We all know what happened in the Super Bowl last night. Atlanta bolted to leads of 21-0 (in the second quarter) and 28-3 (midway through the third quarter). Patriot haters across the country were rejoicing as Tom Brady was looking every bit like a 39 year old quarterback. And an extra point attempt that clanged off of the upright seemed to just add to the debacle that New England was experiencing. But as we all know, you don't tug on Superman's cape....
Add a New England field goal after that missed PAT, then a touchdown and a two point conversion, and all of a sudden, it's 28-20. Atlanta begins a march down field that included a remarkable Matt Ryan to Julio Jones pass completion, and it looked that at the very least, the Falcons would kick a field goal that would ice their victory. Then Ryan does the one thing that a quarterback absolutely cannot do in such a situation. He takes a sack. Then Atlanta gets hit with a holding penalty. Then Atlanta punts, and even though the Patriots were starting at their own nine yard line, did anyone have any doubt that Brady was going to lead the Pats down field and score the TD and two point conversion that would tie the game and send it into OT? I didn't. At that point I made this post on Facebook: "The sonsabitches are going to pull this one out." And they did.
They tie the game. They win the coin toss. They march right down the field and score a touchdown. Atlanta never sees the ball again. 34-28, Pats win!
And I will say it right now. Bill Belichick is the best coach ever in the Super Bowl Era, and possibly of all time. Tom Brady is the best quarterback ever. Ever. As my buddy Dan put it last night, we never got to see Babe Ruth play, but we are seeing Tom Brady play, and thus, we are witnessing true greatness.
A word on Pats owner Robert Kraft. He could have taken the high road in the trophy presentation, but he didn't. He chose to be a jagoff and take his shots at the Commissioner. No, I am not defending Roger Goodell, and yes, Kraft could have said a lot worse. However he could have chosen to be a bigger man, but he didn't, so he can eat it, as far as I'm concerned.
And speaking of owners, how about Arthur Blank appearing on the Atlanta sideline early in the fourth quarter? I really detest showboating, egomaniac owners standing on the sidelines, so when I saw Blank down there so early, a part of me began to root for the Patriots. I am only sorry that the Fox cameras weren't on Blank as Brady undressed his Falcons to tie, and then win that game. I'd have paid to see that.
Oh, and I heard whining on the radio this morning that the NFL's overtime rules aren't fair. Now, to be fair, I am not sure if the Falcons themselves are making that complaint, but if they are, then here's what you need to do. First, When you have a twenty-five point lead with twenty-two minutes or so left in the game, DON'T give up twenty-five unanswered points to the other team. Second, if you lose the coin toss to start overtime, DON'T turn into Swiss cheese and let the other team go seventy-five yards down field and score a touchdown.
As I said to Marilyn this morning, that game last night is why you watch sports. Not every game you will watch will be a classic. A lot of games that you watch will be pretty much unmemorable. But every so often, you will see a player like Tom Brady, and a team like the Patriots, turn in a game like we all watched last night, and THAT makes all the dull games and even the downright lousy games that you sit through worth the effort.
There's nothing like it.
Edelman's Amazing Catch
on the game tying drive.
White's TD Wins It in OT
The MVP
Oh, and as for the headline on this post, I did predict a Patriots win in the Super Bowl, although I certainly never envisioned that it would happen in quite the way that it did. I finish the NFL Playoffs Season with a prediction record of 9-2. Yeah!
