Even though I was rooting for underdog Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons in Superbowl LI, I have to admit that the comeback by Tom Brady and the New England Patriots was mesmerizing.
The much less experienced Matt Ryan and the Falcons were winning 28-3 at halftime, a lead that carried them well into the third quarter. Falcon fans and Brady haters were celebrating everywhere. Even the Patriots’ cheerleaders looked less than spirited.
It seemed like the Patriots could not get anything right when the extra point was missed on their first touchdown. However, another touchdown with a two-point conversion brought the Patriots back into the game. A Falcon fumble and injury in the fourth quarter continued to fuel the train wreck orchestrated by Tom Brady and his offense.
From that point on, it was the Falcons that could not get anything right in Superbowl LI, especially when committing a few undisciplined penalties, one of which left them out of range for a field goal that might have slowed the Patriot’s momentum and run them out of time. Instead, the penalty resulted in the game-tying Patriots’ touchdown.
In the first-ever Superbowl overtime, the Patriots won the coin toss giving them first possession of the football. This meant that a touchdown would win it for them; a field goal would give the Falcons their chance to score. The Patriots needed no further encouragement; they marched down the field and over the goal line, with very little resistance from the stunned Falcons, for a Patriots (and Tom Brady’s) 5th Superbowl win.
Whatever you think of Tom Brady and however tired you are of him winning, it was an awesome and mesmerizing game to watch, at least the last half was. If you only tuned in at halftime to watch Lady Gaga, I hope you watched the rest of the game. Whether or not Tom Brady upstaged Lady Gaga is debatable; she did perform a spectacular show.
