Record setting Super Bowl sets the record for being the dullest
On Sunday, February 3rd The New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams faced off in the 53rd annual Super Bowl. What was expected to be one of the most exciting games of the year turned out to be one of the slowest and most boring football games I’ve ever witnessed. While I am no football buff by any means, I watch it from time to time and know enough to get by, and knew enough about this game to know that I was UNINTERESTED.
If you like defense over offense I suppose you might have found this game interesting, however the twitterverse and most NECC students feel the same; it was boring. And don’t even get us started on that halftime show…
The first quarter proved to be the slowest of all with zero points on either side, and by the halftime there was only a field goal on The Patriots side for three points (despite a first missed field goal). As psychology major and NECC student Heather McGovern put it “It was long and drawn out. There were some really boring periods with not a lot happening, and the half time show didn’t really make up for it.”
It was long and drawn out. There were some really boring periods with not a lot happening.
-Heather McGovern
Which takes us into the semi-interesting at best half time show starring Maroon 5, Travis Scott, and Big Boi. There was also an appearance by Spongebob Squarepants which while many fans begged for, felt was too short. One twitter user tweeting @juddbakertv “If that was supposed to be the @SpongeBob tribute, I’m suing. #PepsiHalftimeShow #PepsiHalftime.” It also erupted a second “nipplegate” over a shirtless Adam Levine, with one NECC student Rosielis Herrera Berroa saying, “If it we compare it to what happened with Janet Jackson which wasn’t her fault, Adam Levine took his shirt off and was applauded and glorified, but Janet they banned which I feel is sexist.”
Reactions to the halftime show were mixed (if we could really say that, most have been negative). Adam Levine, front man of Maroon 5, is aware of the negative reactions, calling out his critics by posting on Instagram “When we accepted the responsibility to perform at the SBHTS, I took out my pen and just wrote. Some of the words that came to me in that moment eventually made their way onto the incredible lanterns that flew high and low tonight,” it read. “We thank the universe for this historic opportunity to play on the world’s biggest stage. We thank our fans for making our dreams possible. And we thank our critics for always pushing us to do better. One Love.”
This takes us into the third quarter of the lowest scoring Super Bowl ever. The only exciting thing to really happen in this quarter was that the Rams finally scored. Even if it was only a field goal, the Patriots couldn’t say much because that is all we scored, and the game was officially tied again. As the game dragged on into the fourth quarter, things slightly picked up. The Patriots scored the first and only touchdown of the night, and a subsequent field goal, bringing their score to a whopping 13 points.
Not everyone is as disappointed with this type of game play however, as Communications/Journalism student Carl Squatrito put it best, “This year’s Super Bowl was definitely old school. To many people, I believe it isn’t what we normally see out of the modern game, but this game was hyped up to be ‘who’s defense can step up on the biggest stage’ and while both teams kept both offenses quiet, the Patriots certainly did a better job. I personally had a blast watching it this year, from a statistical standpoint we’ve never had a Patriots defense play nearly as good on the biggest stage. We had a lot of unpopular guys become playmakers; fantastic game.”
In the end you can’t deny that the Patriots did win the Super Bowl, and 12 records were broken overall which is undeniably a feat. Some of the records broken included oldest Starting QB: Winning Team (41) by Tom Brady. Most Appearances Head Coach: (9) by Bill Belichick. Most Wins Head Coach: (6) by Bill Belichick. Oldest Winning Head Coach: (66) by Bill Belichick. Most Appearances: (11) by New England. Fewest Points: Both Teams (16). Fewest Points: Winning Team (13) by New England. Fewest Combined Touchdowns: (1).
A large congratulations goes out to the New England Patriots for winning the 53rd Super Bowl and their sixth overall Super Bowl, all with titleholder Tom Brady leading the way. Even though it was to many, rather dull… it was record breaking and a win after all. Would I rather have watched something else and seen recaps afterwards? Debatable.
