It was thrilling for everyone holding a ticket on the New England Patriots and sweating bullets. It was the agony of defeat on Seattle Seahawks bettors. It was millions of dollars changing hands in a split second in the biggest betting event of the year.
It could be a classic. Every time Bill Belichick and Tom Brady get here, it’s close.
Who will win this Super Bowl? The answer is coming Sunday night from Glendale, Ariz., and there are compelling arguments for both sides.
A few days ago, Tom Brady’s future was shrouded in uncertainty. Would he flee the country or confess to the hideous modern-day NFL crime of deflating footballs for a big playoff game?
On the Monday after the Super Bowl, there will be numerous hot topics, some of which will matter. Marshawn Lynch will matter if the Seattle Seahawks win or lose, and not because the running back might have grabbed his crotch.
It boggles the mind, and it still will for months and maybe years. Aaron Rodgers had led the Green Bay Packers to the Super Bowl, according to the countless prophets on Twitter who declared the game over.
With his last name, which is ideal for headline writers, it makes sense that Andrew Luck is good. He’s on the fringe of becoming great, but it takes one more win to reach that next level of NFL quarterbacks.
Maybe it’s not a miracle, but it is amazing. Do you believe in Urban Meyer now? In his third year at Ohio State, and with a third-string quarterback making his third start, Meyer made a big statement.
In Denver, there was a funeral for Peyton Manning as we once knew him. In Green Bay, there was controversy. In Las Vegas, there were busted bettors and celebrating bookmakers.
Aaron Rodgers is not The Most Interesting Man in the World. He’s not drinking beer and ripping off one-liners while surrounded by hot women. But Rodgers is being watched, because he is the most important player in the most interesting game of the NFL playoffs this weekend.
Finally, it was time to dispel myths. This one lingered, similar to the smell of a skunk, for four months until Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota cleared the air in a span of 2 minutes, 22 seconds.
It seems every season is some kind of comical misadventure for the San Diego Chargers. There is success followed by hope, failure followed by lost hope, and then it falls into Philip Rivers’ hands for an all-or-nothing game.
Believe it or not, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers spent the past 3½ months trying to win football games. According to coach Lovie Smith, his team will be playing to win on the regular season’s final Sunday, too. And that could be a costly mistake, if the Buccaneers actually do win.
Almost everything about this Chicago Bears’ season has been bad news, especially for the optimists who banked on their regular-season win total going over 8½. It’s a bet that has no shot.
Dazed and confused, picked off once and sacked four times, Tom Brady finally went to a knee to run out the clock as the New England Patriots escaped from New York.
