Monday, February 5, 2018

Super Bowl 52 reaction

Well, these Super Bowls never fail to surprise me.  Last year, I picked the Falcons to win the Super Bowl, and I was wrong; so this year, figuring it unwise to pick against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, I picked the Patriots to win the big game.  Wrong again.  Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles on a most impressive victory!

Back in 1976, Rocky Balboa (who, incidentally, was from Philadelphia) fought the reigning champion, Apollo Creed.  It was a contest that nobody thought Rocky had a chance of winning.  Does that sound familiar to the storyline of Super Bowl 52?  Perhaps there were a few voices that predicted the Eagles would win, but by and large, everyone assumed the Patriots would get the victory.  But with grit, determination, and heart that would make Rocky proud, the Philadelphia Eagles proved everyone wrong, and shocked the watching world.

Not only was this true for the Super Bowl, but it was the trend throughout the entire playoffs.  The road to Super Bowl 52 featured a game against the Atlanta Falcons in Philadelphia.  But Atlanta was favored to win.  The NFC championship game featured the Minnesota Vikings against the Philadelphia Eagles.  They weren’t favored to win again (even though the Eagles were the number one seed in the NFC).  I picked the Vikings to win myself, but the Eagles destroyed the Vikings.

I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between this Super Bowl and Super Bowl 32.  In that Super Bowl, the Green Bay Packers were the defending Super Bowl champions seeking to repeat against the Denver Broncos looking for their first title.  Nobody gave Denver a chance.  But the Broncos stood toe to toe with the Packers - like Rocky did with Apollo Creed - and ultimately prevailed.  Twenty years later, the same things happened again.  

Kevin  

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