NFL – SUPER BOWL 51 PICK & THOUGHTS ON ALL THE ANNOYING HYPE

I’m going to do two things with this column and keep both short and sweet.

The first is I’m going to RANT about how irritating all the extensive hype is surrounding the Super Bowl.

Here it goes:

It vexes me that people who don’t like football make a big thing about watching the Super Bowl.

Even worse is those same people who throw parties surrounding the event just because it’s the thing to do.

I don’t like that most of these people talk through the actual game while it is being broadcast, too.

I don’t care about the commercials during the Super Bowl, don’t get why other people care and don’t understand why people ruminate about them at the water cooler the next day.  Most of the commercials are not good quality or funny anyway.

I don’t understand why so many reporters and broadcasters are at the Super Bowl location during the week leading up, especially when they have nothing to do with the 2 teams in the contest.  It feels like it’s  just an excuse for these shows and their personnel to get to the big game.

The half-time shows are overrated, cheesy and painful to sit through.  Who cares about this stuff except for fans of the performer(s)?  And, why do these shabby displays go on so long?

Why do we need hours and hours and days and days and weeks and weeks of coverage of the Super Bowl?  Surely even the most avid NFL fan (like me) is weary of it by game day.

I don’t get why broadcasters start analyzing a game in the morning that is played in the evening.  Are people really watching these shows all day?

It’s perplexing to think that respected sports programs ponder if the Super Bowl is the greatest championship in all of world sports.

If you’re talking about the greatest marketing achievement in all of sports, yep – the Super Bowl gets it hands-down.  According to Forbes, it is the “most valuable sports event brand” outdueling the entire fortnight of the Summer Olympics by $264 million.

I love football, but I just want to watch the game.  That is the real excitement for me.

Some Super Bowl games are not that interesting, but we should put our attention and respect towards the athletes and the competition on the field, not all the distractions.

In the end, the overhype is designed to bring in boatloads of money for the NFL.  But, the extraneous, nonessential, low quality enthusiasm is a huge turn-off for me.

I choose to watch the game alone with my close friends and family.  We’ll switch on the set at 6:25pm.

We’ll turn off the TV at half-time.

And, we’ll enjoy the spectacle as it should be appreciated:  To find out which team will outplay the other for the NFL Championship.

Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, here’s my non-expert PREDICTION:

I think the Atlanta Falcons will win Super Bowl 51.

The display they put on against the Packers during the Conference Championship game… Check that, the spanking they gave Green Bay on Jan 22 shows their heart, guts, and the depth of talent on this team.

I understand Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are waiting for this challenge.  Their talent(s) are to minimize the strengths and expose the other team’s weakness and go in the for the kill when the time is right.

But, I’m not going with the team who has the potential to stop the best offense we’ve seen in the NFL in many years.

I’m going with the team that has the potential to put up the most points in multiple ways.   After all, the Falcons averaged 6.7 yards per play and led the NFL by 540 points during the regular season.

What scares me about this prediction is that New England defense is really good.

And, if Atlanta can’t contain Tom Brady, the Patriots have the edge.

The Falcons will need to minimize mistakes, take advantage of that prolific offense and stop Brady in order to win their first franchise Super Bowl.

If they do that, they’ll go back home with the Lombardi Trophy.

Conclusion:  Falcons prevail.

 

 

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