go, but they just couldn’t get their act together until the last ten minutes of regular play. Then something clicked for the entire team — offense and defense alike.
Atlanta had four penalties that cost them badly, but they had some amazing pass receptions too.
Then the Patriots’ defense began to protect Brady and he began to hit his receivers. Wow!
All in all, a very satisfying viewer experience, and the parallel with the November election, which has been mentioned previously, just adds the icing on the cake..
That was an amazing game. I like the Patriots but was initially hoping the Falcons would win because it’s such a rare thing for them to make it to the Superbowl, but when the Patriots fell so far behind I couldn’t help but hope they would rally and I found myself cheering them on. The Falcons are just going to have to try again next year.
@F: “told my wife last night that the game should never have gone into overtime. Kickers almost never miss the PAT (point after touchdown), but the Patriots’ kicker missed a crucial one, and that brought about the tie and pushed it into overtime. Had he made that PAT the Patriots would have won by one point with their last touchdown.”
If they had made that PAT, I doubt they would have gone for two after their next TD. So still a tie when they go for two with the third TD.
raf Says: …
Exactly. No need to put it all on the line at that point. Especially when their defense has spent so much more time on the field, and is now playing on rubbery legs.
I’m a football fan, and that makes it hard to watch a Superbowl broadcast. I don’t want to hear summaries of the season, because I followed it. I don’t want to see musical acts that wouldn’t interest me otherwise. The ads are usually weird. I end up doing other things with the game on in the background. But that was a good game. Not the best Superbowl but in the top 5.
I don’t follow football much, nor do I ever bet on the outcomes of games. Having noted that, I have a friend who is absolutely convinced that, like the WWF, the NFL is rigged. He presents a convincing case citing references to numerous games and circumstances, but WRT the Super Bowl he said that the odds of the Falcons winning were ~40 to 1 and that Vegas refuses to pay off on those odds.
I can’t make the case as he does because I don’t ardently follow the NFL, but it does agree with “T’s” Law: All organizations are corruptible. The larger the organization, the more corruptible it is. The more corruptible an organization is, the more corrupt it will be.
Neo
There’s one exception, though. Hartford Connecticut is the great sports dividing line. South of Hartford a lot of people are fans of the New York teams.
Yes, Connecticut is a “Battleground State” between NY and Boston sports teams loyalties. However, the dividing line is not Hartford: N/S, but the Connecticut River: E/W. That is the way CT natives split it. For “scientific” support of the CT River border, consider Finding the True Border Between Yankee and Red Sox Nation Using Facebook Data.
In grad school I worked on a project with a Bristol CT native- west of the river. She told me that she derived as much pleasure from the Red Sox losing as she did from her Yankees winning. Red Sox partisans often feel the same way about the Yankees, so that is no surprise.
She told me a story about her grandmother which illustrates the divided loyalties of CT. At one time there was a Red Sox farm team in New Britain. Some New Britain residents, including her grandmother, provided room and board at their homes for some players for the Red Sox farm team in New Britain. My fellow classmate “hated” the Sox, and her grandmother provided room and board for players on a Sox farm team!
One of her grandmother’s friends provided room and board for Wade Boggs, who went on to a Hall of Fame career for the Sox- and the Yankees. While Wade Boggs played in New Britain, his wife lived in Florida. Her grandmother’s friend discovered that Wade Boggs was cheating on his wife, and chewed him out. So, Wade Boggs’s philandering in New Britain predicted what Wade Boggs did years later with Margo. Remember the palimony suit? Coincidentally, my sister used to live in the same condo complex in the Boston suburbs as Wade Boggs.
Neo:
Crazy game! Tie. Am I the only one watching?
I figured I would go crazy during the game, regardless of how it went, so I waited until the game was over to find out how it went. I was pleasantly surprised.
Alan F:
But, then I heard that Trump-hating leftists were against the Patriots because Brady, Kraft and Belichick are friendly with Trump.
As New England is strongly Democrat, especially in the metropolitan areas, I suspect that a lot of Pats fans in New England who were also Yellow Dog Democrats had some conflicted loyalties here. But the rural areas of New England had a lot of towns where Obama outpolled Hillary by 10 points or more.
Gringo:
Yes, in general the western part of the state is NY identified, to a certain extent, but there’s also a north/south Hartford divide. That latter divide is true for the weather as well, by the way.
Personally, I don’t think of Connecticut as part of New England at all. I think of it as New York North. And I think of Rhode Island as New York Northeast. To me, New England begins with Massachusetts.
@CapnRusty
“Chicago Cubs, Donald Trump, New England Patriots.
Three come from behind winners.”
You could ad Roger Federer’s Aussie Open win to this list. After a 6-month hiatus due to surgery, at the age of 35 (making him the grand ol’ man of tennis today), to win the first slam of the year. Yeah, that’s another “come from behind winner.”
Neo
Personally, I don’t think of Connecticut as part of New England at all. I think of it as New York North.
As a New York transplant to New England, that is your opinion. As New England native, that is not my opinion.
http://assistantvillageidiot.blogspot.com/2016/06/massachusetts-stereotypes.html
As Nick said, above, I enjoy the super bowl with the exception of the “entertainment” during the half time. Frankly, it embarrasses me. I watch it and can’t help but think of what that money could have done. I’m no progressive, believe me, but I do have a bit of difficulty accepting such extravaganzas. I guess I have crossed the line into “old-fogey-ism.”
My son was active on Facebook yesterday (Super Bowl Sunday). Early in the day, he posted this:
“There’s a big football game today. Egypt is playing Cameroon in the Africa Cup Final. Go Egypt!”
. . . and later, he followed with this:
“I can’t believe they blew that lead. A 1 goal lead is never safe. Congrats Cameroon!”
No, neither he nor we are at all Egyptian or have any ties to Egypt. He just revels in doing and being something *else*!
Yes, in general the western part of the state is NY identified, to a certain extent, but there’s also a north/south Hartford divide. That latter divide is true for the weather as well, by the way.
There is a substantial part of Massachusetts that is south of Hartford. Are you going to tell me that weather in New London is substantially different than weather in New Bedford or weather on the Cape? Or that weather in New Bedford is more similar to weather in Rumford ME than to weather in New London?
Personally, I don’t think of Connecticut as part of New England at all. I think of it as New York North.
Judging by all the New Yorkers that have moved to the Berkshires and to Vermont, they could also be called New York North.
Have heard that the only player not planning to attend WH is tight end Marcellus Bennett, he also gave Black Power salute on side line earlier in season, though stood for anthem. Owner Bob Kraft reported Trump phoned him almost weekly 4 years ago when Ktafts wife of 50 yes passed. Belichick wrote letter to Trump and gave him permission to read it saying he understood Trump’s nasty treatment from media. Finally Brady may have needed whole first half to get him where he needs to be because his own mom, lady seen in photos with back tied kerchief is combating serious illness. He was weepy at podium & said she has just gone through a lot more than I in the first half of that game, so I’m guess she lit the fire in his belly and his team mates too. PS. There is speculation that having name Patriots, made liberals heads explode. Cubs, Trump, Brexit, Patriots, think of more !
Excuse mistakes using a phone
Some of the ballsier newspapers went with the headline “Falcons Win the Popular Vote.”
I suspect Hillary’s Enemies List is growing very long indeed…
M J R – I get such a kick out of people who go to basketball or hockey games on Superbowl Sunday.