What did we learn from Super Bowl LI?

Hailey Gajadhar, SPORTS COLUMNIST

Okay. I’ve had enough time to recover after the NFL’s Super Bowl LI. The matchup between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons was a classic.

New England had never played a Super Bowl against a team with such a highly rated offence. It was only Atlanta’s second appearance in the big show. And after the playoffs gave us a bunch of blowout games, I was anxious to see a good fight.

The Super Bowl—it’s easily my favourite day of the year. Football, food, and family. It has everything I love and all that I need.

Having no real stake in the game— aside from hating the Patriots—I was a little disappointed by the first half. Atlanta scored 21 points in the second quarter, and the Patriots scored a measly three points at the end of the first half. I wanted a game. I waited all year long for a good game, and at this point, it seemed like Atlanta had it in the bag. It looked like it was going to join the blowout games of the disappointing playoffs.

The third quarter brought the game to 28-9 for Atlanta. We thought the game was over. No team had ever come back from a deficit of more than 10 points in the Super Bowl before. It was over for quarterback Tom Brady. You could see the disbelief on his face. Was this really happening?

That brings us to the first thing we learned after Super Bowl LI. Never count Tom Brady and Bill Belichick out. 

No matter how much they’re losing by, you cannot count them out. New England proved that to us on the biggest football stage there is. Coming back in the last quarter with 19 points to tie the game—unheard of.

The second thing we learned is that overtime needs to change. It was thrilling to watch the first ever Super Bowl overtime, but something doesn’t feel right about Atlanta not having a chance to go back and try to score a touchdown. To me, the rule should have given Atlanta an opportunity to score a touchdown like they would have if New England had only scored a field goal. It just doesn’t seem fair that the offence didn’t even have a chance to turn things around.

And the last thing we learned after Super Bowl LI? The NFL is and will always remain wildly unpredictable, and that’s why we love it.

_________

Hailey is a self-proclaimed champion heavyweight boxer.

Coming in at 5’1”, she has the reach of a 12-year-old boy and an opinion that won’t quit.

Having never been in a fight, she remains undefeated.

Follow her on Twitter @HGaj