NFL - PLAYOFFS - SUPER BOWL full of Jelly

The Game Room
21

Ads: I remember a time when these were truly groundbreaking, epic, astounding, inspiring, or just really glitzy, and I actually looked forward to watching them. Maybe not MORE than the game, but they were truly noteworthy. For a long time, though, it seems like they’re just trying too hard. I remember many years back when Lisa Simpson put it plainly, “These Super Bowl commercials are weird,” and this hasn’t really changed since. Maybe I’ll catch a couple on YouTube if there’s some big buzz about them for whatever reason, but I’m not watching for them and I’m definitely don’t expect to be talking about them.

Halftime: Eh. It is what it is. A singer sings and the entire NFL brass quietly prays that it doesn’t go off the rails. I’m not a huge fan of Jennifer Lopez or Shakira, but they have good voices and should put on a good show, which is all I’m expecting. Plus I remember how cishet male America had an absolute meltdown over J.Lo’s butt for whatever freakish reason, so having her on a big national stage is long-overdue justice.

Rooting interests: Honestly, this one’s a wash. The 49ers have an amazingly rich history, but that was a long time ago, and they’ve gone through some *very[/i hard times. All the harping on Joe Montana as The Greatest Of All Time got a little annoying, but not to the level of aggravation, and it’s now more or less squashed dead by Tom Brady. Does anyone even remember how he did in Kansas City? (By my recollection it was pretty awful, although I might be a little biased here.) One could argue that if they didn’t have the #1 seed, or if Green Bay did this, or if Philadelphia did that, or if, or if if if if. But that’s just it; champions win the ones that matter. All season long the 49ers have been getting on the board, making adjustments, not choking away leads, and staying focused against their toughest opponents, and that winning attitude is the main reason they’re here now. The Chiefs remind me of the '04 Red Sox, the franchise that always had plenty of talent and drive and really should not have gone this freaking long without a championship. Much like that fateful Boston squad, they’ve finally learned to stop tripping over their own feet, get their heads in game, and play like the elite franchise they’re supposed to be. The Houston game, where they were down 24-0 in the 2nd quarter and it looked for all the word that they were going to be Team Rocket-ed out of the playoffs like every other goddam time, and not only turned it around but won by 20, was their statement. Much like the steal in game 4 of the ALCS that sparked the Red Sox’s monumental comeback, it showed once and for all that they were through being no-hope underachieving sad sacks, that they were a championship-caliber team that could beat anyone. Two great teams full of great players. There’s just no way I can pick one over the other…

…except for this.

“Ehhhhh-ohhhh awwwuhhwhhh, uwhwhwhwoohh, uhhhh whwuuahauh! Ehhhhh-ohhhh awwwuhhwhhh, uwhwhwhwoohh, uhhhh whwuuahauh! Ehhhhh-ohhhh awwwuhhwhhh, uwhwhwhwoohh, uhhhh whwuuahauh!”

The Tomahawk Chop. Goddamn, the Tomahawk Chop. This is the one thing currently in football that pulls off the five-fer of offensive, irritating, moronic, mindlessly random, and freaking endless. To think that we raised such a stink over the Wave. Even if you can overlook what an insult it is to our First Nation peoples (and don’t give me that crap about “They’re completely fine with it!”…I’d like to hear it from them, if you don’t mind), or how utterly stupid it looks, or that insultingly inane pseduo-Amerind chanting, or how it goes on and on and on and on and on…why the hell does it always pop up completely at random?? I mean, I mourned along with the rest of the country the Eagles got a fight song for Reimu knows why, and THAT had to be the year all ten dice came up sixes and they won the damn Super Bowl, which of course made that stupid fight song a more or less permanent fixture. But at least they always play it at the same time, i.e. when the Eagles score a touchdown. Simple. Predictable. Sensible. The Tomahawk Chop always festers up completely at random, triggered by everything and anything, sometimes by nothing.

Rooting for the 49ers by some modest amount. The closing line should suffice.

Should be fun! See you afterward! :slight_smile:

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Comparing Fly Eagles Fly to the Atlanta Braves/Chiefs Tomahawk chant is like comparing Stairway to Who Let the Dogs out. The song is sung for touchdowns, the chant is moaned when fans are bored. (And if you’re interested, at Citizens Bank, PA, there’s an alternate version to the chant-- Fuuuuuu-uuuuck yooooooooou, fuuuuuu-uuuuh-uuuuck yoooooou. I think you’d enjoy that as much as I do.)

Here’s an example of why sports should just not be happening in Straight Dope.

23

I’m also not looking forward to folks bragging that they are not watching. That being said, I probably won’t watch. I only watch Packers games (possibly a Badgers game), and will stop if they are significantly losing.
And even then I’m surfing the net during commercials or slow periods.
The good ads (and there are some I like) will be online. Probably won’t watch the halftime show
I have plenty of Netflix to watch

Brian

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He certainly wasn’t awful at all. But he also wasn’t Joe Montana. He didn’t play a full season and left the AFC title game with an injury in 1993, so injuries hurt him. But he still performed as a top 10 QB. Just not the best QB in the league like he was for years.

25

I agree with DKW, the Super Bowl as an entertainment spectacle has jumped the shark – the commercials are trying too hard.

The games themselves have been really good, though.

26

Exactly right. Montana started 11 games in 1993 and 14 games in 1994. KC made the playoffs both years, losing in the title game in 93 and one-and-done in 94. Definitely not awful.

27

Well, not last year. Denver-Carolina four years ago was dull, too. Two years prior, Seattle-Denver was a ridiculopus blowout.

That said, prior to that there was a long string of mostly good games. Things in recent history have certainly been better than the dark days of the 1980s and early 1990s, when the Super Bowl was so often a trainwreck of a game that it kind of became the default assumption. It wasn’t ALWAYS terrible - the second Niners-Bengals game was a close one - but it was usually bad and often awful.

28

Sorry, but last year was not dull; it was two defenses doing an excellent job of shutting down pretty good offenses. That game was tight right up until the last minute or two.

Denver controlled the Super Bowl against Carolina but I wouldn’t call it a blowout. It’s just that it became obvious as the game wore on that Cam Newton and Ron Rivera had no answer for Denver’s smothering defense.

I’d only label the Seattle-Denver Super Bowl a blowout. Of all the Super Bowls I’ve watched over the last decade or so that was the most reminiscent of the 1980s and 90s Super Bowls. But better parity in terms distributing league talent and better coaching and game analysis has made it so that the Super Bowl is increasingly a contest between two teams that are pretty evenly matched. Occasionally, though, there are going to be duds.

29

Joe Montana led the Chiefs to a victory over the heavily-favored Houston Oilers, a team that had won something like 8 or 9 games in a row and was looking like it was a lock for the Super Bowl.

30

Somebody mentioned a while ago that this S.B. match-up reminds them of S.B. XXV. I totally agree. While Patrick Mahomes is phenomenal I feel that San Francisco is the better team, top to bottom. The 49ers to win, 26 - 24, on a late Robbie Gould field goal.

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I thought last year’s game was great. It showed that there’s still room for strong defense to win championships in this day and age (plus the Rams lost which I was definitely happy about). I think this year’s game will yield a similar result with a team (the 49ers) again showing that you don’t have to put video game-like numbers up to win Super Bowls even in this day and age.

32

I think the Chiefs defense played a lot better during the playoffs and the last several games of the season, particularly on run defense, so it’ll be interesting to see how well the 49ers can move the ball on the ground. If the 49ers can run at will the way they did the first half of the year and the way they did in the playoffs, I don’t see how they lose. But if the Chiefs can stop the run, then it becomes a contest of QBs and passing games and I like KC in that department.

I think the 49ers win, but I won’t be surprised if they don’t. Personally I’ve got no dog in this fight. WHen I lived out near the Bay I kinda got attached to Harbaugh’s Niners but those guys are long gone. And the sentimental sports fan in me wants to see Andy Reid get his first title. As an LSU alum, I wanna see Tyrann Mathieu get his ring as well. And KC’s waited a long time for a football champ.

33

Niners looking much more dangerous tonight. Chiefs unstable, not holding it together psychologically. They were lucky to only allow 3 points there.

34

Pfff, it’s the first possession. Teams are feeling each other out.

35

One thing to watch early is Sherman. It kinda seems like he knows what Mahomes is gonna throw. He got away with a toss in his direction, but if he keeps testing the veteran, he might get pick sixed.

36

For all the talk about growing the game in Europe and a team in London, it is now midnight there and people have to work within a few hours.

37

This century, the team in white (“visitors”) has had a 3:1 win ratio (in L, the Steelers, though the “home” team, chose to wear white because it seemed lucky for them).

38

Great game so far. Loving it.

39

Why does Mahomes keep holding the ball outstretched in one hand like that when running? Isn’t that a recipe for fumbling? Why not tuck it away like a running back?

40

Oh, Jimmy. Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy

The hamsters kinda ruining the experience.