Super Bowl LII - Philadelphia Eagles 41, New England Patriots 33

[DonRocks]

I'll let other folks comment on the game; right now, I want to report that Redskins Hall-of-Famer Darrell Green carried the Vince Lombardi trophy at the end of the game - I am * so glad* to have watched this wonderful person have this honor.

Congratulations to the great Philadelphia Eagles for winning their first-ever Super Bowl.

Congratulations also to the great New England Patriots for continuing to establish themselves - perhaps along with the Green Bay Packers - as the greatest NFL team in history.

[tfbrennan]

On 2/4/2018 at 10:36 PM, DonRocks said:

Congratulations also to the great New England Patriots for continuing to establish themselves - perhaps along with the Green Bay Packers - as the greatest NFL team in history.

"perhaps"?

Another example of Don being busy and writing poorly, alas.

[Steve R.]

Certainly not an original thought but I do wonder what could’ve been so bad that one of the Patriot’s best defensive players was kept on the bench during a game where their defense was giving up a lot of points.  No 2nd half reprieve, even with so much at stake?  Maybe we’ll never know.

[DaveO]

That was a fun game to watch with it not being decided to the last play with the ball bouncing around before it hit the ground.  Amazing offenses that dominated the defenses.  I think the best Super Bowl I've seen from beginning to end.  While not being a Philly fan, but being an anyone but Pats "fan".  I was pleased with the results.  Meanwhile one can only watch Brady with wonder and awe.  He and Peyton Manning(when healthy and in regular season) have and had this uncanny ability to pick apart defenses. Brady gets passes to receivers and he gets it to them in places where they can catch them. 

As to what Belichick and his defensive coaches decided to do with players...that is their call and not something I'm going to question.  Belichick's record is better than mine. 

Back to Brady.  Over the years I've grown to hate him.  Must be jealousy...eh?   Two weeks ago he showed a snippet of his humanity and grace.  After the Patriots won the first game of the day and the AFC championship they were awarded the league trophy with Brady and Kraft, the owner, on the podium.  Also on the podium was Drew Bledsoe, the quarterback who had led the Pats for years, was injured midseason, replaced by Brady so many years ago, and lost his job to Brady for the following season.  Bledsoe was there as the honorary captain as he had had an exemplary career for the Pats from the time he was drafted in the earlier 1990's to when he was injured and replaced by Brady.  Bledsoe was standing behind Brady.

Brady kept trying to make eye contact with Bledsoe and then I suppose some mutual happiness/ celebration.  Bledsoe avoided all eye contact.  He wouldn't engage Brady.  He ultimately moved from behind him to a different position so Brady wouldn't even have to  be in his field of vision.

Brady got it.  After several attempts at eye contact and some talk, he graciously accepted what was and moved on.  He did it smoothly and avoided awkwardness.  I found that impressive on Brady's part.

None of that has anything to do with his mastery on the field, but at least in my eye's it made him "somewhat human".

Great game. 

[DonRocks]

An interesting note about Bill Belichick that I read about awhile back - apparently, he's of Yugoslavian descent, possibly Croatian:

Dec 9, 2017 - "Have We Been Pronouncing Bill Belichick's Name Wrong?" by Brent Schwartz on patriotswire.usatoday.com

Within his family, the name is pronounced something like "Buh-LIH-chick" (and I say this as someone whose maternal grandmother arrived on a boat from Zagreb, and had a last name of Bulic (Boo-litch).

Just don't *ever* call him a hunky, trust me - he'll plaster you. To Eastern Europeans living in Western Pennsylvania, or the Maryland-West Virginia border, that's as off-limits as the "N-word," and I'm not exaggerating - the only time I ever saw my mom give an eat-shit look to a stranger is when a guy made a perfectly innocent, friendly joke about it, not understanding the depth of insult that it represents.

I had to ask her later that night why her demeanor had completely changed - "That son of a bitch," she said, before explaining to me what it meant.

--- 

Just did a little investigative work: his grandfather was named Biličić, came from Croatia, and settled in Monessen, PA in 1897. 

[DanielK]

I was born in Philly, though I have not lived there since I was 10. But I'm completely a Philly fan for sports.

This was the last of the four major sports for Philly to win in my lifetime. Flyers in 1974 and 1975, Phillies in 1980 (and 2008), Sixers in 1983, and now the Eagles in 2018.

[DonRocks]

37 minutes ago, DanielK said:

I was born in Philly, though I have not lived there since I was 10. But I'm completely a Philly fan for sports.

This was the last of the four major sports for Philly to win in my lifetime. Flyers in 1974 and 1975, Phillies in 1980 (and 2008), Sixers in 1983, and now the Eagles in 2018.

Glad we now recognize that soccer is not a major sport.

 

[DaveO]

1 hour ago, DanielK said:

I was born in Philly, though I have not lived there since I was 10. But I'm completely a Philly fan for sports.

This was the last of the four major sports for Philly to win in my lifetime. Flyers in 1974 and 1975, Phillies in 1980 (and 2008), Sixers in 1983, and now the Eagles in 2018.

Congratulations.  I am sort of a Philly fan from afar (phonetically speaking) as there was a period in my life when I spent considerable time there.  It is surprisingly vast with extensive residential and commercial areas to the expansive area to the North.

As referenced above the city has won too few major American Sports Titles so this one was too long over due.  Congrats on that basis.  OTOH keeping the big five city basketball tourney is a feat many cities can’t handle.  

It has also done a strong job of reemerging from some rather tough economic times and quite dramatic population losses some decades ago.  Kudos to its population and its Iggles 

[Steve R.]

The Eagles were one of my 2 least favorite teams in this Super Bowl.  Great game to watch though.

[DanielK]

16 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Glad we now recognize that soccer is not a major sport.

When I lived in Philly in the 70s, soccer was certainly not a major US sport. There was a league, and Philly had a team (I had to look up the name - that's how much it stayed with me), but it was a curiosity sport, more followed by European and Latin immigrants. Few of the players were American.

That's changing today. MLS is clearly not yet on the level of the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL, but the league is stable, attendance is growing, and television ratings are rising and starting to rival the NHLs. My kids generation (they're 18 and 20) has always known soccer as a major sport in this country.

[DonRocks]

4 hours ago, DanielK said:

When I lived in Philly in the 70s, soccer was certainly not a major US sport. There was a league, and Philly had a team (I had to look up the name - that's how much it stayed with me), but it was a curiosity sport, more followed by European and Latin immigrants. Few of the players were American.

That's changing today. MLS is clearly not yet on the level of the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL, but the league is stable, attendance is growing, and television ratings are rising and starting to rival the NHLs. My kids generation (they're 18 and 20) has always known soccer as a major sport in this country.

Know when you're being baited!