Today is Super Bowl Sunday.
For football fans of all types, it is truly one of the best days of the year. It is the holiest of holy events for fans of the gridiron. Even if your team didn’t make it, it’s a spectacle worth watching. Two teams have navigated the rigors of the regular season and the high stakes of the playoffs. Now, they’re one game away from the ultimate prize and a date with the Lombardi Trophy.
I’ve already made my preparations. I have some buffalo wings ready to go. I have a full six-pack of beer. I’ve got chips, dip, and assorted snacks that should keep my mind and liver in the right state for the entire game. I can safely say I am ready. I know exactly what to do in the hours before kickoff. I know exactly where I’ll be when the game commences.
Now, I will acknowledge that the matchup this year is not the least bit compelling. I’m not just saying that because my predictions at the beginning of the season were dead wrong. Compared to past years, Super Bowl LX is decidedly lacking in drama. I think a big reason for that has to do with the fact that the New England Patriots are back in the Super Bowl.
While I can’t speak for all football fans, I can still say with confidence that nobody outside the New England area wanted to see the Patriots back in the Super Bowl this soon. They had two decades with Tom Brady in which they appeared in 10 Super Bowls. Then, once Brady left the team, we went through a stretch when it was just the Kansas City Chiefs playing every single year, usually alternating with the 49ers or the Eagles.
For the Patriots to return this quickly just feels wrong on so many levels. The NFL has all these policies and rules meant to maintain parity. Yet the team that enjoyed a 20 year dynasty of dominance is already back in the big game. It’s not fair. It’s not right. And I guarantee that if they win, it will be a net negative for the NFL and the sport.
That’s not to say I’m a huge fan of the Seahawks, but I’m definitely rooting for them. They’ve had only two Super Bowl appearances and this past season has been nothing short of remarkable. Unlike the Patriots, they didn’t have an easy schedule. They didn’t have the luxury of playing backup quarterbacks in the playoffs. They earned their place the hard way and under a first-year head coach, no less. Them winning it all will be a net positive.
But that’s the thing about football. There are no guarantees. What a majority of fans want to happen rarely happens because they don’t control the outcome. Only the players on the field can do that. Later today, they’ll get their chance. We’ll see who the better team is and who deserves to be a Super Bowl champion. I know who I’m rooting for. I genuinely hope it’s a good game.
Regardless of my feelings towards both teams, this is it. The end of one NFL season is upon us. The Super Bowl is here.
Let’s fucking go!
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