Super Bowl XLIX arrived with as much hype as the snowstorm that finally blew into East Lansing that day and thankfully dumped a glorious 14-inches of snow on the area. There was enough powder to finally give MSU (but not before an agonizing wait) the following day off. From the pregame puppy bowl, to and ending with an incredible controversial call, this one was one for the books. This climactic ending of the game gave the Patriots the win and set Tom Brady up to be debated as the greatest there ever was.
This final match was the culmination of previous weeks of football upsets with much debate and heartache. But what good story isn’t? Let’s briefly go back for a moment to the playoffs and look at the cast of characters in each scene that set the stage for that jaw dropping finality.
As a Detroit fan, who can forget the Lions disappearing penalty call when they played the Dallas cowboys? Did the referee go temporarily blind? Detroit was leading 20-17 with 8:25 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter. It was then that Matthew Stafford threw to Brandon Pettigrew. He was being defended by Cowboy’s Anthony Hitchens. The ball bounced off Hitchens’ back, the flag was thrown and the ref called pass interference penalty. Then the call was reversed with no explanation and The Lions went on to lose 24-20. A heartbreaking end to Detroit’s post-season.
Dallas then went on to play the Green Bay Packers. After Detroit’s outrages call, of course we were rooting for Green Bay. Green Bay went on to defeat Dallas in yet another controversy. Dez Bryant caught the ball, (that is apparent,) but it was called incomplete by a rule dating back to a catch Calvin Johnson made in 2010 against the Chicago Bears. Evidently, this was just a cloudy version of the same violation. According to MJ Kasprzak of AXS, “Bryant tucked the ball in briefly and could certainly have been interpreted as making a football move with a stunted lunge toward the pilon if not by the previous turn of his hips to stay inbounds.” Whew… Okay, well based on that statistical scientific overview, Dallas was out. Karma is a b*tch and Green Bay advanced to play the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship. Sweet, sweet redemption.
Green Bay quarter back Aaron Rodgers had passed for 4,381 yards, 38 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions. This leading QB had a first place finish in the NFC north with a record of 12-4. Seattle’s offence could not put points on the board and the Packers took a 16-0 lead. The Packers were well on their way to a showing in Super Bowl XLIX when Seattle’s QB, Russell Wilson, overcame his horrible first-half display, only to create three touchdown opportunities in the span of 8 minutes. The Seahawks overcame a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter to comeback and win in overtime and send Green Bay packing
On the other side in the AFC Championship, the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts went head-to-head for a ticket to the Super Bowl. Although the weather was dreadful, the Patriots came out on top to win 45-7 being led by highly touted QB, Tom Brady, who passed for 4,109 yards, 33 touchdowns and only nine interceptions this year. After the remarkable win, the controversial “deflategate” scandal was released letting the public know that 11 of the 12 footballs were significantly deflated and not up to NFL standards.
All the situations that had ensued this wild football season led up to the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots playing in Super Bowl XLIX. The game was one of the most exciting Super Bowls yet, in my opinion. With a competitive first half, out came Katy Perry and her montage of hits for the half-time performance. We all fell in love with her dancing beach balls and the true showstopper of the entire event, the dancing sharks, especially the one on the left.
Back to the game and into the fourth quarter, Jermaine Kearse had what has to be one of the most unbelievable catches, to keep Seattle’s hope from fading. And it was nothing short of amazing. This opportunity quickly faded into thin air when, in the final moments, with the ball on the one yard line, Russell Wilson threw, yes, I said, threw, a questionable play on second down with one yard to go. Wilson threw the ball instead of letting Marshawn Lynch, nicknamed “beast mode,” run the mere 36 inches in. And if you know anything about this guy, well… he can run. It was then that the Patriots rookie, Malcolm Butler, made the game winning interception to hand the Patriots the game, victory and trophy in spite of the previous “deflategate” accusations.
This game was well worth watching. Is it safe to say that it would have to be remembered as one of the worst calls in Super Bowl history… a mere 36 inches and your QB throws it? But, it was an extremely entertaining game, and season for that matter, and solidified Tom Brady as the best quarterback of all time. Some would contemplate Tom Brady as the MVP; I’d say left shark deserves the most recognition. What an outstanding performance.
